Health and Wellness Coach

Summary

The Health and Wellness Coaches provide services to Veterans seeking self-directed, lasting changes aligned with their values. They provide support that promotes health and enhances well-being, which may support improved health related outcomes, and quality of life. Health and Wellness Coaches provide support to positively influence the relationship between lifestyle and health outcomes.

Learn more about this agency

Duties

Help

Employees at this grade level serve as Health and Wellness Coaches at the full performance level. Health and Wellness Coaches use behavioral change theories (e.g., motivational interview and trans-theoretical model) and tools to assist individuals in the process of health coaching. They provide interventions that promote health and wellness and enhance well-being (i.e., what matters to the individual), improve health related outcomes, reduce likelihood of inpatient admission and improve quality of life across the continuum of care in all settings.

• Health and Wellness Coaches foster an environment that equips and empowers each individual to develop and fully engage in a lifestyle management plan.
• Facilitates the development of personalized health plans that emphasize self-care in combination with conventional treatment plans that include individualized intervention strategies to help the client use existing skills and develop new ones to enhance success.
• Provides information on the relationship between lifestyle and health outcomes, exploring behaviors that increase the risk of developing or worsening chronic disease and those that reduce the likelihood of chronic illness.
• Responsible for guiding individuals to learn about available support tools and resources outside of healthcare (e.g., social determinants of health) in the community that assist in attainment of goals.
• Contacts eligible participants for enrollment and explain the health coaching process.
• Develops and distribute locally approved health education materials based on national guidance to patients and family members that are in line with the patient's personalized health plan.
• Responsible for conducting outreach activities directly to potential participants and internal and external referral sources informing them of available programs and services.
• Coordinates care with patients' treatment providers including primary care, specialty care and mental health to ensure identified goals are aligned with the overall plan of care around what matters most to the individual.
• Provides health coaching support to multidisciplinary groups whose purpose is to address specific health and well-being goals or metrics in both the inpatient and outpatient setting.
• Uses applicable IT equipment, systems and software to maintain accurate, complete, current and confidential medical records in accordance with accepted standards.
• May assist with data management analyses, special studies and reports for use by management for budget preparation, workload projections and quality assurance and usage reviews.
• Participates in quality improvement projects and refine information for comprehensive reports addressing elements such as patient reported outcome measures, work measurement, trend analysis, efficiency, effectiveness and productivity.
• Develops individualized health and wellness group curriculum and/or provide input into curriculum developed by higher-level management.

Work Schedule :07:30am-04:00pm

Telework : AD-HOC

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : 99325-S

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives : Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ( Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements :

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• English Language Proficiency: DRTs must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d).
• Education and/or Experience:
  • Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in behavioral or social science or related disciplines appropriate to the position. OR
  • Combination of education and experience that provided the applicant with knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field. OR
  • Four years of appropriate experience that demonstrated that the applicant has acquired knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field.
• Certification .
  • Candidates must be currently certified by the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching (NBHWC).
  • Exception for Non-Certified Health and Wellness Coaches.
    
    
    • (a) Non-certified applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements for certification, may be given a temporary appointment as Health and Wellness Coach under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405(c)(2).
    • (b) Non-certified individuals may only provide care under the supervision of a certified Health and Wellness Coach at or above the full performance level or other designated occupation with the appropriate training and expertise.
    • (c) Non-certified individuals may only be appointed at the entry level and may not be promoted until certification is obtained.
    • (d) Temporary appointments of non-certified Health and Wellness Coaches may not be extended beyond one year or converted to a new temporary appointment.
    • (e) Failure to Obtain Certification. In all cases, Health and Wellness Coaches must actively pursue meeting certification requirements starting from the date of their placement into the occupation. At the time of appointment, the Human Resources (HR) Office staff in collaboration with the supervisor will provide the uncertified Health and Wellness Coaches with the written requirement to obtain certification, the date by which the certification must be acquired and the consequences for not becoming certified by the deadline. Failure to obtain certification during this time period may result in termination of employment.

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Health and Wellness Coach, GS-09 Grade Determinations :

• (1) Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.
• (2) Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
  • (a) Knowledge of current research literature related to health and wellness, including behaviors that promote a healthy lifestyle and well-being.
  • (b) Skill in using health and wellness coaching techniques to promote positive behavior change using one-on-one, couple or group modalities.
  • (c) Skill in exercising effective interpersonal communication techniques to develop and maintain strong interpersonal relationships.
  • (d) Ability to assist the client in developing a comprehensive personalized health plan based on a patient's action-oriented goals.
  • (e) Ability to identify resources internal and external to the organization that are necessary for achieving patient overall health and well-being goals.
  • (f) Ability to use information technology (IT) equipment and various/emerging technologies to carry out work responsibilities.
  • (g) Ability to document patient information using appropriate systems

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-09.

Physical Requirements: Regular and recurring work is mostly sedentary involving sitting at a desk, although the position requires the ability to move from one geographic location of the facility to another. Some physical effort such as standing, walking, bending, occasional lifting (no more than 35 lbs.) or prolonged sitting with occasional visits to areas within the service as well as throughout the Medical Center.

Education

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit:

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Help

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.