Federal

Speech-Language Pathologist

Veterans Health Administration ยท Department of Veterans Affairs
๐Ÿ“ Providence, Rhode Island GS-12 $101,375 - $131,790/yr
Posted: Apr 9, 2026 Deadline: Apr 20, 2026 (Closes in 11 days days left)

About This Position

This Speech-Language Pathologist position is located within the Audiology and Speech Pathology Section of the Sensory & Physical Rehabilitation Service Line (SPRSL) at the VA Providence Healthcare System. The position is full-time at 40 hours per week.

Qualifications

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. Must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. ยง 7403(f).

Licensure. Individuals must hold a full, current and unrestricted license in a U.S. state, territory, commonwealth or the District of Columbia. Education and Experience. A master's degree, or its equivalent, in speech-language pathology, communication disorders or a directly related field from an accredited college or university and one year of creditable experience (see paragraph 2.g.).

OR

A doctoral degree in speech-language pathology, communication disorder sand sciences or a related field, from an accredited college or university. Grade Determinations:

In addition to the basic requirements, you must also meet the grade requirements to be found qualified for this position. Speech-Language Pathologist, GS-12. Experience. One year of professional experience comparable to the next lower level (GS-11) and possessing a full, current and unrestricted license to practice speech-language pathology. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs).

In addition to the experience requirements, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Skill in applying principles and techniques of diagnosis and treatment associated with contemporary speech-language pathology following evidence-based practice for adult patients exhibiting the full range of speech to the full range of patient populations. Skill in administering and interpreting instrumental swallowing evaluations. Ability to assess the effectiveness of clinical outcomes and adapt clinical procedures and techniques to accommodate unique patient conditions.

Preferred Experience: Flexible Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES) SPEAKOUT! certification 3+ years outpatient/inpatient experience Modified Barium Swallow (MBS) experience Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: Please see VA Handbook and Directive 5019, Employee Occupational Health.

Major Duties

The duties and responsibilities are carried out throughout the medical center including all clinical and other patient care areas involved with the service on an inpatient and outpatient status. The Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) at this level plans, conducts, and coordinates all aspects of diagnostic assessments and evaluations and therapeutic and rehabilitative services for speech, language, voice, fluency, cognitive, and swallowing disorders. Major duties include, but are not limited to: Conducts, plans, and coordinates all clinical and administrative aspects of a full range of services associated with contemporary speech-language pathology practice in a medical center which provides both inpatient and outpatient care; Responsible for independent diagnostic assessment and evaluation of cases that are referred to Speech-Language Pathology without limitation as to difficulty or complexity; Responsible for the adequacy of assessment and for the reporting of the findings to other professional workers with whom he/she or other members of the speech-language pathology service may cooperate in formulating diagnostic and clinical judgment; Planning, conducting, coordinating, and monitoring the effectiveness and clinical outcomes of patient-centered treatment and rehabilitative services to maximize and restore to the greatest extent possible physical and social functioning; Responsible for the administration of a full range tests of speech, language, voice, fluency, and cognition including modal level and variation of vocal pitch and loudness; variability of the rate of vocal utterance; frequency and complexity of speech disfluency; Develops an effective and comprehensive plan of care for swallowing disorders in collaboration with other health care practitioners; establishes and maintains an effective therapy relationship with the patient, family and caregivers; and adjusts treatment plan to patient response and indicators of progress; Provides patient care offerings both face-to-face within the clinic and virtually via VA Video Connect (VVC) to accommodate the needs of the facility and the patient, while using appropriate scheduling and coding assigned to the various types of appointments; Serves as a consultant to other facility personnel involving the most difficult and complex cases and is a recognized subject matter expert on matters related to speech, language, voice, fluency, cognitive, and swallowing disorders; Other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, with occasional weekend coverage. Telework: Eligible, as determined by the agency policy (Ad-Hoc) Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 650-F03104 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action).

The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.

This position is eligible for coverage by a Bargaining Unit, but is not currently represented. Narrative responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) may be required from the selectee in order to proceed with the appointment.

This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay.

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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.

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.

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: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

How You Will Be Evaluated

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment. Resume Reminder: Your resume must include the following information each job listed: Job title Duties (be as detailed as possible) Month & year start/end dates (e.g.

June 2007 to April 2008) Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week) Series and Grade, if applicable, for all Federal positions you have held Please be aware that your answers will be verified against information provided on your resume. Be sure that your resume clearly supports your responses to all of the questions by addressing your work experience in detail Recommended: Even though we do not require a specific resume format, your resume must be clear so that we are able to fully evaluate your qualifications. To ensure you receive appropriate consideration, please list the duties you performed under each individual job title.

If we are unable to match your experiences with the positions held, you may lose consideration for this vacancy. We cannot make assumptions regarding your qualifications. An incomplete application will receive a rating of IFFM (ineligible due to missing forms).

Requests for reconsideration will not be considered for applicants who fail to submit a complete application package. We cannot be held responsible for incompatible software or fax transmissions. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social).

Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment.

You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

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.

How to Apply

All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the full questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.

The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 04/20/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12930976. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account.

Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.

Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package.

NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.

Required Documents

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

NOTE: It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date of this vacancy announcement.

YOU WILL NOT BE CONTACTED FOR CLARIFICATION OR MISSING DOCUMENTATION. Applicants are encouraged to contact the Agency Contact listed on this Job Opportunity Announcement to confirm required documents are appropriately uploaded prior to the closing date. To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes: Resume Special Note for Applications: To complete your application, please use the following link https://vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Resume.docx to download the standard Clinical Resume Document.

This one-page document does not need to be modified and must be uploaded into the two-page restricted 'Resume' document upload field.

Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the 'Other' document upload field. The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.

Cover Letter License Other Supporting Documents Resume SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action Transcript Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire.

You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form.

Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit Feds Hire Vets - Veterans - Job Seekers - Veterans' Preference. Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the salary for the Speech-Language Pathologist position at Veterans Health Administration?
The salary range for this position is $101,375 - $131,790/yr. This is a GS-12 position on the General Schedule pay scale. Actual pay may vary based on locality adjustments.
Where is the Speech-Language Pathologist job located?
This position is located in Providence, Rhode Island. This is an on-site position.
What qualifications do I need?
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. Must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. ยง 7403(f). Licensure. Individuals must hold a full, current and unrestri...
How do I apply for this position?
Apply through USAJobs.gov by clicking the 'Apply on USAJobs' button. You'll need a USAJobs account, a federal-style resume, and supporting documents. The deadline is Apr 20, 2026.
Is a security clearance required?
No security clearance is required for this position.
What does GS-12 mean?
GS-12 refers to the General Schedule grade level. Higher grades require more experience and offer higher pay. Visit our GS Pay Scale page for full salary tables by grade and locality.
What benefits do federal employees receive?
Federal employees receive comprehensive benefits including health insurance (FEHB), retirement through FERS, Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) with government matching, paid annual and sick leave, paid parental leave, life insurance, and student loan repayment programs.