Health and Wellness Coach

Veterans Health Administration • Cleveland, OH

2d • Onsite

About The Position

The Health and Wellness Coach delivers Whole Health Coaching and supports development of the leveland VA Medical Center’s Whole Health Coach program. The role provides coaching, skills development, and education to Veterans and staff, and helps Veterans and coaches navigate the Whole Health Journey, including the Pathway, wellbeing, and Whole Health clinical care elements.

The coach provides individual and group coaching using Whole Health principles and evidence-based health behavior change strategies. The position may be performed across multiple clinical settings and locations according to program and patient-care needs. The work takes place in a medical center environment and includes sedentary program work as well as movement throughout the healthcare system and travel between sites.

Requirements

• Be a U.S. citizen, subject to the stated exception for non-citizens when qualified citizens cannot be recruited under VA policy.
• Be proficient in spoken and written English.
• Meet the education and/or experience requirement through a relevant bachelor’s or higher degree, equivalent combination of education and experience, or four years of appropriate experience in behavioral or social sciences.
• Be currently certified by the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching (NBHWC), unless appointed under the stated temporary exception for eligible non-certified applicants.
• For a temporary appointment as a non-certified coach, provide care under appropriate supervision, serve at the entry level, and obtain the required certification within one year.
• For GS-9 consideration, have at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-7.
• Demonstrate knowledge of health and wellness coaching processes and techniques and the ability to promote positive lifestyle choices.
• Demonstrate effective written and verbal/non-verbal communication.
• For GS-9, demonstrate knowledge of current health and wellness research; coaching skills across individual, couple, or group modalities; interpersonal communication; personalized health-plan development; resource identification; information technology use; and patient documentation.
• Meet pre-employment evaluation, background/security investigation, onboarding, identification, and other stated application requirements.
• Participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program.
• Serve a one- or two-year trial period, subject to the stated evaluation and certification process.
• Be able to meet the physical demands of the role, including periods of extensive walking, prolonged standing, and transporting light to medium weight objects.
• Be able to travel between sites, including CBOCs and outlying clinics.

Nice To Haves

• Experience providing health and wellness coaching in a healthcare setting.
• Demonstrated skill in motivational interviewing, behavior change, SMART goal development, and person-centered care.
• Experience facilitating individual and group coaching.
• Experience working collaboratively within an interdisciplinary healthcare team.
• Whole Health experience and/or the National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC) credential.

Responsibilities

• Provide individual and group Health and Wellness Coaching to Veterans using Whole Health principles and evidence-based health behavior change strategies.
• Help Veterans identify what matters most, develop Personal Health Plans, establish SMART goals, and build skills for sustainable health behavior change.
• Facilitate Whole Health groups and educational programs.
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams.
• Support outreach and engagement activities.
• Document care in the electronic health record.
• Assist Veterans with navigation to appropriate VA and community resources.
• Support the delivery and development of the Whole Health Coach program.

Benefits

• Federal employee benefits package available to employees and their families, with eligibility dependent on position type.
• Selected applicants may qualify to receive credit for prior work or military service when determining annual leave accrual, subject to prior request and approval.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level