Public Affairs Specialist

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined below?. AREA OF CONSIDERATION: Please note that this job opportunity announcement is only open to current Career/Career-Conditional employees of the USDA. If you do not possess this status, you will not receive consideration. TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENTS: Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. (Please submit your SF-50 that shows Time-in-Grade eligibility and reflects your title, series, and grade. No Award or General Adjustment SF-50’s will be accepted). Time-in-grade requirements also apply to VEOA applicants having held a GS position in the past year. See addition information. One year at the GS-09 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-11 level. One year at the GS-11 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-12 level. Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: To be considered minimally qualified for this position, you must demonstrate that you have the required specialized experience and/or education for the respective grade level in which you are applying: GS-11Specialized Experience: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties: Utilizing oral and written communication principles, practices, techniques, and methods to distribute public information or internal information to internal and external audiences; Assist wtih preparing a variety of articles, feature stories, and news releases to convey information and clarify organizational operations, programs, and activities; Present to various internal and external groups in order to inform them of programs, objectives, and organizational activities; and Utilizing programs such as Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator; Microsoft PowerPoint; desktop publishing; or similar software to create brochures, information materials, edit photographs, and develop other products. OR Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in Public Affairs, Public Relations, Marketing, Journalism, or other directly related degree. OR Combination: Combination of the specialized experience and graduate education described above that when combined totals 100 percent. First, determine your total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determine your education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then add the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. Only graduate education in excess of two years (36 semester hours) may be used to qualify applicants for positions at the GS-11. GS-12Specialized Experience: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties: Utilizing oral and written communication principles, practices, techniques, and methods to distribute public information or internal information to internal and external audiences; Preparing a variety of articles, feature stories, and news releases to convey information and clarify organizational operations, programs, and activities; Training staff in conducting public involvement meetings to elicit public input among various concerned publics; or conducting workshops with schools, non-profits, state and local agencies, or cooperators to stimulate interest in programs and activities; Utilizing programs such as Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator; Microsoft PowerPoint; desktop publishing; or similar software to create brochures, information materials, edit photographs, and develop other products; and Assessing public reaction and understanding to evaluate effectiveness of information programs. (Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience) There is no education substitution at the GS-12 grade level. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). 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; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
This position is part of Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), State Public Affairs Officers (SPAO) staff.. The incumbent will serve as a Public Affairs Specialist staff working closely with Nevada NRCS leadership, the Nevada Outreach Team, Program Managers, Field Office staffs, Conservation Partners, local congressional representatives and others. Incumbents duty station will be located in the NRCS State office.