Public Affairs Specialist

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/06/2024. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-11) in the Federal Service, that is directly related to the work of the position and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties as a Public Affairs Specialist. Qualifying specialized experience includes experience where you were responsible for: Applying advanced communication and analytical practices, methods and techniques to the solution of complex public affairs problems; Planning, developing, and producing a variety of materials and publications (including print, visual, Web-based, multimedia, and video materials) to achieve understanding of various points of view or concepts; Advising leadership and staff on the development of communication plans and strategies; Establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with local media representatives and community groups; Coordinating and implementing special events, ceremonies, outreach campaigns, tours, and other activities to generate public awareness of organization’s mission. Note: IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Verbiage displayed on your resume or application must contain your own words. You may refer to the specialized experience located within the vacancy announcement, to assist with describing work experiences; however, resumes or applications received that copied verbatim from the announcement will be evaluated and may be reviewed as falsifying your experience or application You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Communication Critical Thinking External Awareness Writing 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: Work is usually performed sitting at a desk, in news conferences, briefings, meetings, etc., or riding in an automobile or public transportation. There may be occasional brief visits to industrial or construction sites, national parks or forests, military equipment test sites, etc., however, no special physical demands are involved in performing the work. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management’s website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.
The Public Affairs Officer serves as the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health Systems specialist in increasing internal and external awareness of VA programs, services, special events, and project, technologies, personnel and research accomplishments. The Public Affairs Officer oversees and supervises the work of the Public Affairs Specialist.