Public Affairs Specialist

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/12/2024. 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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. 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. Minimum Qualifications: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-09) in the federal service; experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA’s) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes: developing information tailored to specific audiences; writing and editing news and feature articles; gathering information from a variety or sources; laying out stories/articles for publication; and developing designs, concepts, or visual styles for publications, exhibits, or presentation materials. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D., or equivalent doctoral degree or three (3) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related, that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond a master’s or equivalent graduate education. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Communication Communications and Media Self-Direction Strategic Thinking 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: The work can be done primarily while seated, as at a drawing board or computer keyboard, and requires no special physical demands. Must be able to lift 20 pounds, camera/video equipment to facilitate and promote opportunities to capture content. Work Environment: The work is typically performed in an adequately lighted and climate-controlled office and requires no special safety precautions. Some travel may be required. 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 Specialist applies the appropriate rules/regulations used in conducting Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) business guidelines. They independently perform work related to public affairs and communication activities, such as responding to media inquiries, generating media interest, and coordinating agency information and outreach programs.