This Public Affairs Specialist position is located in the Office of the Executive Director service at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL. This position plans and conducts a public affairs program of a large and complex medical facility. RELOCATION OR RECRUITMENT INCENTIVE MAY BE AUTHORIZED FOR A HIGHLY QUALIFIED CANDIDATE.

Duties

The Public Affairs Specialist position performs work involved in establishing and maintaining mutual communication between Federal agencies, the general public, and various other pertinent publics including internal or external, foreign or domestic audiences. Duties include: Prepares scripts, audio-visual materials and brochures for ceremonies, briefings and orientations. Provide explanations of medical center policies and regulations to representatives of the print and broadcast media, trade associations, and industrial representatives. Originates and provides guidance and over-sees the preparation of public speeches and statements issued by the medical center director. Develops short- and long-term public affairs action plans and identifies items for information dissemination. Arranges for special group tours and participates in special events. Initiates and prepares responses to inquiries from groups and the general public concerning policies and activities. Establishes cooperative working relationships with local and reginal media. Writes and disseminates news releases and feature articles to print and broadcast media. Organizes and coordinates print and broadcast media interviews with staff members and oversees arrangements with the media involving medical center activities. Evaluates and advises management on specific courses of action to follow in making public announcements. Cultivates and maintains contacts with institutions, state and city officials, community organizations, industry, etc. Analyzes and evaluates comments, proposals or suggestions in the local community, among employees and in the media outlets in developing recommendations for management. Conduct workshops, seminars and other meetings with non-profit organizations, schools, State and local government agencies and cooperating industries. Communicates using various electronic and digital communications mechanisms to include digital signage, e-newsletters and email. Produces various graphic materials such as newsletters, flyers, and brochures. Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 8:00AM to 4:30PM Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Ad-hoc maybe available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Public Affairs Specialist/PD11222O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be authorized to a highly qualified candidate. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, facility applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. Non-facility applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/08/2023. 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: Applicants must possess at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-11) in the Federal service that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position being filled. Specialized experience includes: Serving as primary coordinator of relationships with a variety of stakeholders including high-ranking officials; knowledge of principles and techniques of written, oral, visual and personal communications to implement a comprehensive public affairs program involving public information, internal communication and community relations; identify, plan, and coordinating community outreach, direct mail and marketing activities for an organization; the ability to develop materials and publications to include print, visual, web-based, multi-media and video materials; ability to develop communication plans using a variety of media platforms; skill in analyzing programs and identifying target audiences and determining the most effective communication techniques; ability to communicate orally and in writing using a variety of principles, techniques, methods, analytical methods, and interpersonal relations practices; and ability to appropriately and courteously relate to internal and external customers and establish effective working relationships with local media and community groups. NOTE: Evidence of specialized experience must be supported by detailed documentation of duties performed in positions held. Please provide such documentation on resume. There is no educational substitution at this grade level. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Analysis and Problem SolvingCommunications and MediaInterpersonal SkillsMultimedia Technologies 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. There may be occasional brief visits to field sites, however no special physical demands are involved in performing the work. Work Environment: The work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts requiring normal safety precautions typical of office settings. The work area is adequately lighted and ventilated. However, work does occasionally require incumbent to be outdoors, as for special events, escort for media crews or crisis communications. 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/.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Jesse Brown Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 820 South Damen Avenue Chicago, IL 60612 US
• Name: Woa Townsend
• Phone: 317-988-0059 X180059
• Email: [email protected]