This position serves as a Public Affairs Specialist/Speechwriter within VBA Office of Communication (OC), and reports to the Director, of OC. The incumbent is responsible for a variety of significant, complex public relations and marketing campaigns in support of the Under Secretary for Benefits (USB), Principal Deputy Under Secretary for Benefits (PDUSB), Chief of Staff, (COS), Deputy Chief of Staff (DCOS), Communication Director (CD), and the section chiefs assigned to OC.

Duties

Specific duties include: Serves as a principal advisor to senior leadership on all matters involving public information issues and communications policy. Formulates themes, messages, and writes or edits speeches for key stakeholders, news releases, presentations, Congressional testimony information papers and related staff activities. Provides the philosophy to be presented in speeches, addresses, briefings, and testimony. Works in collaboration with department(s) with development and execution of public appearances by senior leadership before audiences in both the Federal and private sectors; and national and international audience. Advises management and or staff on internal information needs and appropriate means of dissemination. Analyzes overall level and tone of the presentation to meet objectives. Prepares final presentations for the USB, PDUSB, COS, and DCOS Works with VBA offices and facilities nationwide to develop information and to assist with national and local needs. Performs editorial reviews on sensitive written material and products developed throughout the organization and supported by VBA program and business offices. Initiates, administers, and directs internal and external information programs to meet various information needs in conformance with the overall mission and policies of the agency. Collaborates with key stakeholders to decide which subjects and issues to emphasize and publicize based on review and interpretation of administration messages, new and revised program initiatives, and VBA policy issues. Travels with leadership to various speaking events. Promotion Potential: None Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday Compressed/Flexible: At the discretion of agency Telework: Yes Virtual: This is a virtual position if the selected employee is required to report to the nearest VBA facility as prescribed in the telework agreement Position Description/PD#: Public Affairs Specialist; 39550-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to background/security investigation

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement:10/26/2023. 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. To verify your eligibility, you must submit a copy of your most recent Notification of Personnel Action, Standard Form 50 (SF-50). The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. You must provide a copy of your most recent SF-50 that indicates proof of status, and shows Time in Grade (for example, you were a career or career-conditional employee) and identifies your position title, series, grade, step, salary, tenure, and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). 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 also submit your most recent promotion or within-grade increase in addition to your recent SF-50. If you previously held a higher grade, you must also submit any SF-50 showing that grade. DO NOT submit Award SF-50's and/or General Adjustment SF-50's as they cannot be used to prove time-in-grade. For a GS-14 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-13 level. MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience as described below: GS-14 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: Applicant must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-13) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of the required specialized experience includes writing and editing speeches, messages, news releases, presentations, Congressional testimonies and other related staff activities; working in collaboration with department(s) with development and execution of public appearances by senior leadership before audiences in both Federal and private sectors and national and international audiences; and analyzes the level and tone of presentations to meet objectives. Volunteer Experience: 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. Full vs. Part-Time Employment: Full-time employment is considered to be at least 35 hours per week. Part-time experience will be credited on a pro-rated basis; when including part-time employment in your resume you must specify the average hours worked per week. Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Some work may require walking and standing in conjunction with travel to attend meetings and conferences away from the work site. Work may require carrying light items such as papers, books, or small parts. The work does not require any special physical effort. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Contacts

• Address VBA Human Resources Center - Central Office 810 Vermont Ave NW Washington, DC 20420 US
• Name: Lakeisha Davis
• Phone: 410-230-4400
• Email: [email protected]