*** Temporary Detail Not To Exceed 120 days *** The incumbent serves as both the Chief of Communications and Outreach Service Officer and Public Affairs Officer at the VA New Jersey Health Care System (VANJHCS) and holds delegated authority for making local VANJHCS determinations regarding Public Affairs and Outreach activities within the framework of established laws, regulations and local policies of VA and the VANJHCS.

Duties

Major duties include, but are not limited to: Responsible for assessing effectiveness of internal and external communications and developing programs to address changing needs. Managing and executing the facility's Crisis Communication plan in the event of an emergency. Responding to media inquiries in a timely manner with allowable, accurate, transparent information is critical. Resolve issues between stakeholders and VA programs and services. Work with any staff or member of the New Jersey congressional delegation or other elected officials by providing updates, communication, or formal responses to constituent issues relevant to VA services and programs, as necessary, following proper requests and clearances. Responsible for Medial Media Services and should demonstrate management abilities for this service as well as a working knowledge of public announcement systems, audio visual systems, electronic information boards as well as graphic design across mediums such as print, electronic, web and photo. Lead, execute and brief the facility's leadership team on all aspects of event planning, or high-level visits across all VANJHCS departments and services and understand appropriate protocols. Be engaged in and with the community as well as with VA stakeholders to advise the Leadership Team on topics that may impact VANJHC's mission. Support Veterans of New Jersey and its catchment area in understanding any and all VA benefits they may be eligible and entitled to. Be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to respond to media inquiries, disasters, social media informational posts and senior management requests. Responsible for the public affairs, audiovisual and photographic products and information, social media content, printing production, network marketing, community outreach programs, media support and media products used in communication. Oversees the daily operation of the unit, ensures that agency policies and priorities are being followed; develops performance standards; and evaluates work performance of subordinates. Gives advice, counsel, and instruction to employees on both work and administrative matters. Carries out Equal Employment Opportunity policies and program activities. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Remote: For a highly qualified candidates outside of NJ commuting area remote position may be considered but not guaranteed. Position Description/PD#: Public Affairs Specialist/PD24051O Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/26/2023. 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 by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. 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 one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade, GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: providing leadership and direction for the Public Affairs program; increasing internal and external awareness of programs, services, special events, technologies, personnel and research accomplishments; establishing and maintaining contacts with media outlets, legislative offices, veteran service organizations, and health care affiliates; advising senior level management on development of media campaigns and communication plans and strategies; planning, developing, and producing a variety of materials and publications to convey information about the VA to a variety of stakeholders; serving as the agency spokesman for the facility including responding in writing and orally to questions about or criticisms of the agency's activities or policies and explaining the VA point of view; and developing budgets, writing statements of work, and directing, coordinating, supervising activities of supporting staff and contractors; planning the work to be accomplished by subordinates, setting and adjusting short term priorities, and preparing schedules for completion of work; assigning work to subordinates based on priorities, difficulty of assignments and capabilities of subordinates; evaluating work performance of subordinates; and giving advice, counsel, or instruction to employees on both work and administrative matters. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Communications and MediaPartneringPlanning and EvaluatingSystems 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 is generally sedentary and does not require unusual physical effort. 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 VA New Jersey Health Care System 385 Tremont Avenue East Orange, NJ 07018 US
• Name: Kelli Bencic
• Phone: 716-458-6982
• Email: [email protected]