The Communications Specialist position is aligned under the Connected Care Service and supervised by the Connected Care Program Manager. The incumbent serves as the local facility My HealtheVet Coordinator (MHV )and Secure Messaging Administrator (SM). The incumbent serves as the facility champion and subject matter expert (SME), and leads facility teams to support existing and future Veteran communication initiatives.

Duties

Oversees MHV's online presence and web content and leads innovations to keep the local facility's My HealtheVet Program on the cutting-edge. Establishes local MHV-related initiatives, strategies to meet goals, identifies responsible parties, tracks progress including monitoring activity status, and reports status/progress to Connected Care Program and Medical Center Management. Manages multiple projects by planning and organizing activities for My HealtheVet, Secure Messaging, social media, web page/site communication, and all other Connected Care projects. Responsible for establishing and managing communications plans that identify target audiences, appropriate messages, activities, and resources needed for effective communication, and effective communications plan for change management, incorporate multiple channels and manage expectations and disseminate project progress Formulates a marketing strategy from research, reports, products and organizational data. Designs, conducts and evaluates innovative means to advertise and market products of the MHV and Social Media Program. Analyzes new or amended legislation, and develops policy affecting programs, activities, or functions for which the facility has responsibility Establishes and manages the training plans and design and perform needs assessments within the project relative to functional and training needs and project effectiveness Establishes, develops, and implements local MHV-related goals, strategies to meet goals, identifies responsible parties, tracks progress, including monitoring goals/activity status, and reports status/progress to medical center management Formulates a marketing strategy from research, reports, products and organizational data Analyzes functional clinical and business process changes or impact to clinical guidelines in terms of policies, procedures, and user behaviors Manages multi-disciplinary teams comprised of professional, technical and support personnel to coordinate clinical and business functions for the MHV program Analyzes new or amended legislation and develops policy covering programs, activities, or functions for which the facility has responsibility Utilizes interpersonal communication skills to deal with Veterans who are difficult, hostile, or distressed, working with co-workers, supervisors, and high level management, and negotiating Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position Position Description/PD#: Communications Specialist/PD00955A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required 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. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/22/2024. 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. 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 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 normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Understanding of clinical and marketing guidelines; communicating to various audience types (written and oral); preparing outreach and marketing materials/presentations; analyzing/evaluating data to affect program effectiveness; proposing, developing or implementing strategic plans; using web-based platforms to conduct meetings/training sessions. 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 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the work of the position. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.) . OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. Specialized experience as described above, but less than one year; and have at least two years of graduate education as described, but less than the required three years. Have computed the percentage of the requirements met, and the total is at least 100% (To compute the percentage, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then, divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify.). (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.) You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:Creative ThinkingEducation and TrainingProblem SolvingTechnical Competence Preferred Qualification: Experience with telehealth; general program management (e.g., planning, organizing, resourcing); customer service; community outreach; trainer or training instructor; work in a medical facility; data analysis. 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 primarily sedentary, but may require periods of standing during presentations, briefings, speeches, health fair activities, etc., although some slight physical effort 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/.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address Coatesville VA Medical Center 1400 Black Horse Hill Road Coatesville, PA 19320 US
• Name: Laura Batcheller
• Phone: 720-576-3315
• Email: [email protected]