This position is located within the Stakeholder and Community Relations Service Line of the Montana VA Health Care System, and is responsible for presentation of the Medical Center mission, services and activities to the staff, volunteers, members of the media, general public, Veterans, local, state and federal officials and community groups in ways that most effectively achieve the VHA's goals while contributing to understanding and support of the Medical Center's caring for Veterans.

Duties

The Public Affairs Specialist serves as spokesperson for the Medical Center, and as such is the point of contact for local and national media; is the liaison for Veterans' Service Organizations, congressional staffs, community groups, and professional organizations. Duties include, but are not limited to: Develops reports along with recommendations to the Medical Center Director including implementation and monitoring strategies. Analyzes internal communication needs and develops publications or other information materials for staff, patients, volunteers and others who contribute to the Medical Center effectiveness and responsiveness. Develops, coordinates, implements and maintains public information and community relations programs that are designed to promote understanding, confidence, and goodwill between the Medical Center, surrounding communities, individuals, volunteers and groups who are interested in and affected by the VA. Analyzes Medical Center information needs, goals and resources and tailors specific communication strategies using all media to reach target audiences both internal and external. Advises and makes recommendations to the Medical Center director regarding the handling of media and community issue or concerns that have possible implications on the Medical Center. Interacts with top officials of public and private sector to enhance understanding among VAMCs and VHA's many publics, strengthening relationships. Evaluates the effectiveness and efficiency of the public information programs for internal communications, media relations and community relations with the ultimate goal of achieving greater understanding of their facility's mission and programs. Plans, initiates and implements comprehensive public affairs activities to enhance the understanding of the Medical Center's programs among the general public and specialized groups and organizations. Coordinates photo coverage of programs and activities with medical media production service. Provides guidance in the area of photography for public information purposes. Acts as liaison between staff members holding joint appointments with the affiliated medical college to assure proper attribution of media stories involving both facilities. Coordinates the production and dissemination of information, material, and, where necessary, works with contractors who design, write or produce materials for the Medical Center. Establishes and maintains professional working relationships with representatives of the news media, responding in a timely fashion to information requests from the media in writing and orally to ensure the fair representation of the Medical Center. Develops and utilizes a variety of methods and techniques in achieving communication goals, such as news releases, radio and television scripts, personal appearances, brochures, pamphlets, etc. Localizes material prepared for general release to the media; works with the VHACO and VACO Public Affairs Program Offices in the development of unified action on news stories that may have significant impact; markets information items to appropriate local and regional print and electronic media, and utilizes general and specialized news media to disseminate consumer information to various publics. Develops and maintains a beakers' bureau of facility resources and distributes the list to media and other interested organizations as appropriate. Sets up systematic programs for collecting information of news interest concerning Medical Center activities and personnel; regularly prepares news releases and photos for submission to regional and local publications and electronic media. Provides expertise in planning and implementation of special events, ceremonies, open houses, tours and other activities conducted for the purpose of generating awareness of, and interest in the mission of the Medical Center and for public awareness. Informs Medical Center personnel on matters of significant importance to them, including the achievements of the VA and the Medical Center, particularly those which are a result of their efforts. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-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 ad hoc telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Public Affairs Specialist/PD11971A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized 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, 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-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: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with a wide variety of individuals to effectively gain support for VA/VHA VISN/VAMC programs; knowledge of communication principles, methods, practices and techniques; analytical methods; and into personal relations practices; skill in modifying and applying standard approaches to difficult and complex public affairs problems by developing or evaluating information programs enhancing understanding among publics opposed or indifferent to Medical Center programs; comprehensive knowledge of Medical Center programs, policies and activities to present this information accurately to employees, the media and the community and to make the judgments necessary for a balanced presentation of information; skill to analyze public reaction to programs and policies in developing recommendations that significantly modify the Medical Center's major programs or policies; and integrating diverse points of view in a communication plan in establishing and maintaining mutual understanding with various publics; 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. This knowledge is needed to act as the resource within the Medical Center tell counsel management and staff on the appropriate and most effective application of the public affairs initiatives and the evaluation of the impact of public issues; ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with a wide variety of individuals to be effective in obtaining support for program implementation and maintenance; ability to design and implement a marketing plan for the Medical Center and the ability to conceive and coordinate slide shows, videotapes and other audiovisual products. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Communications and MediaMultimedia TechnologiesOrganizational AwarenessStrategic ThinkingWriting 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 generally sedentary with walking required during visits and tours of the Medical Center. Flexibility is required to accommodate events and activities occurring in other than normal duty hours. Mobility s required in terms of staging and assisting staff with equipment and other required materials. 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.

Contacts

• Address Fort Harrison VA Medical Center 3687 Veterans Drive Fort Harrison, MT 59636 US
• Name: Ruthie Diaz
• Phone: (303) 202-8660
• Email: [email protected]