This position is located at the VA Illiana Health Care System (VAIHCS), Office of the Director, including the main campus and its outpatient clinics. VAIHCS is a level three health care system, compromised of one medical center and five (5) community clinics. The primary purpose of this position is to function as a Public Affairs Specialist performing a variety of duties in a changing environment.

Duties

Major duties include but not limited: Plans, develops, and produces a variety of materials and publications Develops media campaigns (including social media) and communication plans and strategies Gathers, analyzes, and evaluates complex data to develop appropriate recommendations Maintains effective relationships with service chiefs and their staff Maintaining the Medical Center's social media presence by creating and uploading content Updating the employee SharePoint Intranet site, the external website, participation in new employee orientation, preparation of pamphlets, booklets, photo displays, fact sheets, videos, social media posts, etc. Awareness of agency policy and management initiatives Assists with writing, editing, and publishing content to the hospitals internal and external websites Coordinates news media interviews with staff and oversees arrangements Interacts with top officials from the public and private sector to enhance understanding among VAIHCS Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: 7:30am to 4:00pm, Monday-Friday Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Public Affairs Specialist/PD241350Relocation/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, 03/21/2024. 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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07 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: GS-9 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Knowledge of public relations, community relations, advertising, and journalism including media technical requirements and practices. Knowledge of the practices and techniques of oral communications in developing and presenting briefings to print and broadcast media. Knowledge of media production. Skill in writing news releases and feature articles for dissemination through print media. Skill in effectively interacting with news media representatives. Skill in gathering and evaluating the appropriateness of information communicated through media. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a a master's or equivalent graduate degree 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related. Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond the second year. Transcripts Required. GS-11 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: plans, develops, and produces a variety of materials and publications including print, web-based, multimedia and video material to convey information about the VA to a variety of stakeholders. Actively pitches and places stories with media outlets. Develops media campaigns and communication plans and strategies, gathers, analyzes, and evaluates complex data to develop appropriate recommendations for management's consideration, develops programs that provide digital media production and support of highly technical nature that integrates information technologies for clinical and administrative staff. 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, 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or an LL.M., if related. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond the second year. Transcripts Required. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Attention to DetailCommunications and MediaOral CommunicationOrganizational AwarenessStakeholder Management 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 is required in terms of staging and assisting staff with equipment and other required materials. Some lifting 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 Danville VA Medical Center 1900 East Main Street Danville, IL 61832 US
• Name: Brooke Cremonesi
• Phone: 217-499-7292
• Email: [email protected]