This Public Affairs Specialist position is located in Executive Director's Office at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven Campus. This is a full-time 40 hour per week position. The position 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, professional organizations, etc.

Duties

Duties include, but may not be limited to the following: 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. Serves as the Medical Center point of contact for the media and public information inquiries and as the liaison with other medical centers, central office, the VHA VISN, and veteran organizations in the areas of public information and community relations. Interacts with top officials of public and private sector to enhance understanding among VAMCs and VHA's many publics, strengthening relationships. May be required to make presentations to audiences with opposing points of view or erroneous understanding of Medical Center position to achieve a more balanced perception. 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. Undertakes other assignments, such as speech writing or coordination of special events/projects at the direction of the Medical Center director. 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. Responds and/or prepare response for the director, to detailed explanations for negative comments made about the Medical Center activities or performance particularly in urgent, sensitive situations. 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. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 08:00am - 4:30pm Telework: Available. 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 might be discussed during the interview process. Position Description/PD#:Public Affairs Specialist/PD073180 Relocation or Travel Incentives: Not Authorized Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required Notifications: This position is not a Bargaining Unit position. Selectee may be required to work at any VA Connecticut Healthcare System campus, as needed. May be required to attend conference at other facilities or other VA sites on occasion. The incumbent may be required to travel to other VA campuses and CBOC's. Selectee may be required to work at any VISN 1 Healthcare System campus, as needed. Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50 (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. This position is in the Competitive Service. Time-in-Grade Restriction: 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. The grade may have been in any occupation but must have been held in the Federal service. Veterans' preference does not apply for other current permanent Federal agency employees.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the 05/14/2024. 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. AND 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: Being the point of contact for local and national media; being the liaison for veterans' service organizations, congressional staffs, community groups, professional organizations, etc. Experience in conducting the public affairs program for a large Medical Center with responsibility for developing and providing staff direction involving all public information, internal communications, VSO liaison, and community relations activities. Responsible for representing the Medical Center director, participating at public, civic or social events to improve perception of the Medical Center as a valued part of the medical profession, government, and community. Skilled in conducting special studies involving communications, organization, and operation of Medical Center functions. Developing reports along with recommendations to the Medical Center Director including implementation and monitoring strategies. Studies often consist of controversial and critical observations, interpretations, and findings that are independently presented with the resultant recommendations. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:Analysis and Problem SolvingCommunications and Media 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 and in the performance of duties capturing the stories of employees, Veterans and VA Connecticut Health Care System services and associated community-based outpatient clinics. 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. 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

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Contacts

• Address West Haven VA Medical Center 950 Campbell Avenue West Haven, CT 06516 US
• Name: Edward Ford
• Phone: 203 932-5711 X5421
• Email: [email protected]