The position is the Deputy Chief of the Public Affairs Program at the VA Central California Health Care System. The Program is responsible for the effective management of an internal and external communication program and the development and maintenance of marketing programs. All elements are important parts of the Healthcare System strategic plan, ultimately supporting the Healthcare System Mission.

Duties

Provides leadership and direction for the Public Affairs program at a VA Medical Center while displaying tact, common sense, diplomacy, initiative, and solid professional judgment. The goal of the position is to increase internal and external awareness of VA programs, services, special events and projects, technologies, personnel, and research accomplishments. Establishes and maintains proactive contacts with media outlets, legislative offices, Veteran Service Organizations, and health care affiliates. Actively pitches and places stories with media outlets. Assists with the public relations coverage for activities throughout the VA Central California Healthcare System: serving as the Deputy to the Chief of Public Affairs at VACCHCS; assisting with media events; providing onsite public relations coverage; writing news releases and feature stories about health care, research, and human interest activities; staffing media requests/visits and preparing medical center staff for interviews. Coordinates, manages, and plans, events and visits throughout the VACCHCS, to include preparing agendas/invitations, ordering supplies and materials, generating all support materials, scheduling staff, and assisting on planning committees. Coordinates communications efforts related to integrated strategic planning studies, possible public private partnerships, community partnerships, and other long-term planning issues that may affect the future direction of the Health Care System. Develops and executes communications plans, generates support materials, and communicates status and results to the Chief of Public Affairs and executive management, as needed. Assist in the planning, promoting, and implementing of various special events such as: Veterans Day activities, Employee Appreciation celebration, VIP visits, etc. Advises senior level management on development of media campaigns and communication plans and strategies. Serves as editor of the VACCHCS bi-monthly Newsletter and other publications to include gathering articles, editing content, writing articles for the publication, taking photographs, gathering items of interest, and designing/formatting the newsletter. Writes speeches for the VACCHCS Director and VACCHCS management for special events and visits. Provides internal communication guidance to the Chief of Public Affairs and VACCHCS management. Evaluates the effectiveness of the VACCHCS Public Affairs program and recommends changes as necessary to improve employee morale and internal image for the VACCHCS. Work Schedule: Monday Friday 0800-1630 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. Position Description/PD#: Public Affairs Specialist/PD03007O Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/07/2024. 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: Specialized experience includes experience where you were responsible for applying advanced communication and analytical practices, methods and techniques to the solution of complex public affairs problems; planning, developing, and producing a variety of materials and publications (including print, visual, Web-based, multimedia, and video materials) to achieve understanding of various points of view or concepts; advising leadership on the development of communication plans and strategies; establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with local media representatives and community groups; and coordinating and implementing special events, ceremonies, outreach campaigns, tours, and other activities to generate public awareness of organization's mission.. OR, You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and ManagementCommunications and MediaMultimedia TechnologiesOral CommunicationOrganizational Awareness 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 usually performed sitting at a desk, in news conferences, briefings, meetings, etc. There may be occasional brief visits outside the health care system. However, no special physical demands are involved in performing the work. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address Fresno VA Medical Center 2615 East Clinton Avenue Fresno, CA 93703 US
• Name: Diana Avila-Linaja
• Phone: 650-694-6000 X15130
• Email: [email protected]