The Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection (OAWP) is committed to ensuring accountability within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). OAWP was statutorily established by the VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 (Accountability Act), P.L. 115-41, and its functions are codified under 38 U.S.C. § 323.

Duties

Designs and implements a comprehensive public affairs and communications strategy to enhance the understanding of OAWP's programs among the public, specialized groups, and organizations. Manages continuous improvement of OAWP's website and communications to the public and other external stakeholders. Ensures all engagement plans are actionable, measurable, and sustainable. Serves as an advisor regarding OAWP strategic communications to include correspondence, policy, congressional requirements, and messaging/branding. At all times, the individual is expected to promote the organization's position with authority and credibility within OAWP, across the agency, and with outside entities. Work schedule: Required to work Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. Compressed/Flexible Schedule: Available Telework: Available Remote/Virtual: This is not a virtual or remote position Position Description Title/PD#: Public Affairs Specialist/PD200000 Relocation Expenses: Not Authorized Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

• Subject to a background/security investigation.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.

Qualifications

To qualify, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/03/2024. 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 within 45 days of the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-14 position, you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-13. 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 your most recent non-award 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 non-award SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one year time-in-grade. 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-13) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: working with action officers in the preparation, coordination and staffing of information for Members of Congress or executive branch officials by ensuring all documents are properly formatted and grammatically correct; maintain and update databases on Congressional Staff and other stakeholders to be used when preparing Veterans Affairs witnesses for testimony at Congressional hearings and briefings; preparing organizational leaders for external interactions; preparing and interpreting legislative and regulatory policy guidance; providing advice, or instruction to employees on both work and administrative matters. (Evidence of this specialized experience must be supported by detailed documentation of like duties performed in positions held on your resume. You will also need to provide work experience information such as hours per week, salary, and starting/ending dates of employment (month and year format) to establish you have one (1) full year of specialized experience at the required grade level). Note: Communications experience will be assessed through the resume and interview process. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Communications and MediaProblem SolvingStakeholder ManagementStrategic ThinkingTechnology Application 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 primarily sedentary and performed in an office environment. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection 810 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20420 US
• Name: Melissa Schewe
• Email: [email protected]