This position is located in the Associate Director's Office at the VA Bedford Healthcare System. This position is full-time at 40 hours per week.

Duties

The primary purpose of this position is to increase internal and external awareness of the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital (ENRM) programs, services, special events and projects, technologies, personnel and research accomplishments. The Public Affairs Specialist is the exclusive Public Affairs representative for Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital (ENRM). In addition, the Public Affairs Specialist implements long term strategic public affairs modalities. The Public Affairs Specialist manages the inter/intra net and takes photos. Duties may include, but are not limited to: Provides leadership and direction for the Public Affairs program. Increases 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. Pitches and places stories with media outlets. Advises senior level management on development of media campaigns and communication plans and strategies. Plans, develops, and produces a variety of materials and publications including print, visual, Web-based, multimedia, and video materials to convey information about the VA to a variety of stakeholders. Serves as content manager of the Medical Center's Internet and Intranet. Evaluates information from a variety of sources and provides feedback to senior management on public affairs trends and stakeholder attitudes to assess program effectiveness and make improvements. Organizes editorial boards for senior leaders to positively and proactively promote the medical center's mission. Serves as agency spokesman for the facility including responding in writing and orally to questions about or criticisms of the agency's activities or policies and explaining the VA point of view. Handles communication efforts when controversial, high level issues impact the ENRM, often during crisis and emergency situations. Serves as Public Information Officer under Hospital Incident Command System. Plans and executes special events, coordinates high profile visits, and supports outreach to veterans not enrolled in the VA health care system. Develops budgets, writes statements of work, and directs, coordinates, and supervises activities of supporting staff and contractors. Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Full-Time, Mon-Fri, 7:00am-4:40pm. Compressed/Flexible: Not Available. Telework: Available for Ad-hoc. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Public Affairs Specialist/PD003240 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Nor Authorized. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required. Notifications: This is not a NAGE Bargaining Unit position. This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay. 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. May be required to travel to other VA campuses and CBOC's. 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. Interchange Agreements with Other Merit System: Employees who occupy medical or medical-related positions and were appointed under 38 U.S.C. 4701(1) or (3) [formerly 38 U.S.C. 4104 (1) and (3)] must be serving in a full-time position without time limit and have served continuously for at least one year in this other merit system to be eligible to convert to the Title 5 System. Some exceptions to this rule may apply if you have previously acquired tenure under a Title 5 appointment. 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 closing date of this announcement, 06/11/2024. 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 and/or education 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: applying advanced communication and analytical practices, methods and techniques, analytical methods and interpersonal relations practices; assessing public reaction and identifying extent of understanding achieved to evaluate effectiveness of information programs; explaining significant issues to generally responsive groups or individuals; providing representatives of the print and broadcast media, trade associations, and industrial representatives with timely and accurate explanations of agency policies and regulations; establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with local media representatives and community groups; integrating diverse points of view in a communication plan in establishing and maintaining mutual understanding with various agency publics; developing and applying new approaches to the most difficult and complex public affairs problems; planning, developing, and producing a variety of materials and publications (including print, visual, Web-based, multimedia, and video materials). You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Communications and MediaWeb TechnologyWriting 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: Assignments regularly involve extended periods of walking, standing, bending, and stooping to execute logistics for special events or to accompany media crews or other special groups. Incumbent is also required to regularly pick up loads of 15 pounds such as boxes of newspapers and other literature and to push carts of supplies. The work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts requiring normal safety precautions typical of office settings or commercial vehicles such as planes, trains, buses or automobiles. The work area is adequately lighted, heated and ventilated. However, work does occasionally require incumbent to be outdoors, as for special events, escort for media crews, or crisis communications. 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 VA Bedford Healthcare System 200 Springs Road Bedford, MA 01730 US
• Name: Molina Vantha
• Phone: 781 687 2000
• Email: [email protected]