This position is located in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research which performs an essential public health task by making sure that safe and effective drugs are available to improve the health of people in the United States. CDER regulates over the counter and prescription drugs, including biological therapeutics and generic drugs. The Office of Communications is a multi-faceted organization with responsibility for the overall communication efforts.

Duties

Serves as a Public Affairs Specialist responsible for the coordination of trade press media relations activities for assigned areas of responsibility. Conducts media training for Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) staff to improve subject matter expert interaction with reporters. Provides communications counsel and technical writing support to the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) super offices. Advises Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) staff and leadership on the potential public reaction to proposed policies and actions, and plans, organizes, and evaluates communication strategies, programs, and materials.

Requirements

• Citizenship Requirement: You must be a U.S. Citizen to be considered for this advertisement unless explicitly stated otherwise.
• Selective Service Registration: All applicants born male, on (or after) 12/31/1959, must be registered with the Selective Service System OR have an approved exemption. Visit www.SSS.gov for more info.
• FDA participates in e-Verify: All new hires must complete the I-9 form; this information will be processed through e-Verify to determine your employment eligibility. If a discrepancy arises, you must take affirmative steps to resolve the matter.
• Background Investigation Requirement: All employees must pass a security investigation. Failing to pass the background check may be grounds for removal or legal action. If hired, you may be subject to additional investigations at a later time.
• You must meet ALL requirements by the closing date of this announcement to be considered. Only education, experience, and qualifications attained by this date will be considered. You must continue to meet all requirements through the hiring process.
• Certification of Accuracy: All information concerning eligibility and qualification is subject to investigation and verification. False representation may be grounds for non-consideration, non-selection, or appropriate legal action.
• Direct Deposit: You will be required to have all federal salary payments electronically deposited into a bank account with a financial institution of your choice.
• Additional selections may be made from this vacancy, within the same geographical area, by other organizational elements from within FDA, through shared corporate recruiting activities.

Qualifications

The position of Public Affairs Specialist falls under the 1035 occupational series. To qualify for this position at grade GS-12, you must meet all requirements by 11:59 pm EST on 09/03/2024. Minimum Qualifications: Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. The specialized experience must demonstrate one year of full-time work experience, or the equivalent if part-time (for example, an employee working 20 hours per week for a 12-month period should be credited with 6 months of experience). Experience may have been obtained in either the federal service or its equivalent with state or local government, the private sector, or nongovernmental organizations. GS-12: You must have 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level in the Federal service which includes: experience working directly with reporters; developing and presenting informational material such as press releases to members of the trade press; developing recommendations for management to improve communication with the general public and specialized groups; providing media relations advice related to technical or scientific subjects. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, https://secure.login.gov/, select the Application Status link and then select the More Information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Be sure that any uploaded documents you provide in your application are free of document security or compression which might render the document unreadable by our system. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Qualifications are based on breadth/level of experience. In addition to describing duties performed, applicants must provide the exact dates of each period of employment (from MM/YY to MM/YY) and the number of hours worked per week if part time. As qualification determinations cannot be made when resumes do not include the required information, failure to provide this information may result in disqualification. Applicants are encouraged to use the USAJOBS Resume Builder to develop their federal resume. 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; religious; 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.

Education

NOTE: There is no education substitution for this position at the GS-12 grade level.

Contacts

• Address FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research 10903 New Hampshire Ave Silver Spring, MD 20993 US
• Name: FDA Applicant Help Desk
• Phone: 866-807-3742
• Email: [email protected]