This position is part of Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), State Public Affairs Officer's (SPAO) staff.. The incumbent will serve as a Public Affairs Specialist staff working closely with Nevada NRCS leadership, the Nevada Outreach Team, Program Managers, Field Office staffs, Conservation Partners, local congressional representatives and others. Incumbent's duty station will be located in the NRCS State office.

Duties

Composes, provides guidance, and reviews a variety of media and information sharing products such as reports, presentations, photography, feature stories, videos etc. Organizes and coordinates print and broadcast media interviews with NRCS personnel and oversees arrangements with the media involving NRCS activities. Provides technical and administrative recommendations to improve conservation program delivery, program quality, and availability to farmers, ranchers, and Tribes. Provides recommendations to establish and maintain open lines of communication between agricultural and conservation organizations. Establishes and maintains positive working relationships with other federal, state, and local agencies, and private organizations on resource issues relating to underserved audiences.

Requirements

• You must be a US Citizen or US National.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
• Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check. If selected you will be sent instructions on obtaining fingerprints. Please note we are not able to reimburse any fees incurred for fingerprints.
• Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served.
• Subject to one-year supervisory/managerial probationary period unless prior service is creditable. New USDA supervisors must successfully complete all components of the required training program before the end of their probationary period.
• Direct Deposit--Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit E-Verify at https://www.e-verify.gov/.
• Must possess and maintain a valid state motor vehicle operator's license for the type of vehicle(s) operated to perform the duties of this position.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined below?. AREA OF CONSIDERATION: Please note that this job opportunity announcement is only open to current Career/Career-Conditional employees of the USDA. If you do not possess this status, you will not receive consideration. TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENTS: Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. (Please submit your SF-50 that shows Time-in-Grade eligibility and reflects your title, series, and grade. No Award or General Adjustment SF-50's will be accepted). Time-in-grade requirements also apply to VEOA applicants having held a GS position in the past year. See addition information. One year at the GS-09 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-11 level. One year at the GS-11 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-12 level. Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: To be considered minimally qualified for this position, you must demonstrate that you have the required specialized experience and/or education for the respective grade level in which you are applying: GS-11Specialized Experience: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties: Utilizing oral and written communication principles, practices, techniques, and methods to distribute public information or internal information to internal and external audiences; Assist wtih preparing a variety of articles, feature stories, and news releases to convey information and clarify organizational operations, programs, and activities; Present to various internal and external groups in order to inform them of programs, objectives, and organizational activities; and Utilizing programs such as Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator; Microsoft PowerPoint; desktop publishing; or similar software to create brochures, information materials, edit photographs, and develop other products. OR Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in Public Affairs, Public Relations, Marketing, Journalism, or other directly related degree. OR Combination: Combination of the specialized experience and graduate education described above that when combined totals 100 percent. First, determine your total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determine your education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then add the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. Only graduate education in excess of two years (36 semester hours) may be used to qualify applicants for positions at the GS-11. GS-12Specialized Experience: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties: Utilizing oral and written communication principles, practices, techniques, and methods to distribute public information or internal information to internal and external audiences; Preparing a variety of articles, feature stories, and news releases to convey information and clarify organizational operations, programs, and activities; Training staff in conducting public involvement meetings to elicit public input among various concerned publics; or conducting workshops with schools, non-profits, state and local agencies, or cooperators to stimulate interest in programs and activities; Utilizing programs such as Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator; Microsoft PowerPoint; desktop publishing; or similar software to create brochures, information materials, edit photographs, and develop other products; and Assessing public reaction and understanding to evaluate effectiveness of information programs. (Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience) There is no education substitution at the GS-12 grade level. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). 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 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

You must submit a copy of your college transcripts or a list of college courses with credit hours, dates completed, and grades received to verify all education requirements (i.e. substitution of education and/or basic education requirement). If a relevant course is not clearly qualifying (e.g. special topic, seminar, research, thesis, obscure or misleading course title, etc.), please submit an official course syllabi and/or detailed course description from the university/college for that particular course to ensure you are properly evaluated. Please note that qualifications determinations are based solely on the information submitted for each particular vacancy announcement. You must document all requirements on every vacancy; we cannot use previous determinations as a basis for rating. All required information must be received by the closing date of this announcement, and non-submission of all required documents/documentation will result in non-consideration. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted. This information must be received by the closing date of this announcement. Non-submission of these documents will result in non-consideration.

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Applicants must, therefore, only report attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation via this link. All education claimed by applicants will be verified accordingly. Important: 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. Please check out the following link for more information Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov)

Contacts

• Address Natural Resources Conservation Service 1400 Independence Ave SW Washington, DC 20250 US
• Name: Midwest Services Branch
• Phone: 8164265706
• Email: [email protected]