The incumbent serves as the Communications Officer for the VISN, one of 18 Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs) within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). The Communications Officer reports to the VISN Director and, as the official responsible for internal and external communications, serves as a core member of the Network leadership team. Responsibilities of the position include program management, supervision, advisory/problem resolution, and communication liaison.

Duties

Major Duties: Applies solid public relations, media and health administration skills to ensure that resources are utilized effectively and efficiently to market, provide information and promote VA's high-quality care that exceeds community and national standards and industry best practices. Provides oversight for the public affairs and communications program within the Network. The incumbent has responsibility for primary planning, designing, and executing a program to inform and educate the general and special publics about the organization's programs, activities and services. Actively participates at the senior management level within the Network in overall planning and Network management activities. Works with public affairs staff in component facilities to assure effective management of staff assets. Develops and disseminates management reports, provides public relations and consumer affairs system oversight for the Network office and all Network component sites, and oversees development and maintenance of a public relations/communications training and performance measure information system. Responsible for coordinating and monitoring consumer affairs activities with non-VA governmental entities at local, state, and national levels. Facilitates communication with external and internal stakeholders and monitors the critical elements of Network public relations performance. As various programs are developed, introduced and/or administered by the Network, the incumbent plans, initiates, and implements comprehensive campaigns to enhance the understanding of the Network and agency programs among the general public and specialized groups and organizations. The Communications Officer ensures information is accurate, concise and consistent throughout the Network. Develops strategies and approaches to inform and educate employees, visitors, citizens, elected officials, educational institutions, media, interest groups and others to promote understanding and to minimize adverse reactions for VA policies, programs and decisions. Discusses with and advises the Network leadership and staff of the appropriateness and effectiveness of specific spokespersons for program and subject areas. Has direct supervisory authority and provides technical support and administrative supervision to the two VISN Public Affairs Specialists, GS-0135-12. Ensure that agency policies and priorities are being followed, develops performance standards, and evaluates work performance of subordinates. Performs all other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm 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#: Supervisory Public Affairs Specialist/PD250010 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/12/2024. 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-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 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-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: Establishing and maintaining contacts with media outlets, legislative offices, service organizations, health care affiliates and community partners; advising and making recommendations to leadership regarding the handling of media/community issues and/or concerns; evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of public information programs; planning, developing, and producing materials and publications including print, visual, web-based, multimedia, and video materials to convey information to a variety of stakeholders; develops and utilizes a variety of methods and techniques to achieve communication goals; coordinating, planning, and providing expertise on implementation of a variety of events. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and ManagementCommunications and MediaLeadershipMultimedia TechnologiesOrganizational Performance Analysis 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: This position may require that the incumbent travel a moderate amount of time, both inside and outside of the Network. 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 VISN 5 VA Capitol Health Care Network 849 International Drive, Suite 275 Linthicum, MD 21090 US
• Name: Carrie Trenary
• Phone: 304-268-7780
• Email: [email protected]