The position is located at the VA San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS) in the Office of the Director. It is an integral member of the Public Affairs Teams working collaboratively with VASDHS Leadership and communicating with Veterans, the public, community stakeholders, the media, and internal to VASDHS. The position builds networks, creates media plans, develops news stories, composes scripts, organizes special events, and acts as a liaison for VASHDS

Duties

Major duties include, but are not limited to: Evaluates and advises management officials on specific courses of action to follow in making public announcements, particularly on policy statements which inform the public on medical facility positions. Cultivates and maintains contacts with institutions, state and city officials, community organizations, industry, and other centers of influence to improve the public's understanding and awareness of medical facility activities. Analyzes and evaluates comments, proposals, or suggestions in the local community, among employees, and in the media outlets in developing recommendations for management concerning the medical facility's impact in the community. Initiates and prepares responses to inquiries from interested groups and the general public concerning policies and activities of the medical facility public involvement program. Establishes cooperative working relationships with the local media; writes and disseminates news releases and feature articles regarding the medical facility mission, functions, programs, and policies to print and broadcast media representatives. Organizes and coordinates print and broadcast media interviews with staff members; and oversees all arrangements with the media involving medical facility activities. Prepares scripts, audio-visual materials, and brochures for ceremonies, presentations, briefings, and orientations. Develops public affairs action plans. Identifies items for information dissemination based on knowledge of medical facility mission and the recognized need for public or internal knowledge of the purposes and backgrounds of facility programs. Arranges for special events to include group tours, special visitors, facility activities, community outreach, and community events. Provides photography and videography support to including taking photographs, filming videos, and editing products. Work Schedule: 7:30am -4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized 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 Ad HOC telework. Ad HOC Telework eligibility may be discussed during the interview process. Position Description/PD#: Public Affairs Specialist/PD09890O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized 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, 12/09/2024. 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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. 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 s described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: coordinates the development and implementation of social media engagement strategies, policies and plans; tracks, measures and analyzes social media performance goals; and establishes and maintains proactive contacts with media outlets, legislative offices, Veteran service organizations, and health care affiliates. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree OR 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, OR an LL.M. if related. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond graduate level education (more than a master's or equivalent graduate degree or more than 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B or J.D, if related) and experience (less than one year equivalent to the GS-9 level or pay band in the Federal Service), which may be used to meet total qualification requirements for this position.. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Communications and MediaMultimedia TechnologiesPlanning and Evaluating 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: Primarily sedentary. There may be times when you will lift items up to 50 pounds and walk to various locations in support of Public Affairs activities. 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

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

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 San Diego VA Medical Center 3350 La Jolla Village Drive San Diego, CA 92161 US
• Name: Megan Blanchard
• Phone: 210-992-6210
• Email: [email protected]