This position is located within the Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Office of International Affairs, Trade, and Commerce (OITAC), with two (2) vacancies located in Silver Spring, MD. This position is also announced under vacancy number NMFS-25-12640319-ST, which is open to Status Candidates. You must apply to both announcements if you want to be considered for both.

Duties

As a Communications Specialist, you will perform the following duties: Plan, develop, and execute communications programs and activities that inform appropriate internal and external target audiences of the office's accomplishments and activities. Create and maintain products in support of office priorities, including writing, editing, and reviewing office communications products to appear in publications, reports, brochures, speeches, web content, rollouts, and social media. Oversee the development, execution, and dissemination of various new in-reach and outreach products, both print and digital, concerning the mission, programs, actions, and accomplishments of the Office of International Affairs, Trade, and Commerce. Manage the office's communications product development to ensure quality and consistency of messaging. Serve as a liaison between the office and line office communications staff to ensure office goals align with broader agency goals. Build effective internal and external partnerships to advance office communications priorities by participating in and representing the office in National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) communications efforts and workgroups. Develop and recommend communication and outreach policies for the office to align with department and agency-level policies. Develop and coordinate key messages for office and NMFS leadership to use externally with partners and the public by defining communications objectives and key messages of office programs and issues and delivering those messages to appropriate audiences, including, but not limited to, Congress, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) leadership, industry, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and the general public. NOTE: These duties are described at the full performance level of the ZA-4; the ZA-3 is developmental leading to such performance.

Requirements

Qualifications

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy EDUCATION: There is no positive education requirement for this position. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government. 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. To qualify at the ZA-3 or GS-11 level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZA-2 or GS-09 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following: Executing communication and stakeholder or public engagement outreach activities for an organization; Participating in communication working groups, projects or initiatives; and Constructing and publishing news stories and audience appropriate content across a range of communication mediums (e.g. print and online news media, websites, social media). OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related. OR COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: A combination of education and experience equivalent to that described above. Note: Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for the GS-11. To qualify at the ZA-4 or GS-13 level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZA-3 or GS-12 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following: Coordinating or managing communication initiatives or programs, public engagement, and outreach activities for an organization; Developing and executing communication strategies for an organization; Spearheading working groups, projects or initiatives to cultivate communication strategies; and Constructing and publishing news stories, senior leadership briefings, and audience appropriate content across a range of communication mediums (e.g. print and online news media, websites, social media, scientific papers, policy papers, briefings, etc.).

Education

College Transcript: If you are qualifying based on education, submit a copy of your college transcript that lists college courses detailing each course by the number and department (i.e., Bio 101, Math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours and grade earned. You must submit evidence that any education completed in a foreign institution is equivalent to U.S. education standards with your resume. You may submit an unofficial copy of the transcript at the initial phase of the application process. If course content cannot be easily identified from the title of the course as listed on your transcript, you must submit an official course description from the college/university that reflects the content at the time the course was taken.

Note: Your college transcript is used to verify successful completion of degree, or college course work. An official college transcript will be required before you can report to duty.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education's website. You MUST provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing along with your application. Failure to provide such documentation by the closing date of the announcement will result in lost consideration. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated visit: OPM Foreign Education Evaluation

Contacts

• Address NOAA Office of Human Capital Services (OHCS) 1315 East West Hwy SSMC4 Silver Spring, MD 20910 US
• Name: Applicant Inquiries
• Email: [email protected]