This position is assigned to the Office of the Director, Northport VA Medical Center, Northport, NY. The VHA public information program involves the presentation of the Medical Center mission, services and activities to the staff, volunteers, members of the media, general public, veterans, local, state and federal officials and community groups in ways that most effectively achieve the VHA's goals while contributing to understanding and support of the Medical Center's caring for veterans.

Duties

Some of the duties include, but are not limited to: Assists in the evaluation of an effective public affairs/public relations program in a health care environment. Advises management on all issues relating to community awareness and public information regarding the facility, especially regarding sensitive media issues. Designs various publications and video programs for the facility or organization, such as employee and patient newsletters, various orientation and information videos, and program specific brochures. Develops information initiatives for employees, such as special employee bulletin boards, photo displays, participation in new employee orientations, and preparation of pamphlets, booklets and fact sheets. Provides tours of the various facilities within the health care system for visiting dignitaries, veteran service organization members and officials, and other health care representatives. Writes speeches for the facility director and other key management officials for special events, community programs and patient activities. Plans work to be accomplished by subordinates, sets and adjusts short term priorities and prepares schedules for completion of work. Serves as a liaison with the public affairs staffs of related health/education organizations, services, civic and fraternal organizations on behalf of the medical center. Work Schedule: Monday- Friday 8:00am- 4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Public Affairs Specialist/PD20F97-O

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/02/2025. 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-12, position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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 as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Overseeing day-to-day public affairs activities; overseeing staff in the performance of public affairs activities; developing and producing a range of informational materials and publications using a variety of communication techniques and methods (blogging, Facebook, Twitter, webpage design, construction, content management, and maintenance); developing and implementing public affairs policies and procedures; serving as a spokesperson for the facility; advising leadership on the development of communication plans and strategies; and communicating with media outlets and the general public. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: CommunicationCreativity and InnovationLeadershipPublic Planning 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: Work is generally sedentary with walking required during visits and tours of the Medical Center. Flexibility is required to accommodate events and activities occurring in other than normal duty hours. Mobility is required in terms of staging and assisting staff with equipment and other required materials. 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.

Contacts

• Address Northport VA Medical Center 79 Middleville Road Building 200 Northport, NY 11768 US
• Name: Yaneth Ferrer
• Phone: 718-584-9000 X6569
• Email: [email protected]