Duties

Summary

This is a Work at Home (WAH) position working in and around the Baltimore, MD area. The Duty Station will be the selectee's home address.

In order to be considered, applicants MUST RESIDE in the following city/counties in Maryland: Baltimore, Anne Arundel Co, Baltimore City Co, Calvert Co, Charles Co, Howard Co, Montgomery Co, and/or Prince George's Co.

Relocation will not be paid.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

The individual selected for this position will:

• Establish partnerships with local affiliates of national media organizations, placing a high emphasis on building and solidifying partnerships with news media.
• Ensure that partnership agreements with media outlets are monitored and nurtured and that the commitments are carried out and fulfilled by media partners. This includes addressing questions and concerns, resolving problems, and renegotiating partnerships as needed.
• Work independently and with teams to plan and implement communications outreach.
• Arrange editorial board meetings and participating in local and regional journalism conferences and conventions.
• Distribute video and audio news releases linked to key operations conducted over the course of the census (e.g., the communications campaign, recruitment, questionnaire delivery and mail-back, among others).
• Coordinate all external media inquiries, requests and accesses to Census events and develop creative ways to keep the public informed and updated on the locations and hours of Census operations.
• Write and edit technical information about statistics and federal programs into clear, concise text for media, the public and/or internal audiences.

Travel Required

50% or less - Position requires approximately 25% local and 25% overnight travel.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
12

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. citizen.
• Suitability/background investigation for Federal employment
• Registered with Selective Service, if a male born after 12/31/59.
• Must be 18 years or older to be hired.
• A trial period may be required
• This is a Non-Bargaining unit position.

Applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Qualifications

Applicants are responsible for ensuring that the application submitted clearly indicates that they meet the qualifications listed below. To be eligible for this position, you must have the specialized experience, education, or a combination as indicated below.

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.

Specialized experience or education sought for these positions include:

GG-0301-09

EXPERIENCE: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the grade 07 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is work experience coordinating and assisting with conducting media interviews and press conferences; participating in media events by scheduling and securing media support; and coordinating external media inquiries, requests, and access to events.

OR

EDUCATION : Master's or equivalent graduate degree OR Two full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree OR LL.B. OR J.D., if related. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work, for example, knowledge of broadcast journalism; print journalism; creative writing; public administration; advertising; composition; mass communication or mass media; public relations techniques; or radio, television, and film production.

GG-0301-11

EXPERIENCE: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the grade 09 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is work experience conducting media interviews and press conferences; developing creative ways to keep the public informed; developing and maintaining databases; and providing media training to management staff.

OR

EDUCATION : PH.D. or equivalent doctoral degree OR three full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree OR LL.M., if related. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work, for example, knowledge of speech communication; broadcast journalism; creative writing; public administration; advertising; mass communication or mass media; public relations techniques; or radio, television, and film production.

GG-0301-12

EXPERIENCE: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the grade 11 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is work experience implementing media strategies; working with a variety of media outlets such as television, radio, newspapers, and journals to establish partnerships; addressing questions and concerns, resolving problems, and renegotiating partnerships; writing and editing technical materials for public and/or internal audiences.

OR

EDUCATION : No substitution of education for experience is permitted.

Education

Additional information

The following links provide information on various hiring authorities that may enable you to apply through merit assignment procedures or be eligible for a non-competitive appointment.

• VRA
• 30% or more disabled veteran
• Persons with disabilities

The Department of Commerce provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the Human Resources Office at (301) 763-4060. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be on a case-by-case basis.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your resume, optional cover letter and supporting documentation will be reviewed to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for the position. If you meet the minimum qualifications stated in the job opportunity announcement, we will compare your resume, optional cover letter and supporting documentation to your responses on the scored occupational questionnaire (True/False, Yes/No, Multiple Choice questions) and place you in one of three pre-defined categories. These categories are "gold," "silver," and "bronze." Your resume and/or optional cover letter must support your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire, or your score may be lowered. Candidates placed in the "gold" category will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be invited for an interview.

How you will be evaluated for preference eligibility: Within each category, those entitled to veterans' preference will be listed at the top of the pre-defined category for which they are placed. Preference eligibles with a service-connected disability of 10% or more will be listed at the top of the highest quality category (gold). The scored occupational questionnaire will evaluate you on the following competencies; please do not provide a separate written response.

The following competencies are desirable at the full performance level of this position (FPL 12):

Skill in seeking commitments for collaborative efforts; obtaining resources to support organizational projects; working with volunteers; and initiating and maintaining relationships with media outlets such as television, radio, newspapers, and journals.

Knowledge of public speaking principles.

Skill in using software and other communication tools.

Knowledge of how print, radio and television, social media and other forms of media outlets are structured and how they function.

Ability to develop audio-visual, multi-media presentations.

Knowledge on how to develop on-line presentations using PowerPoint or comparable presentation software as well as desktop publishing software in the development of media materials.

Ability to write, proofread and edit information into clear, concise text for the public, following agency style and requirements with minimal editing required.

For more information on category rating, please go to: http://www.hr.commerce.gov/s/groups/public/@doc/@cfoasa/@ohrm/documents/content/prod 01_009474.pdf

We recommend that you preview the online questions for this announcement before you start the application process.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

A complete application consists of the following :

• Resume showing relevant experience; cover letter optional. Your resume should list your educational and work experience including the dates (mm/dd/yy) of each employment along with the number of hours worked per week. For work in the Federal service, please include the grade level for the position(s). Your resume may be used to validate your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire. Your resume should also indicate your citizenship and, if you are registered with the Selective Service System, if you are a male born after 12/31/59.
• Your medical documentation should distinguish between disabilities that are temporary or transient versus disabilities, which are chronic, permanent, on-going, or unresolved with no end in sight.
• Veterans' Preference Documentation: Please indicate on your resume the type of veterans' preference you are claiming and provide the appropriate supporting documentation (DD-214, Member 4 copy, stating disposition of discharge or character of service; Veteran's Administration letter, SF-15, etc.) to validate your claim. For more information regarding eligibility requirements, please go to Fedshirevets
• Education Documentation: If this position requires proof of higher education or you are substituting education for experience, you must submit an unofficial transcript or a list of courses that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. This also includes Census Bureau employees. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. Please refer to OPM Education Definitions for more information.

You are not required to submit official documents at this time; copies are sufficient. Education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary

NOTE: You will not be considered if you fail to provide all required, applicable documents.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements: You MUST submit a copy of your transcript, if you want to substitute your education for experience. If you claim qualifications based on education and do not submit a transcript, your education will not be used in making a qualification determination and you may be found "not qualified."

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. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from the Department of Education's website DOE .

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Qualifying education from colleges and universities in foreign countries 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 DOE . 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 when requested will result in lost consideration.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

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. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.