Duties

Summary

NEH is an independent grant-making agency of the government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities.

The incumbent serves in the position of Public Affairs Specialist in the Office of Communications and provides a wide range of communication assistance, including marketing, media relations, public outreach, research, writing, and special projects necessary for the accomplishment of the agency's mission.
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Responsibilities

Marketing and Promotion : The incumbent aids the Director of Communications and the Senior Public Affairs Specialist in promoting the mission, activities, and image of the agency to various audiences. Incumbent will assist the Director in developing special events, promotional materials, outreach to new audiences, and other initiatives that advance the work of the agency.

Media Relations : The incumbent assists the Director of Communications and the Senior Public Affairs Specialist in the media relations for the agency. Duties include pitching story ideas to reporters, using media databases to monitor, analyze and evaluate media coverage, drafting press releases, speeches and talking points, and briefing the Chairman for events and interviews.

Online Communications : The incumbent assists the Director of Communications and the Senior Public Affairs Specialist in the development, creation, and management of electronic communications tools, including websites, email alerts, and web-streaming activities for events.

General Duties and Special Projects : The incumbent performs special projects and tasks for the Director of Communications and the Senior Public Affairs Specialist, such as assisting in creating strategic plans, project director's presentations, managing agency initiatives, working with outside vendors and stakeholders, and overseeing projects deemed a priority by the agency's senior staff. The duties require independence, discretion, self-motivation, and considerable competence at communicating well both in writing and speaking.

Performs additional duties as assigned.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
12

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. Citizen
• Relevant experience and/or education
• Favorable background investigation
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with the Selective Service

Qualifications

At the GS-12 level Qualified candidates must possess:
1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level or equivalent experience.

Specialized experience is experience which is directly related to the line of work of the position to be filled and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position, for example: experience in promotion of the mission, activities, and image of the organization to various audiences; experience with writing and research for communications material; experience with pitching story ideas to the reporters; experience with developing strategies, messages, and designs for websites; experience with arranging interviews, news briefings, media conferences, and other meetings with other audiences.

As part of the online application process you will need to respond to a series of questions designed to assess your possession of the following knowledge, skills, abilities, and/or competencies:

• Communications and Media
• Oral Communication
• Writing

Education

Additional information

1. If you are an eligible Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) applicant you may apply for special selection over other candidates for this position. To be well-qualified and exercise selection priority for this vacancy, displaced Federal employees must be rated at 85 or above on the rating criteria for this position. ICTAP eligibles must submit one of the following as proof of eligibility for the special selection priority: a separation notice; a "Notice of Personnel Action" (SF-50) documenting separation; an agency certification that you cannot be placed after injury compensation has been terminated; an OPM notification that your disability annuity has been terminated; OR a Military Department or National Guard Bureau notification that you are retired under 5 U.S.C. 8337(h) or 8456.

2. If you are a veteran with preference eligibility and you are claiming 5-point veterans' preference, you must attach a copy of your DD-214 or other proof of eligibility. If you are claiming 10-point veterans' preference, you must attach an SF-15, "Application for 10-Point Veterans' Preference" plus the proof required by that form.

3. If you are a male applicant who was born after 12/31/59 and are required to register under the Military Selective Service Act, the Defense Authorization Act of 1986 requires that you be registered or you are not eligible for appointment in this agency.

4. You can apply for a non-competitive appointment if you meet the basic eligibility requirements and you are eligible for special appointment such as those authorized for the severely disabled; certain Vietnam era and disabled veterans; returned volunteers from the Peace Corps or Vista, etc. Please indicate the type of special appointment you are seeking, if any, on your application and follow all other instructions for applying shown in this announcement.

5. All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review in our office, in other Federal agency personnel offices, and on OPM's web site at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications.

6. This position may require completion of a 1-year probationary period.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Your application will be evaluated and rated under the Category Rating and Selection Procedures. We will review your resume and supporting documentation and compare this information to your responses on the occupational questionnaire to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for this position. You will be further evaluated against job-related criteria and placed in one of three pre-defined categories:

• Best Category - Meets the basic qualification requirements for the vacancy announcement and has successful experience in the same or similar job that has demonstrated outstanding proficiency in applying knowledge, skill, and ability in the critical competencies for this position.
• Better Category - Meets the basic qualification requirements for the vacancy announcement and demonstrates proficiency in the critical competencies for this position.
• Qualified Category - Meets the specialized experience outlined in the minimum qualifications requirements section of the vacancy announcement.

Application of Veterans' Preference

* The Category Rating process does not add veterans' preference points or apply the "rule of three" but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category.

* Preference eligibles who meet MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS and the SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-9 grade level or higher.

Any exaggeration of an applicant's experience, false statements, or attempts to conceal information may be grounds for rating an applicant ineligible, not hiring the applicant, or for termination after he/she begins work. If a determination is made that in responding to the competency-based question an applicant has rated themselves higher than is evident in their resume, experience, and/or education, the applicant's score may be manually adjusted by a Human Resource Specialist.

INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS will receive a rating of IFM (ineligible due to missing forms). Requests for reconsideration will not be considered for applicants who fail to submit a complete application package. We cannot be held responsible for incompatible software, fax transmissions, etc.

Only send documentation as requested/required by this announcement and that directly supports your qualifications for this position.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Not Required

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

All applicants are required to submit the following supporting document type(s):

• Resume

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.