Duties

Summary

As a Communications Designer on The Lab at OPM's team, you will be working on a range of projects as part of The Lab at OPM's portfolio. We will rely on your aptitude for strategic written and verbal communication, storytelling and creative content production across a spectrum of media and current tools.
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Responsibilities

• Contribute as part of a multi-disciplinary team comprised of subject matter experts, service designers, visual designers, content strategists, and more under tight timelines
• Craft inspiring, intellectually stimulating and emotionally resonant stories about the role and impact of design in the federal government
• Serve as lead communications designer and editor for Lab program and project-related communications to ensure a consistent voice and tone that effectively engages different audiences
• Work collaboratively with team to capture project narratives
• Determine how media (including photography, video, and infographics) will be used in support of a variety of communication channels and to meet a diverse storytelling needs
• Recommend innovative approaches and techniques for communication to a variety of stakeholders
• Incorporate communication strategies and materials into project-based work to improve the experiences stakeholders have with federal products and services
• Guide the creation of designs that express a unified identity across all touchpoints of a citizen's and/or federal employee's experience with a product, service, or program
• Work closely with leaders at federal agencies to support their understanding of design communications and storytelling
• Use excellent presentation and communication skills to convey the Lab's goals and the value and impact of the Lab's work to a variety of audiences

Travel Required

Occasional travel - While the level of travel may vary, this role may require up to 25% time spent on travel.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
14

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Must be a U. S. Citizen
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service
• Suitable for Federal employment, determined by a background investigation
• May be required to successfully complete a probationary period
• To qualify for this position, applicants must possess all requirements outlined in the 'Qualifications' section of the announcement.
• All Fellows must participate in The Lab at OPM's Onboarding, which takes place during the Fellow's first week of employment.
• Must attend at least one of two types of networking events each quarter (if scheduled) to give Fellows the opportunity to learn about recent advances in design in government, and to build networks of public sector innovators and designers.
• During the Fellowship, Fellows must recuse themselves from matters that might directly and predictably affect the financial interests of their employers.
• Must comply with other Federal ethics regulations.
• May be required to submit a financial disclosure form and receive an ethics briefing prior to or upon serving.

Qualifications

Relevant Experience: Candidates should have a strong combination of the following:

• A track record of successfully contributing as member of multidisciplinary teams
• Experience working on complex, long-term design projects (projects lasting several months or more, rather than projects that were a few days or weeks in duration)
• Strong verbal and visual presentation skills that convey information with clarity, purpose and simplicity
• An understanding and appreciation for the value of design and brand within an organizational context
• An ability to weigh in on design decisions with an understanding of strategic goals, ensuring the work has its intended impact
• Experience working on content strategy and information architecture projects

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION CRITERIA
To be considered for this position, candidates must possess ALL qualifications listed below:

Human Innovation Fellows (HIF) Program Eligibility: Applicants (1) cannot be a current U.S. Federal Government employee, and (2) must have at least five years of relevant professional experience in the field as explained above. (Time spent as a student in a full-time academic program cannot be substituted for any of the required 5 years of professional experience.)

***Minimum Qualifications: Applicants must be able to demonstrate the ability to lead and manage teams as well as contribute to projects as a practitioner of Human-Centered Design (HCD) conducting the following duties:

Providing HCD services to external customers through project-based work.

Contributing as an expert designer on teams comprised of expert designers working on multiple design projects.

Designing communication products as part of complex, long-term projects lasting several months or more (rather than several days or weeks).

Developing communication strategies and products that span multiple mediums such as such as print publications, digital products and environments.

You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

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.

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

OPM will not provide relocation expenses, nor will it provide or fund accommodations in the duty station during the Fellowship.

Candidates may be considered for other roles within The Lab even if you do not formally submit an application for the other roles we are seeking to fill under the Human Innovation Fellows Program, i.e., if you apply as a Communications Designer (Management and Program Analyst) but we see potential for the Visual Designer (Management and Program Analyst) role, and vice versa, we will consider you for that position based on our own assessment.

To address questions about the application process and requirements, The Lab will offer several optional "office hours" phone calls during the application period for this position. More details about the timing of those calls and how to participate can be found here:

https://www.eventbrite.com/o/the-lab-at-opm-28032810615

The full performance level of this position is GS-14.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document that you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application: http://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Alternate_Application_Information

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional similar vacancies across OPM.

If you are a veteran and you are claiming 5-point veterans' preference, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 or other proof of eligibility.

If you are a veteran and you are claiming 10-point veterans' preference, you must also submit an SF-15, "Application for 10-Point Veterans' Preference" plus the proof required by that form. For more information on veterans' preference (see http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/index.aspx .)

Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see http ://www.sss.gov/RegVer/wfRegistration.aspx ).

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Applicants will enter a multi-hurdle process involving the following steps:

Once the initial application process is complete, a review of your application package will be conducted to determine eligibility for the Human Innovation Fellows (HIF) Program is met.

Applicants determined to be eligible for the HIF Program will have their resume and previous work portfolio reviewed in detail to confirm the minimum qualifications and selective placement factor are met.

Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications criteria will be considered for the Communications Designer (Management and Program Analyst) position.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Not Required

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

Your Resume showing work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment and duties performed.

Previous Work Portfolio is required. The items in the portfolio should not be created specifically for this application. This portfolio must be a sample of previous work that demonstrates experience related to the requirements of this position. It must be a collection of at least 3 previous work samples representing various types of projects where you demonstrated multiple aspects of the required experience. This must be provided as either an attached PDF in the Documents section in your application or as a link to a portfolio website in the space provided in the assessment questionnaire (e.g., in the space provided in item 6).

Other supporting documents:

• Cover Letter, optional
• Veterans' Preference documentation, if applicable (e.g. DD-214 Member Copy 4 showing type of discharge/character of service; Current Active Duty members must submit a certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions dated within 120 days; SF-15 Form and related documentation; VA letter.)

Failure to submit any of the above mentioned required documents may result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.