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PUBLIC AFFAIRS SPECIALIST

Employer
USAJobs
Location
Langley AFB, Virginia
Closing date
Jan 19, 2021
Duties

Summary

Click on "Learn more about this agency" button below to view Eligibilities being considered and other IMPORTANT information.

The primary purpose of this position is to to carry out a wide range of public affairs assignments that include elements of media relations, social media, civic outreach, internal information, visual information, communication planning, contingency/crisis response. (CONT.)
Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

  • (CONT.) special event planning, security, policy review, and public affairs resource management in support of the mission and the commander's priorities.?(CONT.)
  • (CONT.) Modifies standard methods, evaluates the effectiveness of information, and adapts approaches in developing new informational materials aimed at enhancing the understanding of recipients.
  • Coordinates the planning and development of complex, high level public affairs assignments in support of commander's programs and priorities.
  • Researches, drafts, coordinates, produces, and reviews public affairs products such as news releases, talking points, fact sheets, news and feature articles (CONT.)
  • (CONT.) Web-based content, briefings, speeches and scripts, newsletters, photographs, videos, pod casts, and other materials.
  • Represents the office with a variety of installation and local governmental media, civic, service, and educational organizations.
  • Assists in the planning, organizing and carrying out the visual information program.


Travel Required

Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
11

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • U.S. Citizenship Required
  • Males must be registered for Selective Service, see www.sss.gov
  • PCS expenses ARE NOT authorized.
  • Recruitment incentives may/may not be authorized
  • This posn is subject to provisions of the DoD Priority Placement Program
  • Disclosure of Political Appointments
  • Work may occasionally require travel away from the normal duty station on military and/or commercial aircraft.
  • Performs periodic weekly 24 hour alert duty as the public affairs on call representative to answer news media and other inquiries after duty hours.
  • May be the public affairs point of contact during deployment with news media representatives to a forward operating location in the event of hostilities or a major wing deployment.
  • Must be able to obtain and maintain a Secret Clearance.
  • This is an Obligated Position in which an employee has return rights. Upon the employee's return, incumbent may be required to vacate this position.


Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the specialized experience requirements described in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions, Administration and Management Positions.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience at the next lower grade GS-09, or equivalent in other pay systems. Examples of specialized experience includes knowledge of concepts, principles, and practices of a public affairs program and written and oral communication principles, techniques, and analytical methods to perform a wide range of public affairs assignments to develop intercommunication between the agency and a variety of audiences; knowledge of the organization's operations and functions sufficient to communicate accurate information and modify standard methods and adapt approaches in the development of new information materials to meet organizational needs; knowledge of the concepts, principles, policies and practices of visual information activities, which may include illustrations, photography, presentations, television/motion picture production, and base cable access television; and skill in gathering, evaluating, and interpreting data to identify potential problems, arrive at valid conclusions, and offer meaningful recommendations and/or resolutions.

OR
EDUCATION:
Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. NOTE: You must submit a copy of transcripts.

OR
LL.M., if related. NOTE: You must submit a copy of transcripts.

OR
COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION:
A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. NOTE: You must submit a copy of transcripts.

FEDERAL TIME-IN-GRADE (TIG) REQUIREMENT FOR GENERAL SCHEDULE (GS) POSITIONS: Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-­grade requirements to be considered eligible. One year at the GS-09 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-11 level. TIG applies if you are in a current GS position or held a GS position within the previous 52 weeks. NOTE: Applicants applying as VEOA candidates who are current GS civil service employees or are prior GS civil service employees within the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:
1. Knowledge of concepts, principles, and practices of a public affairs program and written and oral communication principles, techniques, and analytical methods to perform a wide range of public affairs assignments to develop intercommunication between the agency and a variety of audiences.
2. Knowledge of the organization's operations and functions sufficient to communicate accurate information and modify standard methods and adapt approaches in the development of new information materials to meet organizational needs.
3. Knowledge of the concepts, principles, policies and practices of visual information activities, which may include illustrations, photography, presentations, television/motion picture production, and base cable access television.
4. Skill in gathering, evaluating, and interpreting data to identify potential problems, arrive at conclusions, and offer meaningful recommendations and/or resolutions.
5. Skill in working with people to establish and maintain effective working relationships with groups interested in or affected by public affairs programs or policies, and producing written information conveying complex information to public audiences with different levels of understanding.
6. Ability to plan and develop news stores, features, and quasi-technical articles.

PART-TIME OR UNPAID EXPERIENCE: Credit will be given for appropriate unpaid and or part-time work. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours per week.

VOLUNTEER WORK EXPERIENCE: Refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service Programs (i.e., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student and social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge and skills that can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education

IF USING EDUCATION TO QUALIFY: If position has a positive degree requirement or education forms the basis for qualifications, you MUST submit transcriptswith the application. Official transcripts are not required at the time of application; however, if position has a positive degree requirement, qualifying based on education alone or in combination with experience, transcripts must be verified prior to appointment. An accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education must accredit education. Click here to check accreditation.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. You must show proof the education credentials have been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education program. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying.

Additional information

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): For information on how to apply as an ICTAP eligible click here . To be well-qualified and exercise selection priority for this vacancy, displaced Federal employees must be rated well qualified or above for this position. You must submit a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location.

Employed Annuitants (Reemployed Annuitants): Applicants in receipt of an annuity based on civilian employment in the Federal Service are subject to the DoD Policy on The Employment of Annuitants. Click here for more information.

Current Federal Civilian employees may apply for temporary and term positions and if selected, a break in service of more than three (3) calendar days may be required prior to appointment to the position.

Temporary and Term Appointments: If you are selected for a temporary or term position in the competitive service, your appointment may be extended to the maximum period allowed by law without further competition.

120-Day Register: This announcement may result in a 120-day register that may be used to fill like vacancies for 120 days after the closing date. Applicants may be referred for consideration as vacancies occur.

Military Spouse Preference (MSP) Eligible: MSP applicants, if determined best qualified, must be selected at the full performance level and placed at the full performance level. You must include a completed copy of the Military Spouse PPP Self-Certification Checklist dated within 30 days along with the documents identified on the checklist to verify your eligibility for MSP. Click here to obtain a copy of the Military Spouse PPP Self-Certification Checklist.

Direct Deposit: All federal employees are required to have direct deposit.

If you have questions regarding this announcement and have hearing or speech difficulties click here .

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine your eligibility, qualifications, and quality ranking for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

The resume/documents you submit must support your responses to the online questionnaire. If your application contradicts or does not support your questionnaire responses, you will receive a rating of "not qualified" or "insufficient information" and you will not receive further consideration for this job.

For additional information on what to include in your resume, click here .

Applicants who meet the requirements for and apply as a non-competitive eligible that meet minimal qualifications and other requirements of this position, will be given consideration as a non-competitive candidate and will be referred unless blocked by an individual with priority/preference.

APPRAISALS/AWARDS: Hiring Managers use objective methods and consider previous performance appraisals and awards in the selection process. Current Federal Civilian employees should list any relevant performance related rating and/or awards in your resume.

Applicants who disqualify themselves will not be evaluated further.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Secret

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

The following documents are required and must be provided with your application. Applicants who do not submit required documentation to determine eligibility and qualifications will be eliminated from consideration. Other documents may be required based on the eligibility/eligibilities you are claiming. Click here to view the AF Civilian Employment Eligibility Guide and the required documents you must submit to substantiate the eligibilities you are claiming.
  • Online Application: Questionnaire
  • Resume: For qualification determinations your resume must contain hours worked per week (if part-time) and dates of employment (i.e., month/year to month/year or month/year to present). If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as insufficient and you will not receive consideration for this position. If you are a current Federal employee or previous Federal employee, provide your pay plan, series and grade, i.e. GS-0301-09. Current Federal Civilian Employees should list any relevant performance related rating (given within the last three years) and/or incentive awards in your resume. Do NOT include photographs (or links to social media such as LinkedIn ), inappropriate material, inappropriate content, nor personal information such as age, gender, religion, social security number, etc., on your resume. Your name MUST be included on your resume.
  • Transcripts/Registration/License: If qualifying on education/position requires education, you must submit copies of your transcripts and if required for the position, submit an active, current registration/license.
  • Veterans: If claiming VEOA, VRA or 30% Disabled Veteran - Submit VOW certification memo or copy of the official DD-Form 214, which must include the character of service (i.e., with an honorable or general discharge). This will be annotated in block 24 on member copy 2, 4, or 7 of the DD-Form 214. If claiming 30% Disabled Veteran, you must also submit a VA Letter or a disability determination from a branch of the Armed Forces. NOTE: All veterans claiming 10-point preference must also submit a SF-15 .
  • Current or Former Federal Civilian Employees (includes current Air Force employees): You must submit a legible copy of your most recent SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action . The SF-50, block 24 must contain "1" or "2" AND block 34 must be a "1". Employees eligible under an OPM approved interchange agreement , block 34 may contain a "1" or "2".
  • Promotion Consideration: If you wish to be considered as a promotion candidate and your SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you meet the one-year time-in-grade requirements. You will need to provide additional SF-50s which clearly demonstrates you meet the time-in-grade requirements (examples of appropriate SF-50s include Promotions, Within-Grade, Grade/Range Increases, and SF-50s with an effective date more than one year old).
  • ACTIVE DUTY SERVICE MEMBERS: The VOW Act requires federal agencies to treat an eligible active duty service member as a veteran, disabled veteran, and preference eligible (as applicable) when applying for civil service positions before the effective release or discharge date. Appointment of military members before the release or discharge date is permissible if the member is on terminal leave. At the time the active duty member applies for a civil position, he or she must submit a "certification" memo in lieu of a DD-Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty . Active duty members applying for a civil service position without submitting a valid certification memo or DD-Form 214 with their application will render the member ineligible for the position. The certification memo must originate from the member's military service branch on official letterhead and contain the following:
    • Name/Rank/Grade of Service Member
    • Branch of Armed Forces
    • Dates of Active Service (Start and End Date(s)
    • Expected Date of Discharge/Release from Active Duty
    • Terminal leave start date (if applicable)
    • Expected character of service/discharge and type of separation (i.e. separation or retirement)
    • Must be certified within 120 days of anticipated discharge
    • Signature by, or by direction of the adjutant, personnel office, unit commander, or higher headquarters commander.
    Note: The VOW Act provides tentative preference. If appointed, a DD Form-214 must be submitted upon receipt.

    OPTIONAL DOCUMENTS:
    Performance Appraisals for Current Federal Civilian Employees
    - Most recent performance appraisals (dated within last 3 years) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable.
    Awards for Current Federal Civilian employees - List any awards received within the last 3 years on the resume.
    Note: Applicant must not submit award SF50s-Notification of Personnel Actions (SF50s).

    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.

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