Duties

Summary

This position is located in the Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Healthcare Systems Bureau, Division of Transplantation. The duty location for this position is in Rockville, MD.

**Applicants please note: Additional selections may be made across the Department of Health and Human Services through this vacancy announcement.**
Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

Major Duties

As a Heath Communications Specialist, you will plan, implement, and evaluate a variety of health communication and marketing activities designed to impact positive health outcomes.

Your major duties and responsibilities include:

• Supporting the health communication and information dissemination efforts for assigned programs.
• Developing communication products such as fact sheets, press releases, questions and answers, program summaries, content for websites, and other digital communication products for a variety of audiences to include grantees and stakeholders.
• Coordinating and developing long-and short-range communication plans for health communication and marketing activities and campaigns.
• Developing messages and materials that are valid and consistent with program objectives and are based on communication and marketing best practices and principles.

NOTE: Do not cut and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel up to 5% for this position.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
12

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• U. S. Citizenship is required.
• All qualification requirements and time-in-grade must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Federal applicants must submit an SF-50 to show status and time-in-grade.
• Males ages 18 through 25 must be registered with the Selective Service.
• PHS Commissioned Corps applicants must submit current personnel orders.
• A one year probationary period may be required.
• Position is in the Bargaining Unit.
• Recruitment incentives are not authorized.
• Student loan repayment incentive is not authorized.
• Employment is subject to the successful completion of the pre-appointment process (i.e., background investigation, verification of qualifications and job requirements, completion of onboarding forms, submission of required documents, etc.)

Qualifications

THESE QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS MUST BE MET BY THE CLOSING DATE: 02/26/2021

Do not cut and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

Specialized Experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position and is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, an applicant's one full year of specialized experience must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for successful job performance.

In order to qualify for this GS-11 position, your resume must clearly demonstrate that you have one full year of specialized experience comparable in difficulty and responsibility to at least the GS-9 level in the federal service.

Examples of qualifying specialized experience equal to the GS-9 level include performing the following types of tasks on a regular and recurring basis:

Utilizing a variety of communications channels to disseminate public health or health related information; assisting in the evaluation of health communication strategies and procedures to assess the effectiveness in reaching the target public health audiences; and, assisting in preparing various public health/health communication materials such as publications, fact sheets, social media, and web content.

OR

Have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or a LL.M., if related.

OR

Have an equivalent combination of the above specialized experience AND higher level graduate education that meets 100% of the qualification requirements for this position.

In order to qualify for this GS-12 position, your resume must clearly demonstrate that you have one full year of specialized experience comparable in difficulty and responsibility to at least the GS-11 level in the federal service.

Examples of qualifying specialized experience equal to the GS-11 level include performing the following types of tasks on a regular and recurring basis:

Evaluating public health or health related communication marketing outreach and educational plans and strategies to assess their effectiveness and provide recommendations for improvement; communicating public health information through various digital, print, and social media formats; and, researching, writing, and editing a variety of official health communications materials such as press releases, talking points for leadership, speeches.

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; community; student; social). If such experience is on a part-time basis, you must provide the average number of hours worked per week as well as the beginning and ending dates of the experience so it can be fully credited.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):

HEALTH COMMUNICATIONS: Knowledge of the practice, methods and techniques of communicating and disseminating health information to influence personal health choices by improving health literacy via written, oral and visual media.

MESSAGE DEVELOPMENT AND DELIVERY: Uses writing skills and editorial judgment to strategically develop messages for various audiences; and delivers them by evaluating the most appropriate media channel(s) for the particular needs of the target audience.

TECHNICAL WRITING: Prepares public affairs written documentation to transfer technical information about concepts, situations, products, services, or results to audiences with varying levels of technical knowledge.

RESEARCH AND EVALUATION: Knowledge of the principles, methods, and processes used to conduct a systematic and objective inquiry; including study design, collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; and the reporting of results.

TO PREVIEW THE OCCUPATIONAL ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE, please click on the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11023681

Current status candidates must meet Time-in-Grade (TIG) by the closing date of this announcement. To allow us to verify that you meet TIG requirements, provide any of the following SF-50s:

• Competitive or Career-ladder promotion to your highest grade (this does not include 120 day temporary promotions).
• Regular Within Range Increase (WRI) or With In Grade (WGI) increase at your highest grade (this does not include quality step increases (QSIs).
• Competitive career/career-conditional appointment to your highest grade.
• SF-50 at your highest grade held, that is at least one year older than the announcement closing date of 02/26/2021.

Please Note: Current year pay adjustments are not acceptable for verifying TIG (ex. 2021 general increases cannot be used to verify TIG).

Not sure which SF-50 to submit? Check out our video... Go here to watch the video on the SF50s to submit in your application package .

Education

For the GS-11 grade level, if you qualify on the basis of education in lieu of experience, you must submit a copy of your transcripts (or a list of your courses including titles, credit hours completed and grades) to document that you have met the education. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted in the application package. Official transcripts will be required prior to your starting work.

Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov .

Additional information

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.

HHS is an equal opportunity employer. Selection for this position will be based solely on merit without regard to race, color, religion, age, gender, national origin, political affiliation, disability, sexual orientation, marital or family status or other differences.

Security and Background Requirements: If not previously completed, a background security investigation will be required for all appointees . Appointment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. False representation may be grounds for non-consideration, non-selection and/or appropriate disciplinary action.

E-Verify: HRSA participates in the USCIS Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification Program (E-Verify). E-Verify helps employers determine employment eligibility of new hires and the validity of their social security numbers.

Direct Deposit: All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.

Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP): Click here

HRSA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. Telework eligibility may be discussed during the interview process.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Additional selections may be made for similar positions across the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) within the local commuting area(s) of the location identified in this announcement. By applying, you agree to have your application shared with interested selecting official(s) at HHS. Clearance of CTAP/ICTAP will be applied for similar positions across HHS.

To determine your qualifications and referral status, we may review your resume and supporting documentation and compare it against your responses to the vacancy questionnaire. Ensure you support your self-ratings by the information you provide in your application. We may verify or assess your qualifications at any time. Inflated or unsupported qualifications may affect your rating. Any misrepresentation or material omission of facts may be sufficient cause to end further consideration of your candidacy. Persons listed as having knowledge of your past accomplishments or experience in your application may be contacted for verification purposes at any time. Verification may, but need not, begin prior to receiving an offer.

To be considered well qualified for the purposes of the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) and the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) , you must substantively exceed the basic qualifications by scoring at least an 85 on the assessment and meet all eligibility, physical, medical, suitability, and all other requirements.

Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please contact either HRSA's Office of Human Resources at (301) 443-3780 or by email: askhr@hrsa.gov or HRSA's Reasonable Accommodation programs at (301) 443-2538 or by email: RA-Request@hrsa.gov . You must contact the Reasonable Accommodations Program prior to the closing date of this announcement to receive assistance. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Hours of operation: Monday through Friday 7:30AM to 4:00PM EST (except Federal holidays).

Submission of a resume alone is not a complete application. To apply for this position, you must provide a complete online Application Package which includes:

1. A current Resume - For resume writing guidance, please visit USAJOBS Resources Center or view their video tutorial. Your resume must thoroughly describe how your skills and experiences align to the criteria defined in the "Qualifications" section of this announcement and it must support your responses to the assessment questionnaire. We cannot assume you have performed the necessary experience required for this position regardless of your employment history or academic career. To ensure all of the essential information is in your resume, we encourage you to use the USAJOBS online Resume Builde r.
If you choose to use your own resume, curriculum vitae, or any other written form you choose, then you must ensure it contains all of the required information and you organize it so we can associate the following information for each experience/position:

Job title

Name of employer

Beginning and ending dates of employment (month/day/year format)

Hours worked per week. We will assume full-time unless otherwise stated. We will prorate part-time employment in crediting experience.

Detailed description of job duties, accomplishments, related skills, and responsibilities to include any supervisory/managerial responsibilities and number of staff supervised (if applicable)

Your resume must show the series and grade or equivalent for all federal positions you have held. (if a federal position)

You must also ensure that the duties performed are clearly matched to each period of employment.
Do not include a photograph or video of yourself, or any sensitive information (age, date of birth, marital status, protected health information, religious affiliation, social security number, etc.) on your resume or cover letter. We will not access web pages linked on your resume or cover letter to determine your qualifications.

2. A complete Assessment Questionnaire.

3. Other supporting documents to be submitted with application:

• SF-50: Federal applicants must submit an SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) that shows status and time-in-grade, and its full performance level. If you are an HHS employee you may obtain a copy of your SF-50 from eOPF.
• Personnel Orders: PHS Commissioned Corps Officers must submit a copy of latest personnel orders in lieu of SF-50.
• College transcripts (if the position has a positive education requirement, or you are qualifying on the basis of education).

For Résumé and Application Tips visit the USAJOBS Resource Center .

The complete Application Package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 02/26/2021.

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.