SummaryThis position is located in the Office of Public Affairs within the Office of the Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), in Washington, DC. Learn more about this agency ResponsibilitiesAs a Public Affairs Specialist, you will:Serve as an official spokesperson for the organization who responds to day-to-day media requests for comment, information and data. Develop and transmit informational materials by a variety of communication channels to public and diverse stakeholders, to promote and enhance understanding and acceptance of FRA programs and activities.Monitor press coverage and current affairs of interest to FRA. Draft, edit and review written materials including press releases, speeches, talking points, statements, communication plans, and website copy intended for various constituent audiences. Examine and review documents, correspondence, memoranda, and other draft materials submitted by other FRA offices to ensure relevance, accuracy, completeness and conformity with the request made and directivesParticipate in meetings as a representative of the Agency or Office and keep accurate records of suchPlan, develop, coordinate and implement wide-ranging, short and long-term FRA public information, programs, projects, campaigns and events, as well as some related internal communicationThe ideal candidate has proven public affairs experience working for a governmental agency, elected official, corporation, trade or industry association, non-profit, or public relations firm. He/she is a motivated self-starter, who uses sound judgment and teamwork, is able to multi-task and work under tight deadlines, and a skilled writer who can distill and explain complex information and data for various audiences.This position is eligible for ad hoc telework (on a supervisor approved intermittent basis) in accordance with FRA's Telework Policy (FRA Order 3600.3b) and implementation plans.PLEASE NOTE: A writing sample will be requested from applicants who are determined as qualified and referred to the selecting official.Travel Required Occasional travel - Some travel will be required.Supervisory status No Promotion Potential 13 Job family (Series) 1035 Public Affairs Similar jobs Public Relations Specialists Specialists, Public Relations Help Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a US Citizen and eligible for consideration. You must meet specialized experience to qualify. Required documents must be submitted by the closing date. Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date. CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel. A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.PROBATIONARY PERIOD: You must complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).TIME-IN-GRADE: Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions contained in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.DEU REQUIREMENTS: Applicants selected under delegated examining procedures may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).ETHICS/CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT: All employees are subject to the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch, set out in Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 2635, including restrictions on owning financial interests that may conflict with performance of their duties. Some employees, like those involved in contracting or regulating non-Federal entities, are subject to Executive Branch Financial Disclosure requirements set out in Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 263. Please note that you may be required to file an annual financial disclosure. QualificationsTo meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet either the education or experience qualifications for the grade at which you are requesting consideration.To Qualify For the GS-11, On Education, you must have:PhD. or equivalent doctoral degree OR3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree OR LL.M., if related.On Experience, you must have one year of specialized experience equal or equivalent to the GS-09, it must include:Experience writing materials, such as speeches, news releases, news and feature articles, responses to external inquiries that effectively and accurately convey information concerning policies, programs and functions. Experience developing and maintaining effective working relationships with members of the news media and external stakeholders or constituencies.Experience gathering and interpreting data and making recommendations on public affairs strategies and policies.You can also qualify on a combination of higher level graduate education and matching experience.To Qualify For the GS-12, you must have one year of specialized experience equal or equivalent to the GS-11, it must include:Experience writing materials, such as speeches, news releases, news and feature articles, responses to external inquiries that effectively and accurately convey information concerning policies, programs and functions of a major organization.Experience developing and maintaining effective working relationships with members of the news media and external stakeholders or constituencies.Experience developing and implementing strategic communication plans for agency, association, or company-wide initiative.You cannot qualify on education at the GS-12 level; you must have experience.To qualify for the GS-13, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equal or equivalent to the following:Experience developing and implementing national public information media campaigns and programs.Experience developing and implementing strategic communication plans for agency, association, or company-wide initiativesExperience identifying opportunities for external outreach and engagement to spotlight the Organization's programs.You cannot qualify on education at the GS-13 level; you must have experience.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:Knowledge of public and media relations. Customer Service: Anticipates and meets the needs of both internal and external customers. Delivers high-quality products and services; is committed to continuous improvement.Oral and Written Communication: Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.For all types of consideration, experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (eg, Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (eg, 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.For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4Students enrolled in a qualifying degree program can apply if the anticipated graduation date is within six months of closing date of the announcement. Graduation transcript must be received before start date. Applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.Education This job does not have an education qualification requirement. Additional informationThis vacancy may be used by any DOT agency to fill similar positions within 90 days.SENIORITY RIGHTS - LEAVES OF ABSENCE - RE-EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS: The FRA has determined that seniority rights, leaves of absence, and reemployment rights from prior railroad employment generally constitute an actual or an appearance of a conflict of interest. New employees may be required to divest themselves of such rights immediately upon hire if these rights are determined to constitute an actual or appearance of a conflict of interest. If new employees are permitted to retain such rights, which is generally the case for Railroad Safety positions, the rights must be divested at the end of the one year probationary period which begins with the date of appointment. Divestiture is a requisite to continued employment with the Federal Railroad Administration. No waivers will be granted of the divestiture requirement. Pursuant to 5 CFR Parts 2635.403 and 6001.104, all FRA employees (or spouses or minor children of FRA employees) are specifically prohibited from holding railroad stock (including shares of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. which owns 100% of BNSF), whether held outright, in an IRA, or in a 401(k) or other plan. (Employees may hold a mutual fund which invests in railroad stocks, so long as the mutual fund does not invest more than 30% of its assets in such prohibited investments.) Employees having a prohibited financial interest must divest themselves of railroad stock within 90 days after their appointment to their positions. Neither the rule against holding railroad stock, nor the divestiture period, is in any way affected by the existence of re-employment rights which employees might have with railroad companies. Nor is there any monetary threshold for applicability of the rule against ownership of railroad stock; all dollar amounts are prohibited.Read more How You Will Be EvaluatedYou will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume/ application does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level. To compete with US Citizens: If you meet the qualification requirements, your application will be placed in one of four categories: Platinum, Gold, Silver or Bronze, which is based upon your responses to the vacancy questions. Within these categories, applicants eligible for veteran's preference that have provided supporting documents will receive selection priority over non-veterans. The top rated applications will be reviewed for the quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position.To compete with other competitive status government employees: If you meet the qualification requirements, your application will be scored based upon your responses to the vacancy questions. The top rated applications will be reviewed for the quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position. If referred, all relevant documents including performance appraisals and awards submitted with your application package will be forwarded to the hiring official for review.Eligible Federal employees also seeking consideration for noncompetitive reassignment for this position, must indicate interest in the assessment. In eligibility question 14: select Yes/Other/Former Incumbency of a Position brought into the Competitive Service. Noncompetitive federal candidates must have competitive status on a SF-50, meet minimum qualifications, have served at the same grade or higher, and held or exceeded the promotion potential of this position.All applicants: Your application will be rated on the extent and quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position. The answers you select in the on-line process must be substantiated in your application package. If upon review, it is determined that your described work history, competencies, and/or supporting documents do not support your answer choices, your application may be updated on your behalf or you may not be referred to the selecting official. Please ensure that your work history provides enough details to support your answers. The Automated Staffing Office is ultimately responsible for determining your final rating. To preview questions please click here. Read more Background checks and security clearanceSecurity clearance Other Drug test required No Position sensitivity and risk Moderate Risk (MR) Trust determination process Suitability/Fitness Help Required DocumentsRESUME - All applicants must provide a resume created within USA Jobs Resume Builder, that shows relevant experience, education and support the required specialized experience. Formatted resumes can by uploaded later in the application process.TRANSCRIPTS are REQUIRED if there is a stated education requirement for the series OR if you are substituting education for experience. The transcripts need not be official, but must show that you meet the stated education requirements, including specific major or class requirements. Provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the US Department of Education.If you have already qualified and worked in the federal service in this series, you may provide an SF-50 in lieu of transcripts. PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS/INCENTIVE AWARDS: If applicable, performance appraisals and/or Incentive award documentation may be submitted and forwarded to the selecting official in consideration of your application. To receive credit, submit a recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable (do not submit a performance plan) and/or incentive award documentation dated within the last 18 months (ie performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increases, etc.).VETERANS: Your last DD214 (member 4 copy), Certificate of Release or Discharge From Active Duty, that shows the type of discharge and all dates of active duty is required to verify your eligibility. If applying to a vacancy opened to all US Citizens under category rating and wish to be considered as a preference eligible, you need to submit a copy of your DD214 (member-4 copy).If claiming preference eligibility as a disabled veteran, you must submit proof of entitlement of this preference which is normally a valid letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs certifying to the present existence of the service-connected disability and indicating the percentage of your disability. An SF-15 is desired, but not required.If applying to a vacancy opened Status and you are requesting consideration under Veteran's Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) (https://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/shav/#veoa), you need to provide a copy of your last DD214 (member-4 copy), which verifies your military service dates, reason for separation, OR certification of separation that shows a discharge date within 120 days of the closing of this announcement, and eligibility for consideration under the Veterans Employment Opportunity Act.FEDERAL APPLICANTS: You must submit your most current and other SF-50(s) that verify your current position, highest competitive grade, full performance level, and eligibility as a federal applicant. DO NOT submit an award SF-50 as these often do not verify grade or eligibility. For consideration for a promotion, Box 4 of the SF-50 must show a date that is at least 52 weeks prior to the job announcement closing. We recommend submitting your last promotion SF-50, current SF-50 or within-grade increase SF-50. Pay adjustment raise SF-50s for the current year will not support the 52 weeks' time-in-grade requirements. https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/service/SF-50/NON COMPETITIVE APPLICANTS: If requesting concurrent consideration for Non-competitive (NC) appointment eligibility, you must provide the appropriate SPECIAL APPOINTING AUTHORITY DOCUMENTS, such as PCS orders (military spouse) describing move & marriage certificate; letter from VA or DD214 describing 100% disability of spouse; letter from State Vocational Office certifying disability (schedule A), etc. For more information, visit military spouse NC appointments or Persons with Disabilities NC appointments. DISPLACED EMPLOYEES: If requesting consideration under the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency CTAP program (ICTAP), you must meet the well qualified standards for this vacancy (meeting minimum requirements for position and scoring at least an 85 or falling in the Gold Category) and provide all of the following documents: your most recent performance appraisal,the proof of eligibility letter from the Agency, andyour most current SF-50, displaying current series and grade.Displaced employees may be eligible for ICTAP or CTAP priority consideration. For more information, please review the OPM Employee's Guide to Career Transition.Failure to submit any of the required documents by the closing date of the vacancy will result in your removal from consideration for this position. Please review your application prior to final submission and ensure you have submitted all appropriate documents. Uploading documents to USAJobs does NOT ensure inclusion with your application to our system. You must verify that the documents are in the system with your application prior to final submission. Help BenefitsA career with the US Government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits. Review our benefits Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time, or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.