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Public Affairs Specialist

Department of Commerce
Patent and Trademark Office
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Come work for the USPTO, we have been ranked as one of the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government®!

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has been serving the economic interests of America for more than 200 years. We are responsible for granting US intellectual property rights for patents and trademarks. Our efforts have provided inventors exclusive rights over their discoveries. It's an effort that continues to contribute to a strong global economy, to encourage investment in innovation and to cultivate an entrepreneurial spirit for the 21st century. The USPTO is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, and has over 12,000 employees, including engineers, scientists, attorneys, analysts, IT specialists, etc. all dedicated to accomplishing the USPTO’s mission, vision, strategic goals and guiding principles. For more information about the USPTO, please visit the USPTO Careers Website.

This position is located in the Office of the Chief Communications Officer (OCCO), United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The OCCO is responsible for all aspects of the agency’s public affairs and communication outreach activities. The office responds to all press inquiries; writes, edits, and distributes the USPTO Weekly employee newsletter; provides photographic coverage of agency activities, ceremonies, and events; maintains a photo archive; teams with the National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) in the management and promotion of the National Inventors Hall of Fame and Museum and works closely with NIHF on a number of educational outreach and inventor recognition programs; and, in partnership with the Web Executive Board and Web Advisory Council, manages the USPTO website.

The Public Affairs Specialist develops, promotes and implements USPTO informational programs for the general public, Agency employees, and stakeholder audiences.

  • A probationary period may be required
This position is also being announced under the USPTO’s Merit Promotion Program, Job Announcement Number is CCO-2017-0008. Please review that announcement to determine if you are eligible for consideration under the Merit Promotion Program.

The following links provide information on various hiring authorities that do not fall under competitive examining procedures as this announcement; however, they may enable you to apply through merit assignment procedures, or be eligible for a non-competitive appointment.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
08/03/2017 to 08/17/2017
Salary
$66,510 to - $103,639 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11 - 12
Location
Alexandria, VA
1 vacancy
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent - Career/Career-Conditional appointment in the Competitive Service.
Work schedule
Full-time - This is a Full-Time, Permanent
Service
Promotion potential
12
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Announcement number
CCO-2017-0007
Control number
476162300

This job is open to

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Duties

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The individual selected for this position:

  • Researches, writes and edits a wide variety of written materials (news releases, speeches, talking points, brochures, booklets, newsletters, and radio and television copy) for distribution and presentation to the news media, USPTO stakeholders and the general public.
  • Plans, implements, designs and oversees effective information projects and/or campaigns to convey information about USPTO programs and initiatives to a variety of external and internal audiences.
  • Reviews, develops and produces materials to help educate a wide variety of audiences, including appropriate communication channels, techniques and strategies to disseminate information to audiences. Makes reasonable proposals on methods to connect with hard-to-reach audiences.
  • Works with managers, employees, stakeholders and other forums to ensure that audiences are receiving the information they need; and advises supervisor and staff as to information needs and appropriate means of dissemination.
  • Responds to media information requests and helps to lead the development and implementation of special projects and outreach initiatives and educational programs to raise awareness of the importance of intellectual property.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
  • Your resume and question responses must demonstrate the job-related KSAs.
  • You must meet the definition of specialized experience.
  • Required to pass a background investigation and fingerprint check.
  • Must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable (www.sss.gov)

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Qualifications

You must meet the following United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements for the advertised position. OPM's prescribed Group Coverage Qualification Standard for Administrative and Management Positions can be found at OPM Qualification Standards. You must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of the job announcement.

Specialized Experience: is experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the federal service.

Candidates for the GS-11 grade level must have at least 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service.

Specialized experience for this position includes the following skill sets:

Skill Set 1: Experience writing content in plain language to support a public/media relations program for a major organization/agency, such as news releases, talking points, blogs, etc. which promote policies, positions, individuals, and organizations to a variety of audiences.

Skill Set 2: Experience identifying and pitching stories to relevant writers and journalists and responding to media information requests.

Skill Set 3: Experience planning, designing, and implementing, effective information projects and/or campaigns in order to convey information about an organization’s programs and initiatives.

Skill Set 4: Experience organizing input from many sources within an organization and developing coordinated messaging drawn from those sources.

OR

Education: Education may be substituted for specialized experience. Please see Education section for details.

Candidates for the GS-12 grade level must have at least 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service.

Specialized experience for this position includes the following skill sets:

Skill Set 1: Experience writing content in plain language to support a public/media relations program for a major organization/agency, such as news releases, talking points, blogs, etc. which promote policies, positions, individuals, and organizations to a variety of audiences.

Skill Set 2: Job experience identifying and pitching stories to relevant writers and journalists, responding to media information requests, and helping lead the development and implementation of special projects and outreach initiatives.

Skill Set 3: Experience overseeing the complete development and implementation of communications/outreach plans to convey information about an organization’s programs and initiatives, from initial writing through post-event review and feedback.

Skill Set 4: Organizing input from many sources within an organization, developing coordinated messages drawn from those sources, and successfully obtaining support and buy-in for their use from superiors and other relevant parties.

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

Education:

GS-11: Education may be substituted for specialized experience if one of the following is met:

Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree

or

3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree

or

LL.M., if related

GS-12: Education may NOT be substituted for specialized experience.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Qualifying education from colleges and universities in foreign countries must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education's website - US Department of Education. Another listing of services that an perform this evaluation is available at the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES). You must provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing along with your application. Failure to provide such documentation when requested will result in lost consideration.

NOTE: Only education and experience acquired before the filing deadline will be considered. Report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Additional information

Applicants applying for this position must be a United States Citizen.

If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System. If you are exempt from registration under Selective Service Law, you must provide appropriate proof of exemption. Please visit the Selective Service System website for more information.

This is a Non-Bargaining Unit position.

This is a Public Trust position and has a risk level designation of “moderate”.

Background Investigation - If selected for this position, you may be required to complete a Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306), which includes a fingerprint and credit check, to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation.

The USPTO participates in E-Verify. For more information on E-Verify, please visit the Department of Homeland Security Website.

Probationary Period- If selected, you may be required to complete an initial one-year probationary period.

All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choice.

Relocation Expenses are not authorized and will not be paid.

CTAP and ICTAP candidates will be eligible for selection priority if it is determined that they have exceeded the minimum qualifications for the position by attaining at least a rating of 85 out of 100. Information about CTAP and ICTAP eligibility is on the Office of Personnel Management’s Career Transition Resources website at: http://www.opm.gov/ctap. CTAP/ICTAP documentation requirements are listed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

More than one selection may be made from this announcement if additional identical vacancies in the same title, series, grade, and unit occur within 90 days from the date the certificate was issued.

All application materials become the property of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors. If you believe that you have been discriminated against and would like to file an EEO complaint, you must do so within 45 days of the date of the alleged discriminatory act. Claims of employment discrimination must be submitted to the attention of the USPTO’s Office of Equal Employment Opportunity & Diversity via email (oeeod@uspto.gov) or phone (571-272-8292).

How you will be evaluated

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

Your resume, optional cover letter and supporting documentation will be reviewed to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for the position. If you meet the minimum qualifications stated in the job opportunity announcement, we will compare your resume, optional cover letter and supporting documentation to your responses on the self-assessment questions (True/False, Yes/ No, Multiple Choice questions) and place you in one of three pre-defined categories. These categories are “gold,” “silver,” and “bronze.” Your resume and/or optional cover letter must support your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire, or your score may be lowered. Candidates placed in the “gold” category will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be invited for an interview.

How you will be evaluated for preference eligibility: Within each category, those entitled to veterans’ preference will be listed at the top of the pre-defined category for which they are placed.

Preference eligibles with a service-connected disability of 10% or more will be listed at the top of the highest quality category (gold).

The scored self assessment questions in the job announcement will evaluate you on the following competencies; please do not provide a separate written response:

KSA 1 - Skill in writing, reviewing and developing a variety of materials (articles, news releases, talking points, speeches, ad hoc information presentations) designed to convey information on agency programs and activities to specialized audiences.

KSA 2 -
Skill in applying a variety of analytical techniques in gathering, analyzing and evaluating complex data, and developing appropriate recommendations for the consideration of management.

KSA 3 -
Knowledge of the principles, methods, practices, and techniques of communication, for the development, design, planning, production, and distribution of written and oral information.

KSA 4 - Skill in establishing and maintaining working relationships with a variety of internal employee groups, media, external stakeholders, and the general public to inform them of programs, objectives and activities.

For more information on category rating, please go to: http://hr.commerce.gov/s/groups/public/@doc/@cfoasa/@ohrm/documents/content/prod01_009474.pdf

Please note that a complete application is required for consideration. (Please review the “Required Documents” section of this job announcement to see what must be included in a complete application).
To preview questions please click here.

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