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Public Affairs Specialist

Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The incumbent works with management in policy formulation, advises on the potential public reaction to proposed policies, and plans, organizes, and evaluates communication strategies, programs, and materials.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
07/23/2019 to 08/05/2019
Salary
$69,581 to - $90,461 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Hyattsville, MD
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - 2% domestic
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
12
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Announcement number
HHS-CDC-D2-19-10558610
Control number
540337300

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Open to the Public

Duties

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As a Public Affairs Specialist, you will:

  • Plan, initiate, and implement comprehensive public affairs campaigns and activities to enhance the understanding of the agency's programs and health statistics among the general public and specialized groups and organizations.
  • Advise agency's top management officials on the possible public and media reactions to health statistics analyses and proposed policy statements or agency actions.
  • Conduct an internal information program or programs designed for the benefit of all employees employed by the organization.
  • Maintain liaison with subordinate organizations' public affairs activities and/or personnel to produce ideas or communication materials to serve the agency mission.
  • Coordinate news media interviews with staff and oversee arrangements with media representatives involving organization activities.
  • Establish and maintain relations with the news media in enlisting their cooperation in providing the public with information.
  • Survey mass and specialized media coverage of agency activities/health statistics and recommend methods and techniques for disseminating information that will increase public awareness of programs/health statistics and benefits to the public.
  • Develop and maintain cooperative working relationships with representatives of news media in facilitating communication.
  • Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • US Citizenship is required.
  • Background Investigation is required.
  • E-Verify: If you are selected for this position, the documentation that you present for purposes of completing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Form I-9 will be verified through the DHS "E-Verify" System. Federal law requires DHS to use the E-Verify System to verify employment eligibility of all new hires, and as a condition of continued employment obligates the new hire to take affirmative steps to resolve any discrepancies identified by the system. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is an E-Verify Participant.
  • Direct Deposit: All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
  • All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.
  • One-year probationary period may be required.
  • Travel, transportation, and moving expenses will be paid: No
  • Bargaining Unit Position: Yes
  • Drug Screening Required: No
  • Recruitment Incentive may be authorized: No
  • Annual Leave for non-federal service may be authorized: No
    Research position: No
  • Promotion potential: Yes. This position has promotion potential to GS-12. Promotion to the next grade level is at management's discretion and is based on your meeting qualifications and time-in-grade requirements, demonstrated ability to perform the higher level duties, the continuing need for the higher level duties, and administrative approval. Promotion to the next grade level is not guaranteed and no promise of promotion is implied.
  • Supervisory position: No
  • Position Sensitivity: 1-Nonsensitive

Qualifications

Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service, to successfully perform the duties of a this position, to include experience maintaining media relationships, advising management officials, and disseminating and communicating public health information to a variety of target audiences.
-OR-
Have a Ph.D, or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a doctoral degree or LL.M. from an accredited college or university. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work (e.g. human resources management, business, or law).
-OR-
Have a combination of graduate level education and experience that meets 100% of the qualification requirements for this position.

Education

Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the education requirements. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.cdc.gov/jobs/future-applicant-information.html.

Additional information

This vacancy is also being announced concurrently with vacancy announcement HHS-CDC-M2-19-10558611 under merit promotion procedures. Please review that announcement to see if you are eligible for consideration under merit promotion procedures. NOTE: Applicants must apply separately for each announcement in order to be considered.

PHS Commissioned Corps Officers interested in performing the duties of this position within the Commissioned Corps (not as a career/career-conditional employee) are encouraged to apply under the merit promotion announcement (if applicable).

Additional selections may be made within the same geographical location CDC-wide.

The utilization of shared certificates within multiple Centers of the Center of Disease Control and Prevention may be used from this vacancy announcement for specialties to include but not limited to: Applied Epidemiology, Behavioral Epidemiology, Chronic Diseases, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Emerging Infectious Diseases, Environmental Health, HIV/AIDS, Immunization, Infectious Diseases (e.g. Viral, Parasitic, etc.), Influenza, Malaria, Non-communicable Diseases, Outbreak Investigations, Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), Surveillance, Tropical Medicine, Tuberculosis (TB), Viral Hepatitis, and/or Zoonotic Diseases.

If you are a veteran with preference eligibility and you are claiming 5-points veterans' preference, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 or other proof of eligibility. If 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 December 31, 1959 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see http://www.sss.gov). For information on "People with Disabilities" please visit http://opm.gov/disability/PeopleWithDisabilities.asp

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): For information on how to apply as an ICTAP eligible see http://opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp#ictap. To be well-qualified and exercise selection priority for this vacancy, displaced Federal employees must be rated at 85.0 or above on the rating criteria for this position.

To view the questionnaire, click on the following link:
https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/10558610

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document(s), view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.

How you will be evaluated

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

Once the application process is complete, a review of the resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility. Category rating procedures will be used to rate and rank candidates.

The category assignment is a measure of the degree to which your background matches the competencies required for this position. Qualified candidates will be ranked into one of three categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified or Qualified. The Category Rating Process does not add veterans' preference points but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category. Preference eligibles who meet the minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed in the highest quality category (except in the case of scientific or professional positions at the GS-9 level or higher).

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

  • Continuous Development
  • Customer Service
  • Diversity
  • Integrity
  • Oral Communication
  • Problem Solving
  • Written Communication

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