• Arrange press conferences, media briefings, media availability, interviews and other news events.
• Facilitate media interviews with agency officials and provide guidance to interview subjects on advisable conduct during media contacts.
• Respond to questions and/or criticism from members of the news media concerning complex policies and issues.
• Independently initiate, create, write, and edit materials, including news releases, about complicated public health and scientific subjects directed towards journalists and lay audiences.
• Study the effectiveness of communication tactics, conduct assessments and evaluations to ensure objectives were met and identify quality improvements for improving effectiveness.

Conditions of employment

• Citizenship Requirement: You must be a U.S. Citizen to be considered for this advertisement unless explicitly stated otherwise.
• Selective Service Registration: All applicants born male, on (or after) 12/31/1959, must be registered with the Selective Service System OR have an approved exemption. Visit www.SSS.gov for more info.
• FDA participates in e-Verify: All new hires must complete the I-9 form; this information will be processed through e-Verify to determine your employment eligibility. If a discrepancy arises, you must take affirmative steps to resolve the matter.
• Background Investigation Requirement: All employees must pass a security investigation. Failing to pass the background check may be grounds for removal or legal action. If hired, you may be subject to additional investigations at a later time.
• You must meet ALL requirements by the closing date of this announcement to be considered. Only education, experience, and qualifications attained by this date will be considered. You must continue to meet all requirements through the hiring process.
• Certification of Accuracy: All information concerning eligibility and qualification is subject to investigation and verification. False representation may be grounds for non-consideration, non-selection, or appropriate legal action.
• Direct Deposit: You will be required to have all federal salary payments electronically deposited into a bank account with a financial institution of your choice.
• Additional selections may be made from this vacancy, within the same geographical area, by other organizational elements from within FDA, through shared corporate recruiting activities.
• A probationary and/or trial period for initial Federal employment may be required.

Qualifications

The position of Public Affairs Specialist falls under the 1035 occupational series. To qualify for this position at grade GS-12/13, you must meet the following:

Minimum Qualifications

Specialized Experience: Experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled.

GS-12: You must possess one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade of GS-11 or equivalent band level of responsibility in the Federal Service which includes experience working in media relations serving as a communications, public affairs and/or public relations professional responding to news media inquiries and providing strategic communication advice and/or experience working as a journalist/member of the news media reporting on scientific issues.

GS-13: You must possess one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade of GS-12 or equivalent band level of responsibility in the Federal Service which includes experience working in media relations serving as a senior communication, public affairs, and/or public relations professional responding to and overseeing news media inquiries and providing strategic communication advice on complex topics and/or experience working as a journalist/member of the news media reporting on public health and scientific issues.

AND

Writing Sample

Applicants must submit a writing sample. The sample should include the date the material was finalized or published. The writing sample will be evaluated on the following criteria: 1) Is the sample written in plain language? 2) Is the sample written in a journalistic style? 3) Does the content in the sample describe public health and scientific topics? For a list of required documents refer to the Required Documents section.

NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the More Information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.

To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Qualifications are based on breadth/level of experience. In addition to describing duties performed, applicants must provide the exact dates of each period of employment (from MM/YY to MM/YY) and the number of hours worked per week if part time. As qualification determinations cannot be made when resumes do not include the required information, failure to provide this information may result in disqualification. Applicants are encouraged to use the USAJOBS Resume Builder to develop their federal resume.

How you will be evaluated

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

Once the job opportunity announcement closes (at 11:59 pm Eastern Time on 08/16/2019), a review of your resume and supporting documentation will be conducted, the information will be compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine your eligibility for Federal employment, and then whether you are qualified for this particular position. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your responses when compared to your background information, you may be deemed ineligible, or your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your skills and abilities. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

If you are referred to the hiring manager for consideration, you may be further evaluated based on an interview; review of requested work samples, writing samples, most recent performance evaluation(s), or professional references; or results of an oral presentation or work-related test. Failure to comply with any of the additional assessment requirements will result in removal from further consideration.

About Category Rating (DEU) Procedures (Basis for Rating):

• Category rating procedures will be used to rate and rank candidates.
• The answers you provide to the applicant self-assessment questions will be used, in conjunction with the supporting documents you include, and your resume, to determine your eligibility for Federal employment and your qualification for this position specifically.
• Your application score is used to place you into one of three quality categories: "Best Qualified", "Well Qualified", and "Qualified". (The category assignment is a measure of the degree in which your background matches the competencies required for this position.)
• The cut-off score for each quality category may vary from announcement to announcement, and is determined by each agency, in advance of the advertisement going live.
• Category Rating 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 Vets who meet the minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 30% must be listed in the highest quality category (except in the case of scientific or professional positions at the GS-9 level or higher).
• Only applications in the Best Qualified category are referred to the hiring office for consideration.
• If a high volume of applications are from highly qualified preference eligible Veterans, FDA's HR office may elect to refer ONLY those preference eligible Veterans to the hiring office for consideration.
• If FDA receives a small number of applications, or if the score range of applications in the highest quality category is low enough, the Best Qualified category may be merged with the Well Qualified category and the merged list may be provided to the hiring office instead.

1. Technical Competence
2. Writing
3. Oral Communication