Clarification from the agency

• Current U.S. Department of Education employees serving under competitive, permanent appointments; and, • Current U.S. Department of Education employees serving under temporary appointments with reinstatement eligibility.

We encourage you to read this entire vacancy announcement prior to submitting your application.

As a Supervisory Public Affairs Specialist, GS-1530-15, you will perform the following duties:

• Supervises and directs the day-to-day work of assigned employees in OC.
• Ensures editorial oversight and general oversight and coordination of information disseminated to the general public. Evaluates, for the editorial policy, documents, speeches, information and articles prepared by other ED components for general public dissemination.
• Assesses policy and procedures formulation to ensure conformance to ED's editorial policy standards and mission. Formulates and directs the implementation of policies, approaches, and procedures to ensure ED publications (print and digital) are responsive to public needs, prepared in accordance with ED programs, promote sound and effective relations with the public served and conform to editorial policies and standards of the Department.
• Functions as a coordinator of projects emanating from a variety of sources across the Department works with other Principle Offices to provide authoritative advice and consultation to ED officials and customers regarding specific communications, audio/visual and writing techniques to reach various audiences and to gather information for such projects.
• Coordinates communication with other Principle Offices, negotiates agreements to resolve conflicts, controversial disputes, or conflicting information.
• Conducts outreach to program constituents and customers to assess customer needs.
• Facilitates effective coordination with EDPubs. Oversees and directs the overall ED publications program to prevent costly duplication of effort. Works with senior officers to coordinate and consolidate publications programs in the most cost-effective manner.
• Plans and coordinates the preparation of ED publications for printing at the Government Printing Office (GPO). Oversees and directs ED's official liaison with GPO and with the Congressional, Joint Committee on Printing. Ensures printing and binding regulations are upheld throughout the Department.
• Meets regularly with senior staff to discuss publications plans, and advises senior staff regarding concepts, writing and editing standards, printing, procedures, and scheduling and budgeting. Serves as the primary point for ED-wide clearances of publications produced throughout the Department. Serves as the final checkpoint for publications clearances to ensure policies regarding alternate formats and translations are met. Coordinates program needs to eliminate wasteful duplication while ensuring the highest level of quality control.
• Plans and coordinates with principal offices and senior staff to ensure appropriate publications are translated into foreign languages. Oversees the Department system for obtaining translations and makes recommendations for the budget needed for the Department's translation efforts.
• Supports the 504 Task Force efforts to plan and coordinate with principal offices and senior staff to assure that all publications are available in alternate formats for individuals with disabilities.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen.
• Relocation Expenses will not be paid.
• Must complete a Background Investigation and fingerprint check.
• Males 18 and over must be registered with the Selective Service.
• May be required to serve a supervisory probationary period

You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement.

If you are a current federal employee, you must meet all time-in-grade and time-after competitive appointment qualifications within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement. To verify that you meet these requirements, we will review your responses to the core eligibility questions on the occupational questionnaire, as well as your submitted resume and required documents.  To make an accurate determination, you will need to include on your resume your federal position title, pay plan, occupational series, grade level, agency, dates for which you held the grade level (stated as MM/YYYY to MM/YYYY, OR MM/YYYY to PRESENT), and total hours worked per week.  

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).

Qualifications

Specialized Experience for the GS-15:
To qualify, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-14 performing all three (3) of the following duties or work assignments:

      1. Experience writing and editing speeches, articles, talking points, and other written communications for a senior executive or equivalent.

      2. Experience leading or managing at team.

      3. Experience making complex policy issues easy to understand for a broad and diverse audience.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) 
The quality of your experience will be measured by the extent to which you possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs). You do not need to provide separate narrative responses to these KSAs, as they will be measured by your responses to the occupational questionnaire (you may preview the occupational questionnaire by clicking the link at the end of the Evaluations section of this vacancy announcement).

1. Knowledge of personnel practices required to manage a team. 

2. Skill in verbal nd written communications; collaboration and outreach activities.

3. Ability to write and edit material for a senior executive or equivalent to communicate with a variety of audiences.

4. Skill in communicating to a variety of audiences authoritatively with confidence and persuasion.

5. Ability to work independently and serve as an expert in the field.

How you will be evaluated

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

We use a multi-step process to review and evaluate applicants:

1.    Eligibility and Minimum Qualifications
Once the vacancy announcement closes, we will review your submitted resume and documents to determine if you meet the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements, including any required education, experience, and/or selective placement factors. You will be rated as ineligible if you are outside of the area of consideration (i.e., who may apply) or your application is missing any required documents. You will be rated as not qualified if you do not possess the minimum qualification requirements.

2.    Rating and Ranking
If you are found to meet both the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements, we will assess the quality of your experience and the extent to which you possess the required KSAs by comparing your submitted resume and documents against your responses to the occupational questionnaire. (The occupational questionnaire is the list of questions in the automated system that you will have an opportunity to answer once you apply for the position).  

Based on the outcome of this evaluation, you will be assigned a numerical score (out of 100 possible). If your responses to the occupational questionnaire are not substantiated by your submitted resume, you may be eliminated from receiving further consideration.

3.    Referral and Selection
If you are found to be amongst the most highly qualified applicants, you will be referred to the selecting official. As part of the assessment and selection process, the selecting official may invite you to participate in a structured interview, check your references, and/or request that you submit a writing sample or complete a written assessment or exercise to further evaluate your qualifications for this position.