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Public Affairs Specialist

Department of State
Department of State - Agency Wide
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in the Bureau of Global Public Affairs, Office of Planning and Events.  The GPA Bureau's Office of Planning and Events convenes communicators and coordinates domestic and international messaging efforts on high-level and cross-cutting issues to promote understanding of U.S. foreign policy priorities.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open date: 12/15/2021
Closed date: 01/04/2022
Location
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$103,690 - $134,798 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Promotion potential
13
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Occasional travel - Some travel may be required; less than 10%.
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Drug test
Yes
Security clearance
Secret
Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Announcement number
GPA-2022-0003
Control number
626930700

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

U.S. Department of State career or career conditional status employees in the competitive service; employees who are on temporary or other non-status appointments who have reinstatement or non-competitive eligibility for a competitive service appointment (e.g., tenured Foreign Service employees, employees on an excepted service appointment at the USUN who have previous career status, etc.); and CTAP

Duties

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  • Designs, drafts, and finalizes strategy and communications plans for Travel, Major Events, Summits and Campaigns to promote both domestic and international messaging efforts to promote understanding of foreign policy priorities.
  • Works with the Office Director to manage the implementation of major programs or policy decisions affecting GPA activities, especially those involving the Assistant Secretary and most other senior officials of the Department.
  • Collaborates with staff, regional bureaus, and missions overseas to create, develop, and strengthen a comprehensive communications strategy, develop performance metrics, and implement changes/improvements to ensure the success of the strategy.
  • Recommends new or enhanced services designed to effectively engage and inform public audiences, both domestically and abroad, about Department programs, plans, and policies.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing.
  • One year probationary period, unless excepted by regulation.
  • Must be able to obtain and maintain a Secret security clearance.
  • U.S. Citizenship is required.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all the required qualification requirements, including education, and any selective placement factors described below by the closing date of this announcement. If you are qualifying based on education OR if there are mandatory education requirements listed below, you MUST submit a copy of your college transcript with your application. NOTE: Applicants must meet time-in-grade and time after competitive appointment requirements, by the closing date of this announcement. Time-In-Grade Requirements: Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions, per 5CFR 300, Subpart F.

Applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level in the Federal service which provided the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the duties of the position. Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

  • Experience designing strategy and communications plans for travel, major events, summits and campaigns to promote both domestic and international messaging efforts to promote understanding of foreign policy priorities.
  • Experience analyzing foreign affairs policy information that could have long-term or short-term impact on the organization's communications efforts, and drafting recommended actions to improve the quality and effectiveness of public affairs activities.
  • Experience collaborating with internal offices and external organizations to support the promotion of communications and messaging efforts.

There is no substitute of education for specialized experience for the GS-13 position.

Education

See the qualifications section of this vacancy announcement for education requirements, if applicable.

Additional information

For reasonable accommodation at the U.S. Department of State, please contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations at (202) 663-3474 or ReasonableAccommodations@state.gov.

If eligible, telework and remote work agreements may be permitted with supervisory approval. Please note that any approved remote work arrangement is subject to the locality pay area of the alternative telework worksite.

 If eligible, applicants to this announcement may be referred to other positions in other Bureaus/Offices in the Department that may require a higher security clearance.

Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination for Federal Employees:

 As required by Executive Order 14043, Federal employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 regardless of the employee’s duty location or work arrangement (e.g., telework, remote work, etc.), subject to such exceptions as required by law. If selected, you will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination by November 22, 2021, or before appointment or onboarding with the Department of State, if after November 22. The Department of State will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request of the agency a legally required exception from this requirement.

How you will be evaluated

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

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs) and other characteristics that are relevant to the duties of this position and must be fully supported by information in your resume: 

  • Ability to work effectively with staff, senior officials, congress, foreign and domestic news media and public.
  • Knowledge of U.S. foreign policy.
  • Ability to analyze and evaluate materials as they relate to public affairs issues.
  • Knowledge of U.S. society, foreign relations, and world events.

Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable) as it relates to this job opportunity. 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). Your resume should include the dates of all qualifying experience (from month/year to month/year) and the number of hours worked/volunteered per week. For assistance with creating a resume, please click here.

Qualified candidates are assigned a score between 70 and 100. Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) candidates must be rated "Well Qualified" for the position and earn a score of at least 85 (when applicants are rated in a range of 70 to 100) to receive consideration for selection priority. If, after reviewing your resume and self-assessment questionnaire responses and a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, a score will be manually determined that reflects your documented experience. This may result in a lower score, which may also eliminate you from consideration for this position.

Applicants must meet all the qualification requirements and submit any required supporting documentation by the closing date of this job opportunity. Your application package must contain sufficient information to make a valid determination that you fully meet the basic/specialized experience requirements as stated in this job opportunity announcement for each grade level(s) for which you are applying. Applicants found to be among the top qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring official for further consideration and possible interview.  Qualified non-competitive candidates must be deemed best qualified based on the applicant assessment in order to be referred to the hiring official for further consideration and possible interview.


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Department of State - Agency Wide

Agency contact information

GPA/EX/HR
Phone
202-647-5400
Fax
000-000-0000
Email
GPAJobapplications@state.gov
Address
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street N.W.
Room 2214 (HST)
Washington, District of Columbia 20520
United States

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