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Public Affairs Specialist

Department of the Interior
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Office of Public Affairs
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) manages the exploration and development of the nation's offshore resources. It seeks to appropriately balance economic development, energy independence, and environmental protection through oil and gas leases, renewable energy development and environmental reviews and studies. For information about our bureau go to: http://www.boem.gov/

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
02/11/2022 to 02/25/2022
Salary
$89,834 to - $141,064 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12 - 13
Locations
1 vacancy in the following locations:
Camarillo, CA
Washington, DC
Sterling, VA
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel 1-5 nights per month.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
13
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
BOEM-MMAA-22-ETA-033(DEU)
Control number
636389900

Duties

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This position is located within the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Office of Public Affairs, in Camarillo, CA, or Washington, DC or Sterling, VA. The incumbent will be responsible for functions of planning, organizing, and managing major national public information programs with wide latitude for independent judgement and decision-making.

At the full performance level (GS-13) the major duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following:
1) Serve as a subject matter expert on communicating program initiatives and processes.
2) Assist senior public affairs specialists to provide media training to the Office of Renewable Energy Programs (OREP) leadership and subject matter experts.
3) Develop written informational materials designed to reach regional and national audiences through the news media.
4) Write, review, edit, and make recommendations concerning a wide range of information pieces on behalf of BOEM's renewable energy program, especially with regard to offshore wind accomplishments/milestones.
5) Create and coordinate digital content for BOEM's website, such as blogs and photo galleries focusing on BOEM's renewable energy portfolio, workforce, and accomplishments.
6) Evaluate the impact and effectiveness of communication efforts concerning BOEM renewable energy program functions and initiatives and advise the Public Affairs Officer of findings.
7) Advise bureau leaders on how to integrate social media into communications plans and rollouts.
8) Ensure social media content written by all team members meets accessibility standards, policy and legal requirements.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Office of Public Affairs has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

Salary Information
Camarillo, CA
GS-12: $91,254-$118,635 per annum, GS-13: $108,513-$141,064 per annum.
Washington, DC and Sterling, VA
GS-12: $89,834-$116,788 per annum, GS-13: $106,823-$138,868 per annum.
First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the lower salary range of the grade level.

This vacancy may be used to fill additional positions as vacancies become available.

This vacancy is also announced as BOEM-MMAA-22-ETA-034(MP) for those applicants who wish to apply and be considered under Merit Promotion procedures.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen.
  • You will be subject to a background/suitability investigation/determination
  • You will be required to have federal payments made by Direct Deposit.
  • You must submit ALL required documents and a completed questionnaire.
  • Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service system, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See http://www.sss.gov/.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualification Requirements:
To qualify for this position you must meet the Specialized Experience for the grade to which you are applying.

Specialized Experience:
GS-12
To qualify for the GS-12, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Specialized experience is 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. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: 1) assisting in the development of communication plans; 2) presenting information orally and in writing; and 3) developing outreach (i.e. exhibits, newsletters, social media posts, etc.) for public distribution from an organization. Must meet all.

GS-13
To qualify for the GS-13, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Specialized experience is 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. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: 1) developing communication plans; 2) presenting information orally and in writing; 3) developing outreach (i.e. exhibits, newsletters, social media posts, etc.) for public distribution from an organization; and 4) editing strategies of information distribution based on public reaction/understanding. Must meet all.

Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualification Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions and is available at OPM's website: https://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/num-ndx.asp

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

Reasonable Accommodation Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire

Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.

Identification of promotion potential in this announcement does not constitute a commitment or an obligation on the part of management to promote the employee selected at some future date. Promotion will depend upon administrative approval and the continuing need for and performance of higher-level duties.

The application contains information subject to the Privacy Act (P.L. 93-579, 5 USC 552a). The information is used to determine qualifications for employment, and is authorized under Title 5, USC, Section 3302 and 3361.

Important Note: All Department of the Interior (DOI) employees are subject to the conflict of interest restrictions imposed upon all employees of the Executive Branch of the Federal Government and may be required to file a Financial Disclosure Report. In addition, DOI employees, GS-15 and above, who work in the Office of the Secretary; along with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) employees (at ALL grade levels), are further restricted concerning their interests in Federal lands and resources administered or controlled by the Department of the Interior. This includes holding stock in energy corporations which lease Federal lands (e.g.: oil, gas, coal, alternative energy resources, etc.). If you have any such investments you should contact the DOI, BOEM or BSEE Ethics Office before accepting employment. DOI employees are held to the highest level of integrity. Employees must be objective and impartial in the performance of their work. All potential issues (e.g.: work-related interactions with friends, family members, or previous employers) must be disclosed at the time of application or during the interview process.

How you will be evaluated

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

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the online assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

  • Attention to Detail
  • Communications and Media
  • Customer Service
  • Flexibility
  • Influencing/Negotiating
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork
  • Reading
  • Reasoning
In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

Once the application process is complete, we will review your application to ensure you meet the job requirements. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your resume, supporting documentation and responses to the online questionnaire will be made. Your responses to the online assessment will be used to measure the degree to which your background matches the requirements for this position. You are being evaluated under the Category Rating method, which means, if you are determined to be qualified you will be placed in one of three pre-defined categories. These categories are "Platinum", "Gold", and "Silver". However, your resume must support your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire, or your score may be lowered. Candidates placed in the "Platinum" category will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be invited for an interview. Veterans' preference rules for category rating will be applied.

If you are a status applicant (current career or career-conditional Federal employee or former permanent Federal employee with reinstatement eligibility in the competitive service), or are eligible under a special appointing authority and you are selected under this vacancy, you may be subject to serving a new one-year probationary period.

To preview the application click: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11385270

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