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Public Affairs Specialist

Smithsonian Institution
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in the Smithsonian Institution (SI), Smithsonian American Women's History Museum (SAWHM) in Washington, DC.  This position manages communications and public affairs for the museum, to include media relations, brand management, social media, internal communications, crisis communications and issues management. 

Overview

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Job canceled
Open & closing dates
01/18/2023 to 02/01/2023
Salary
$112,015 to - $145,617 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Location
Washington
FEW vacancies
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Requires periodic travel.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent - Federal
Work schedule
Full-time - Full-Time, Permanent
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
14
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
23R-JS-307642-DEU-SAWHM
Control number
700596000

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This position is open to all U.S. Citizens or U.S. Nationals. More than one selection may be made from this announcement.

Duties

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  • Plans and coordinates the day-to-day, annual, and long-term work for the SAWHM communications/public affairs program, ensuring it is cohesive, comprehensive, and effective.
  • Oversees all internal and external communication plans and decisions while providing administrative and technical direction.
  • Speaks on behalf of the museum to the news media and the public about SAWHM’s official work as the museum’s public information officer.
  • Ensures information provided to the news media and the public is accurate and delivered timely
  • Contributes communications and marketing expertise to the development of SAWHM exhibitions, public programs, digital projects, and physical building.
  • Supervises others and plans and carries out the full range of supervisory authorities related to assignment of work
  • Oversees projects working collaboratively and effectively across departments demonstrating teamwork at all levels of the organization.
  • Serves as Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) on contracts, assisting Smithsonian’s contracting officer's representative (COR) to negotiate, prepare and manage service agreements with external vendors and consultants, ensuring absolute adherence to federal, state and local laws in accordance with SI policies governing procurement.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Pass Pre-employment Background Investigation
  • Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer
  • Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.
  • May be required to serve an 18-month probationary period for supervisors.

Conditions of Employment

COVID-19 VACCINATION REQUIREMENTS:

For the latest information on the COVID-19 vaccination requirements and its impact on your application, click on Smithsonian Institution’s Frequently Asked Questions

Qualification requirements must be met by the job announcement closing date.

For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions on OPM website.

Qualifications

Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience (Federal or other) equivalent to the GS-12 level that is close or similar to the work of this job. Specialized experience is defined as: managing communications and public affairs for a museum or a cultural institution to include media relations, brand management, social media, internal communications, crisis communications and issues management.

All applicants must also submit a work sample.  Failure to submit will result in loss of consideration.

Candidate is to assemble work into a multi-page PDF document labeled [Name]_DC_GS13_SAWHM.  The quality of the presentation of the work sample shall be a factor in their evaluation.  The portfolio must include:

  1. Copies of at least three (3) Press Releases for a museum or cultural heritage organization where the candidate played a major role in researching and drafting the release. Examples should reflect an announcement of an upcoming event, an official announcement, or an organization’s response to controversy.
  1. Copies of at least one (1) Talking Points document prepared by candidate for use by staff when contacted by the public and/or members of the press in relation to the organization’s event, announcement, or recent press coverage.
  1. Illustration of Brand Management experience, achieved through planning, developing, implementing a branding strategy, and/or managing use of an organization’s established brand. Sample work may include items candidate developed such as: Statement of Work for branding consultants or designers; PowerPoint presentation (or similar) to brief stakeholders on the basis of an organization’s brand strategy; FAQs, policy, and/or Toolkit to ensure proper use of brand; and/or In-house training for an organization’s staff on proper use of brand.


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). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience. Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week.

Additional information

  • This position is not included in the bargaining unit.

Current or Former Political Appointees: Beginning January 1, 2010, agencies must seek prior approval from OPM before they can appoint a current or recent political appointee to a competitive or non-political excepted service position at any level under the provisions of title 5, United States Code. If you are currently or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-career SES employee in the executive branch, you MUST disclose that to the Office of Human Resources. Submit a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment:

  • Position title;
  • Type of appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES, or Presidential Appointee);
  • Agency; and,
  • Beginning and ending dates of appointment.

Recruitment Incentive: Recruitment incentive(s) may be authorized for this position.  However, approval for incentives are contingent upon various availability. If authorized, certain incentives will require the incumbent to sign a service agreement to remain in the Federal government for a certain time period.

Note: This statement does not imply nor guarantee an incentive will be offered and paid.

This position is being concurrently announced to current and former federal employees and those eligible for special hiring flexibilities under announcement number 23R-JS-307642-MPA-SAWHM.

How you will be evaluated

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

Applicants for this position may be evaluated in multiple stages. The first stage is an evaluation of your responses to the online multiple-choice questions that assess your experience, education, and/or training for the job related competencies below:

  • Strategic Communications
  • Exhibit and Program Planning
  • Supervision
  • Project Management

Applicants who meet or exceed minimum qualifications will be assigned to one of three category groups based on job-related criteria:

  • Best Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and excels in most of the job related competencies above.
  • Better Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and satisfies most of the job related competencies above.
  • Good Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements, but does not satisfy most of the job related competencies above to a substantive degree.

This category rating process does not add veterans' preference points or apply the "rule of three", but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category. A selecting official may make selections from the highest quality category (Best Category) provided no preference eligible in that category is passed over to select a non-preference eligible in that category unless the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 3317(b) or 3318(b) are satisfied. Preference eligibles who meet 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 when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-9 grade level or higher. Applicants who have not submitted a resume in the USAjobs system and/or have not answered all of the vacancy questions will not be considered for this position.

Important Note:

Your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses to the occupational questionnaire or other assessment tool for consistency. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience. Your resume should provide sufficient information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.


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