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Supervisory Public Affairs Specialist

Smithsonian Institution
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo.  This position is located at the National Museum of the American Latino (NMAL), Smithsonian Institution (SI). NMAL is a national museum dedicated to enriching the appreciation of America's Latino heritage and empowering Latino American communities in their sense of inclusion with the national culture. 

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
08/18/2023 to 09/01/2023
Salary
$132,368 to - $172,075 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 14
Location
Washington, DC
FEW vacancies
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
25% or less - Requires availability for travel up to 25%.
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
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
23R-LW-309426-DEU-NMAL
Control number
744259700

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. Note: Federal employees with permanent status or individuals eligible for special appointing authorities may also apply to Job Announcement 23R-LW-309426-MPA-NMAL.

Duties

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The Supervisory Public Affairs Specialist (Assistant Director, Communications and Marketing) is responsible for leading NMAL's communications and marketing activities.

In this position, you will:

  • Plan and coordinate NMAL’s Public Affairs program.
  • Use news media, web-based and social media products, and other communication channels to report, explain, and interpret NMAL activities to the public.
  • Manage creative team, oversee design concepts, market research, and target results.
  • Supervise and assign work to subordinate staff. Monitor museum activities and manage staff, contractors, and teams assembled for special projects.
  • Share knowledge and techniques, demonstrate and encourage teamwork.
  • Contribute expertise for the development of exhibitions, public programs, digital projects, and physical building.
  • Serve as technical point of contact for contracts, assist the contracting officer’s representative to negotiate, prepare, and manage service agreements with external vendors and consultants.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Pass Pre-employment Background Investigation
  • May need to complete a Probationary Period
  • Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer
  • Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.

Conditions of Employment

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

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

Please Note: This position requires fluency in written and spoken Spanish. 

Qualifications

Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-13 level in the Federal Service.  For this position, 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; providing direction and management over organizational staff; and overseeing projects and collaborating with various departments within the organization.

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.

Please Note: In addition to the specialized experience listed above, this position requires fluency in written and spoken Spanish.

Applicants must provide a writing sample. Failure to submit the writing sample will result in loss of consideration.

All applicants who meet or exceed minimum qualifications will receive a final rating within one of three category groups based on one or more stages of evaluation which measure 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, but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-veterans within each quality category. The Hiring Manager may make selections from the highest quality category (Best Category) provided no veteran in that category is passed over to select a non-veteran in that category unless the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 3317(b) or 3318(b) are satisfied. Veterans 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.

Education

There are no basic education requirements for this position.  

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.

Selections may be made for vacancies across the Smithsonian Institution (SI). By applying to this position, you agree to allow your application and other personal information to be shared with one or more SI hiring officials for employment consideration for same/similar positions within the location(s) identified in this announcement.

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:

  1. Mastery of production methods for a wide range of written materials. 
  2. Expert knowledge of how to stimulate interest on the part of the museum’s various publics concerning activities, programs, and events conducted or cosponsored by the museum.
  3. Knowledge of written and oral communication methods and techniques. 
  4. Knowledge of traditional and new marketing techniques to expand brand awareness.
  5. Manages Human Resources - Plans, distributes, and monitors work assignments; evaluates work performance and provides feedback to others on their performance.

If you are found qualified for this position and meet or exceed a predefined rating threshold from your questionnaire responses, you may be contacted by email to complete or submit additional assessments such as work samples, short essays, or other appropriate assessments within approximately one week of the job announcement closing. If you do not meet the rating threshold to move to the next evaluation stage, you will be notified promptly by email. 

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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