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Supervisory Public Affairs Specialist

Department of the Interior
Bureau of Land Management
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in the New Mexico State Office.


Responsible for the development, direction, oversight, and management of a comprehensive communications program that includes media relations, digital communications, congressional and elected official relations, public participation, internal communications, public education, multi-media productions, and correspondence and printing management.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
04/11/2024 to 05/16/2024
Salary
$123,485 to - $160,533 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 14
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Santa Fe, NM
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
High Risk (HR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
NM-MP-24-12381626-FRB
Control number
785912500

Duties

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  • Develop and manage a team, providing technical and administrative supervision over a staff of Specialists that provide proficient public affairs and communications products to support decision-makers in achieving BLM New Mexico’s mission goals.
  • Supervise operations and program management; perform overall work planning and review/establish employee work schedules, and set priorities for staff to meet program requirements.
  • Serve as an advisor to the State/Associate State Director with the responsibility of informing the public of relevant BLM policies, practices, and projects; enhancing the BLM's image and monitoring public attitudes towards the BLM New Mexico.
  • Represent the BLM with nationally based organizations, as well as with their local affiliates or chapters, to include leading press conferences, serving as an on-camera representative of the agency, and speaking at public events.
  • Manage and supervise the preparation of press and informational releases for distribution to news media and to the public, including articles, op-eds, social media content or feature items on both technical and non-technical subjects.
  • Develop proactive and reactive communication strategies to disseminate information about controversial or complicated programs that may be of national significance, correct misconceptions and enhance public understanding of BLM policies and actions.
  • Develop internal/external communication work plans taking into consideration specific topics or aspects to emphasize the most effective media to use in communicating with intended audiences and the kind of information required by target audiences.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship required
  • May be required to complete background investigation and drug screening.
  • Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males
  • Must provide resume and supporting documents (See required documents).
  • You cannot hold an active real estate license, nor can you have an interest or hold stocks in firms with interest in Federal Lands.
  • If you are a new supervisor in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period.

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the specialized experience requirements described below. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
To be considered minimally qualified for this position, you must demonstrate that you have the required specialized experience for the respective grade level in which you are applying:

Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service (obtained either in the private or public sectors) performing the following: (1) working for a government agency or an organization that manages the natural resources of public land; (2) managing a communications program that includes multi-media relations and production, digital communication, elected official relations, and/or public participation; (3) directing the activities of subordinates by establishing work schedules and priorities; (4) establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with media, congressional staff, and other partners; (5) using a variety of methods and techniques in achieving communication goals such as news releases, radio and television scripts, feature articles, personal appearances, news conferences, exhibits, brochures, pamphlets, etc.

TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENTS: Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. One year at the GS-13 is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-14 level. (Must submit your SF-50 that shows Time-in-Grade eligibility and reflects your title, series, and grade. No award SF-50 will be accepted).

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).

Volunteer Experience: 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.

You must include months, years and hours per week worked to receive credit for your work and/or volunteer experience. One year of specialized experience is equivalent to 12 months at 40 hours per week. Part-time hours are prorated. You will not receive any credit for experience that does not indicate exact hours per week or is listed as "varies".

Education

There is no substitution of education for experience at the grade level of this announcement.

Additional information

  • Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
  • Any individual who is currently holding, or has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet time-in-grade requirements (must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent in the Federal service). Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
  • You will be required to obtain and maintain a valid state driver's license.
  • You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 5 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.

Physical Demands: The work is primarily sedentary. Occasional travel is required utilizing government vehicles and commercial or chartered aircraft. Writing and editing assignments require a degree of concentration and often include working under extremely tight deadlines and considerable outside pressure.

Working Conditions: Work is performed primarily in an office environment in an urban setting. Occasional field assignments are required to gather information and carry out the communications program.

The Bureau of Land Management has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

Tax Law Impact for PCS: Moving expenses reimbursement is a taxable benefit. However, the Federal Travel Regulation 18-05 issued by General Services Administration has authorized agencies to use the Withholding Tax Allowance and Relocation Income Tax Allowance to pay for "substantially all" of the increased tax liability resulting from the "2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" for certain eligible individuals.

Certain incentives (such as Recruitment, Relocation or Student Loan Repayment) may be authorized to eligible selectees. If eligible and qualified, you may be offered a recruitment or relocation incentive. The decision to offer an incentive will be made on a case-by-case basis and is neither promised nor guaranteed. For information visit: Recruitment Incentive or Relocation Incentive or Student Loan Repayment.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) or Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP): For information on how to apply as an ICTAP or CTAP eligible see http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/ctap_guideline.pdf. To be well-qualified and exercise selection priority for this vacancy, displaced Federal employees must be rated at 90 or above on the rating criteria for this position.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, please contact Felicia Bradfute at fbradfute@blm.gov.

How you will be evaluated

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

A review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the Occupational Questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses provided in the Occupational Questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation, you will be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified', or your score may be adjusted accordingly. If a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications or experience, you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully; errors or omissions may affect your rating.

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 additional assessments required for this position.

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 successful completion of additional assessments, including a subject matter expert (SME) resume review. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed below that are required to successfully perform the job.

Candidates who apply under Competitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are highly qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Best qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.

Candidates who apply under Noncompetitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are minimally qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.

You will be evaluated on the following competencies:

  • Communications and Media
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Leadership
  • Organizational Awareness
  • Writing


Performance Appraisals: In the evaluation process, due weight will be given to job related experience, education, training, incentive awards and performance appraisals. Applicants must have a performance rating of at least the equivalent of fully successful to be eligible for promotion or placement. Applicants may provide a copy of a performance appraisal of record dated within the last 18 months. If the applicant is unable to provide a performance appraisal of record dated within the last 18 months, the applicant may provide a written explanation as to why.

Recruitment incentive awards: Applicants that have received recruitment incentive awards during the last two years, must list them on their resume.

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