Clarification from the agency

Current permanent employees of the Dept of VA serving on career/career-conditional appointments including Title 38, Hybrid Title 38 & Canteen employees on excepted appointments covered by the interchange agreement; Current permanent employees of other Federal Agencies; Former competitive civil service employees eligible for reinstatement; Veterans eligible under the VEOA, Non Competitive Appointment (30% Disabled Veterans, People with Disabilities, Military Spouse, and/or VRA); CTAP/ICTAP

Videos

• Evaluates and advises management officials on specific courses of action to follow in making public announcements, particularly on policy statements which inform the public on medical facility positions.
• Cultivates and maintains contacts with institutions, state and city officials, community organizations, industry, and other centers of influence to improve the public's understanding and awareness of medical facility activities.
• Analyzes and evaluates comments, proposals, or suggestions in the local
• community, among employees, and in the media outlets, in developing recommendations for management concerning the medical facility's impact in the community.
• Initiates and prepares responses to inquiries from interested groups and the general public concerning policies and activities of the medical facility's public involvement program.
• Establishes cooperative working relationships with the local media; writes and disseminates news releases and feature articles regarding the medical facility's mission, functions, programs, and policies to print and broadcast media representatives. Organizes and coordinates print and broadcast media interviews with staff members and oversees all arrangements with the media involving medical facility activities.
• Prepares scripts, audio-visual materials, and brochures for ceremonies, briefings, and orientations.
• Develops public affairs action plans. Identifies items for information dissemination based on knowledge of the medical facility's mission and the recognized need for public or internal knowledge of the purposes and backgrounds of facility programs. Arranges for special group tours and participates in special events.

Work Schedule: Monday- Friday 7:30 am - 4:00 pm
Compressed/Flexible: May be authorized.
Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Public Affairs Specialist/PD107980
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance the organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/30/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-11 position, you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate that you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one year of time-in-grade.

Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:
• 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. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Applicants who have the 1 year of appropriate specialized experience, as indicated in the table, are not required by this standard to have general experience, education above the high school level, or any additional specialized experience to meet the minimum qualification requirements. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level, you must have a:
• Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree

  or

  3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree

  or

  LL.M., if related if related. OR,
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond. : Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements for the grade levels specified in the table, and may be computed by first determining the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determining the applicant's education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grades GS-11. (When crediting education that requires specific coursework, prorate the number of hours of related courses required as a proportion of the total education to be used.)

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Ability to Plan and Organize Work
• Ability to Work as a Member of a Team
• Attention to Detail
• Communication
• Computer Skills
• Customer Service
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Reading Comprehension
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

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.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: Work regularly involves extended periods of walking, standing, bending, and stooping to execute logistics for special events or to accompany media personal or other special groups. Considerable standing and walking throughout the main medical center and the grounds of the facility/CBOCs is required. Driving or riding in a vehicle is also required on a routine basis to attend outside meetings, interviews, and special events. The incumbent must attend lengthy meetings, both during the regular scheduled hours as well as weekends and evenings. The incumbent travels to numerous community events to promote the Ralph H. Johnson VA Health Care Center which involves carrying, lifting, and erecting display panels and media equipment which can weigh over 25Ibs. The work requires manual dexterity, hand and eye coordination, and the ability to accurately perceive and sense color hues and chroma. Incumbent is also required to pick up loads of up to 15 pounds, such as boxes and equipment.

Work Environment: Work is primarily performed in an office setting. The work area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. The work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts that require normal safety precautions. The employee may occasionally be exposed to uncomfortable conditions in such places as research, laboratory, and production facilities. Work does occasionally require the incumbent to be outdoors, such as for special events or interviews. The work environment may be stressful due to high workload volume and short deadline demands.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

How you will be evaluated

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

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.