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Public Affairs Specialist

Department of Justice
Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and the Office of the U.S. Attorneys
Southern District of Florida

Summary

The United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida's (USAO-SDFL) mission is to enforce and defend the laws of the U.S of America through the prosecution of criminal cases brought by the Federal government; the prosecution and defense of civil cases in which the United States is a party; and the collection of debts owed to the Federal government that are administratively uncollectible.

Position is also being announced under Merit Staffing procedures: 26-FLS-12941391-MP.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
04/21/2026 to 05/04/2026
Salary
$113,356 - $147,365 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Miami, FL
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
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
13
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Special-Sensitive (SS)/High Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
26-FLS-12941390-DE
Control number
865867200

Duties

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This Public Affairs Specialist serves as the senior Public Affairs Officer for the District, including all branch offices. The Public Affairs Officer serves as the principal spokesperson, subject-matter expert, and senior advisor to the United States Attorney (USA) and senior leadership on all public affairs, media relations, and strategic communications matters

If selected for this position, you will join a well-respected team that is responsible for providing Public Affairs Specialist support in the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida, located in Miami, Florida, focusing in the areas of developing, planning, directing, and managing the District's comprehensive public affairs and strategic communications program. This includes media relations, coordination of information sharing with federal, state, local, and international law enforcement partners, community outreach, digital and social media engagement, and other related programs.

Typical work assignments will include:
- Plan, direct, and manage the District public affairs and strategic communications program for all SDFL offices.
- Serve as principal spokesperson and senior advisor to the United States Attorney on media relations and public communications.
- Develop and execute communication strategies for investigations, prosecutions, civil actions, and office initiatives, tailoring messages to varied audiences.
- Write, review, and disseminate policy compliant public materials such as releases, statements, speeches, and talking points in English and Spanish as needed.
- Build and sustain working relationships with local to international English and Spanish media to ensure timely, accurate information sharing.
- Coordinate press events and public appearances, prepare leaders for interviews, and manage logistics and media access parameters.
- Lead digital, social media, and web content strategy, including metrics, best practices, and compliance with branding and accessibility requirements.

Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a United States Citizen or National to apply for this position.
  • Selective Service: Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see http://www.sss.gov/).
  • All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
  • Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory pre-employment adjudication. This includes fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing. Continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation.
  • A probationary period may be required.
  • If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application.
  • Must provide resume and supporting documents (See required documents).
  • You must meet all qualifications requirements by the closing date of the announcement.
  • As needed, additional selections may be made using this announcement.

Qualifications

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:

To qualify at the GS-13 level, you must possess:

Specialized Experience:
At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level in the Federal service performing (obtained in either the public or private sectors) (4) of the (5) duties listed below:

  1. Developing and directing a public affairs and strategic communications program for a multi office organization with complex, high visibility matters;
  2. Managing external communications for investigations, prosecutions, or civil actions, ensuring timing, content, and release methods comply with policy
  3. Drafting and editing press releases, statements, speeches, and talking points, including English and Spanish products for diverse audiences;
  4. Advising senior leaders on media strategy and reputational risk, including rapid response decisions for sensitive or controversial issues;
  5. Managing social media and web content programs, applying departmental guidance, tracking metrics, and improving outreach effectiveness.

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

If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here.

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

A relocation incentive may be considered as appropriate based on qualifications.

Background Investigation: To ensure the accomplishment of its mission, the Department of Justice requires each and every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully complete a background investigation for a clearance as a condition of placement in this Special-Sensitive/High Risk position. This review includes financial issues such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your ICTAP eligibility; 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement; and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and rate equivalent to the Highly Qualified or better category using established category rating criteria. Additional information about ICTAP eligibility, click here.

The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your CTAP eligibility, 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement, and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and rate equivalent to the Highly Qualified or better category using established category rating criteria. Additional information about CTAP eligibility, click here.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA 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, based on your adjudication decision. 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 RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments: Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Flexibility
  • Influencing/Negotiating
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork



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

To preview the application questionnaire, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12941390

Your application will be evaluated and rated under DOJ's Category Rating and Selection Procedures and placed in one of three categories: Best Qualified, Highly Qualified, or Qualified.

Best Qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position;

Highly Qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in some, but not all, of the requirements of the job;

Qualified - applicants possessing experience and/or education that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors.

Names of all candidates in the best qualified category will be sent to the hiring official for employment consideration (unless a sufficient number of qualified veterans are found - in which only those names will be initially certified). Candidates within the best qualified category who are eligible for veteran preference will receive selection priority over non-veteran preference eligibles.

Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and the Office of the U.S. Attorneys

If you are looking for an exciting and challenging career, this is the position for you! With a diverse and talented workforce of over 100,000 men and women, The Department of Justice leads the Nation in ensuring the protection of all Americans while preserving their constitutional freedoms. You will be part of a dedicated team helping to enforce Federal criminal and civil laws that protect life, liberty and the property of citizens.

For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorneys' Offices, visit www.justice.gov/usao/.

Agency contact information

Staff Acquisition
Email
SAG-E-Appeals@opm.gov
Address
Southern District of Florida
99 N.E. 4th Street
Miami, FL 33132
US

Visit our careers page

Learn more about what it's like to work at Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and the Office of the U.S. Attorneys, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

https://www.justice.gov/usao/find-your-united-states-attorney

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