Clarification from the agency

This vacancy announcement is open to the public. This position allows for recurring and situational telework, but does not qualify for full-time or remote telework. The duty station is in the Thurgood Marshal Federal Judiciary Building at One Columbus Circle NE in Washington, DC, across the street from Union Station with easy access to Metro (red line), VRE, MARC, and Amtrak.

The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Office of Public Affairs (OPA) is seeking a self-motivated and experienced Public Information Officer to join its team. OPA is the central point of contact for public information and communications. OPA carries out a public information and communications program with the federal judiciary, the media, the public, other branches of government, and organizations and institutions.

The Public Information Officer will serve as a senior member of the OPA team and collaborates with the Public Affairs Officer and other public affairs staff to develop and implement communications strategies; manage key internal and external communications initiatives; and execute core OPA mission objectives. This position reports to the Communications and Public Affairs Officer.

The duties of this position include, but are not limited to:

1. Assisting in managing and supervising the daily operations of OPA.
2. Serving as a primary liaison between the judiciary and the media.
3. Collaborating with the Public Affairs Officer and other public affairs staff to develop and execute the national communications strategy for the judiciary.
4. Responding to complex media and public inquiries and providing assistance and guidance to judicial and AO staff on communication issues.
5. Serving as the official spokesperson on behalf of the judiciary for written and oral communications with the news media.
6. Drafting and assisting in formulating information release guidance and policies; and implementing information release guidance and policies.
7. Establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with key management officials internal and external to the judiciary.
8. Researching, writing, and editing news and feature articles and press releases for the judiciary's external and internal websites.
9. Drafting talking points and developing remarks for the Director for judicial and court conferences, press briefings, and other public-facing events.
10. Providing counsel to judges, senior court officials, and AO management.
11. Serving as acting Public Affairs Officer (PAO) in the absence of the PAO.

Conditions of employment

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

1. All information is subject to verification. Applicants are advised that false answers or omissions of information on application materials or inability to meet the following conditions may be grounds for non-selection, withdrawal of an offer of employment, or dismissal after being employed.
2. Selection for this position is contingent upon completion of OF-306, Declaration of Federal Employment during the pre-employment process and proof of U.S. citizenship for competitive status positions or conversion to a competitive status position with the AO. If non-citizens are considered for hire into a temporary or any other position with non-competitive status or when it is confirmed by the AO Human Resources Office there are no qualified U.S. citizens for a competitive status position (unless prohibited by a law or statue), non-citizens must provide proof of authorization to work in the U.S. and proof of entitlement to receive compensation. Additional information on the employment of non-citizens can be found at USAJOBS Help Center | Employment of non-citizens/. For a list of documents that may be used to provide proof of citizenship or authorization to work in the United States, please refer to Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.
3. All new AO employees will be required to complete an FBI fingerprint-based national criminal database and records check and pass a public trust suitability check.
4. New employees to the AO will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights/responsibilities, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
5. All new AO employees are required to identify a financial institution for direct deposit of pay before appointment.
6. You will be required to serve a trial period if selected for a first-time appointment to the Federal government, transferring from another Federal agency, or serving as a first-time supervisor. Failure to successfully complete the trial period may result in termination of employment.
7. If appointed to a temporary position, management may have the discretion of converting the position to permanent depending upon funding and staffing allocation.

Qualifications

Applicants must have demonstrated experience as listed below. This requirement is according to the AO Classification, Compensation, and Recruitment Systems which include interpretive guidance and reference to the OPM Operating Manual for Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions.

Specialized Experience: Applicants must have at least one full year (52 weeks) (preferably 3 years) of specialized experience which is in or directly related to the line of work of this position. Specialized experience must demonstrate experience in ALL areas defined below:

• Leading, directing, and administering comprehensive public affairs programs, including media relations and high-level and strategic communications planning.
• Expertise in information release policies and strategic integration of social media and other communications tools and emerging technologies.
• Engaging with a nationally recognized news organization in a senior leadership capacity, or working as a reporter or editor for nationally recognized news organization.
• Developing and executing communications plans and strategies for the national news media.
• Writing press releases, press statements, and executive-level talking points intended for national news media distribution.

• Experience in a mid- to large-sized federal government agency; a federal or state court, federal law enforcement agency; a Fortune 500 company; or a national non-profit.
• Experience working in the media as a reporter or editor with a nationally recognized news outlet on stories of national significance.

How you will be evaluated

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

We will review your resume and supporting documentation and compare this information to your responses on the occupational questionnaire to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for this job. If you meet the minimum qualifications for this job, we will evaluate your application package, to assess the quality, depth, and complexity of your accomplishments, experience, and education as they relate to the requirements listed in this vacancy announcement.

You should be aware that your ratings are subject to evaluation and verification. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume and/or narrative responses, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience. Failure to submit the mandatory narrative responses will result in not receiving full consideration and/or rating credit. Deliberate attempts to falsify information may be grounds for not selecting you, withdrawing an offer of employment, or dismissal after being employed.