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Public Affairs Specialist

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Veterans Health Administration

Summary

This position is located at the Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center, Walla Walla, WA (VAWW). This position is aligned with the Office of the Director, which is responsible for VAWW's overall operations. The primary purpose of this position is to support the mission, goals, and functions of the VAWW and the Office of the Director.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Posted this week · Apply by 06/02/26
Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on June 2, 2026
Location
Work site options
Telework eligible
No
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$89,508 - $116,362 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
Not required
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
No
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
CBSV-12967169-26-AH
Control number
870336900

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Duties

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  • Develops, coordinates, and implements internal and external communication plans to support VAWW operations and strategic goals.
  • Serves as the primary spokesperson, responding to media inquiries and coordinating interviews, statements, and press releases with OPIA/OCA as required.
  • Manages emergency and crisis communications as the facility Public Information Officer (PIO), including JIC activation, incident messaging, and issue briefs.
  • Writes, edits, and publishes news releases, feature articles, staff messages, and executive communications in print and digital formats.
  • Maintains and updates internal and external VAWW websites, ensuring accuracy, accessibility, and compliance with VA standards.
  • Creates, schedules, and monitors official social media content to meet VA mandated posting requirements and enhance digital engagement.
  • Coordinates congressional and White House inquiries, ensuring timely routing, tracking, documentation, and archiving of all correspondence.
  • Plans, coordinates, and promotes special events, Town Halls, outreach campaigns, and tele town halls, including promotional materials and logistics.
  • Develops and maintains relationships with VSOs, community partners, congressional offices, and internal leaders to support communication and outreach.
  • Produces graphic design products such as flyers, brochures, branding materials, and digital content consistent with VA branding standards.
  • Monitors news coverage and provides timely summaries to VISN, regional, and national PAO stakeholders.
  • Serves as facility expert on communication SOPs, including training staff on 10N Issue Brief and Notification SOP requirements.
  • Manages GovDelivery email communications, including content development, targeted outreach, and distribution to subscriber groups.
  • Ensures proper release forms and approvals for media interviews, photos, and public facing materials.
  • Performs additional public affairs duties including stakeholder engagement, project coordination, and support for national/VISN requests.


Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Public Affairs Specialist/PD807800
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized.
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
  • To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
  • Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.
  • 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 or 2-year trial 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 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, 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 within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 06/02/2026.

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 within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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 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 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 as described below:

  • GS-12 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Knowledge of current issues-national, regional and local- affecting or having the potential to affect the DVA and VAWW; Skill in developing written materials and making oral presentations; Skill in assessing public reaction and identifying the extent of understanding achieved to evaluate effectiveness of information programs; Knowledge and skills sufficient to work with social media and VAWW websites.
NOTE: 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.

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/.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Additional information

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

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.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

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.

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 for this position:

  • Oral Communication
  • Written Communication
  • Public Affairs
  • Media Relations
  • Crisis Communication
  • Stakeholder Engagement
  • Quality Management
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Organizational Awareness
  • Technical Competence

Your experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. 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. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

Resume Reminder - Your resume must include the following information for each job listed:
  • Job title
  • Duties (be as detailed as possible)
  • Month & year start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008)
  • Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week)
  • Salary/Rank etc.
  • Series and Grade, if applicable, for all Federal positions you have held
  • References, current or recent supervisor
Please be aware that your answers will be verified against information provided on your resume. Be sure that your resume clearly supports your responses to all of the questions by addressing your work experience in detail. The experience stated in your resume must support your assessment responses.

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; religions; 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.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

Veterans Health Administration

OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate whole health care to Veterans?

With a combination of excellent wineries and appealing scenery, Walla Walla is on the map! This beautiful town is located on the Washington-Oregon state line; it has a rich history of Indian tribes, early pioneers and the gold rush! There are fascinating museums, music and the arts-and has one of the oldest symphony orchestras west of the Mississippi! There are summertime blues and jazz concerts, arts festivals and at least 15 art galleries! If you crave the outdoors, there are nearby trails for hiking, mountain biking and fishing in the Blue Mountains. You are bound to find yourself at home in this charming Eastern Washington town!

Agency contact information

Athena Houck
Phone
361-277-9613
Email
athena.houck@va.gov
Address
Jonathan M Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center
77 Wainwright Drive
Walla Walla, WA 99362
US

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https://www.va.gov/jobs/

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