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Public Affairs Specialist

Department of the Army
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Portland Public Affairs Office
This job announcement has closed

Summary

About the Position: Serves as a specialist in the Public Affairs Office with responsibility for researching, writing and disseminating sensitive, critical or complex information and producing appropriate and varied communication products for both internal and external audiences, with a focus on applying these skills to the organization's media relations operations.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
12/30/2024 to 01/10/2025
Salary
$65,846 to - $103,563 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 9 - 11
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Portland, OR
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
25% or less - 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
11
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
CERH245879645840
Control number
826067600

Videos

Duties

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  • Develop public affairs and/or strategic communication plans for specific issues or projects in collaboration with project managers.
  • Serve as a spokesperson for the District to local, regional and national print and broadcast news media representatives on District's programs and activities.
  • Interview and confer with program specialists to obtain latest information for use in appropriate news products.
  • Prepare and disseminate products including, but not limited to, news releases, articles, speeches, briefings, photographs with captions and interviews.
  • Arrange and prepare materials for news conferences, interviews and media tours between Corps officials/facilities and news media representatives.
  • Respond to media inquiries and meeting individual media deadlines and needs.
  • Capture and record video footage and images using digital cameras and related equipment.
  • Import video footage into digital/analog processing software (i.e., Adobe Premiere) to edit and produce quality video products.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
  • Driver's License
  • This position has a Temporary Duty (TDY) or business travel requirement of 25% of the time.
  • FM Certification Level 1

Qualifications

Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected. See Proof of Eligibility for an extensive list of document requirements for all employment authorities.

  • Current Department of Army Civilian Employees
  • Current Department of Defense (DOD) Civilian Employee (non-Army)
  • Domestic Defense Industrial Base/Major Range and Test Facilities Base Civilian Personnel Workforce
  • Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan
  • Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act
  • Military Spouses, under Executive Order (E.O.) 13473
  • Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Reserve (MR) and National Guard (NG) Technician Eligible
  • Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Spouse Preference (MSP) Eligible
  • Priority Placement Program, DoD MR and NG Preference Eligible Tech Receiving Disability Retirement
  • Priority Placement Program, DoD Retained Grade Preference Eligible
  • Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) of 1998


In order to qualify, you must meet the education/or experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

Specialized Experience GS-09: One year of specialized experience which includes 1) Assisting with preparing news releases and articles at local events such as press conferences, town hall meetings, or meetings with other targeted audiences, AND 2) Utilizing video editing equipment and or software to edit and produce quality video products. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-07).
OR

Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: Political Science, Public Administration, Communications, Public Policy or other applicable fields of study. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.

OR

Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by 18. Add the two percentages.

Time in Grade Requirement: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent GS-07.

Specialized Experience GS-11 One year of specialized experience which includes 1) Editing, publishing, and/or sharing engaging content through traditional and digital media platforms; 2) Preparing news releases and articles at local events such as press conferences, town hall meetings, or meetings with targeted audiences; AND 3) Creating multimedia content, for fliers, short clips, videos, etc., using a combination of writing, graphic design, or video editing to produce quality video products. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-09).

OR

Education: Ph.D or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as Political Science, Public Administration, Communications, Public Policy or other applicable fields of study.. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)

OR

Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages.

Time in Grade Requirement: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent GS-09.

You will be evaluated on the basis of your level of competency in the following areas:
  • Communications and Media
  • Digital Collaboration
  • External Awareness
  • Oral Communication
  • Written Communication

Education

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Additional information

  • Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
  • You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
  • One year trial/probationary period may be required.
  • Direct deposit of pay is required.
  • Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees.
  • If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet.
  • This is a(n) Professional Services Career Field position.
  • Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
  • Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement.
  • Relocation incentive MAY be authorized if determined to be in the best interest of the government.
  • Management may make selections at any grade level. Promotion to the next grade will be at management's discretion following completion of time-in-grade requirements, training, fully successful performance, and acquired and demonstrated experience.

How you will be evaluated

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

The selecting official has requested a competitive and non-competitive candidate list for this vacancy. If you are eligible for the non-competitive list, you will be evaluated on basic and/or minimum qualifications, as applicable. While required to answer the assessment questions, non-competitive candidates will not be evaluated against the competitive rating and ranking criteria. The selecting official may select from any of the candidate lists.

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. If you are minimally qualified, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine your level of experience. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

You should list any relevant performance appraisals and incentive awards in your resume as that information may be taken into consideration during the selection process. If selected, you may be required to provide supporting documentation.

You may claim Military Spouse preference.

Military Spouse Preference (MSP) applicants will receive preference consideration and will be placed (if selected) at the highest grade for which they have applied and are determined best qualified, up to and including the full performance level.

You may claim Priority Placement Program (PPP) preference.

DoD Priority Placement Program (PPP) Applicants will receive preference consideration at the full-performance grade level only.
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Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). If you are a Federal employee in the competitive service and your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority for this position. To receive selection priority, you must: (1) meet ICTAP eligibility criteria (2) be rated well-qualified for the position and; (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your ICTAP eligibility. To be considered well-qualified and receive selection priority applicants must satisfy all qualification requirements for the position and receive a score of 90 or above. Additional information about the program is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website.

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