This position is located in the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's (PBGC), Office of Policy & External Affairs (OPEA), Communications Outreach & Legislative Affairs Department (COLAD).
CONCURRENT ANNOUNCEMENT: THIS POSITION IS ALSO BEING ADVERTISED UNDER DELEGATED EXAMINING PROCEDURES UNDER ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER OPEA-2025-0006. IF YOU WISH TO BE CONSIDERED UNDER THAT ANNOUNCEMENT, PLEASE REVIEW TO DETERMINE IF YOU QUALIFY.
More than one selection may be made from this vacancy announcement.
Summary
This position is located in the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's (PBGC), Office of Policy & External Affairs (OPEA), Communications Outreach & Legislative Affairs Department (COLAD).
CONCURRENT ANNOUNCEMENT: THIS POSITION IS ALSO BEING ADVERTISED UNDER DELEGATED EXAMINING PROCEDURES UNDER ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER OPEA-2025-0006. IF YOU WISH TO BE CONSIDERED UNDER THAT ANNOUNCEMENT, PLEASE REVIEW TO DETERMINE IF YOU QUALIFY.
More than one selection may be made from this vacancy announcement.
Current competitive service permanent career/career-conditional federal employees, reinstatement eligibles, displaced/surplus employees (CTAP/ICTAP eligibles), veterans eligible under the Veterans Opportunity to Work Act (VOW)/Veterans' Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA), disabled veterans with 30% or more disability, former Action Volunteers-Peace Corps/VISTA/etc., Persons with disabilities and others who are eligible for special appointing authorities.
Plan, execute and update internal communications plans with strategic and leadership budgetary impacts. Campaigns will be coordinated with other internal and external departments and may be short or long-term in duration.
Create and edit news releases, fact sheets, talking points and other material to stimulate internal interest in PBGC accomplishments and enhance understanding of PBGC, its workforce, mission and contribution to the mission.
Prepare speeches and presentations for senior PBGC leaders and advise on delivery. Speeches and presentations may encompass aspects of technical, programmatic, budgetary, policy issues and may be delivered to a broad range of audiences representing PBGC.
You may undergo a personnel security background investigation
Selective Service registration required for male applicants, unless exempt
1-year probationary period required unless met during prior Federal service
Go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form I-9. Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S.
Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency
Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
Qualifications
All qualification requirements must be met within 30 days of the announcement closing date.
To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet the specialized experience qualifications and/or education for the grade at which you are requesting consideration.
Specialized Experience – Applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience at the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service or equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the private sector planning and developing communication and public affairs programs, to include establishing and maintaining effective relationships with both internal and external audiences/publics. Applicants must also have experience developing, coordinating and executing employee engagement strategies, communication plans, and campaigns across departments and teams. Examples include: Researching and writing news stories/content for an internal webpage/newsletter; writing and editing various content, such as press releases, talking points, speeches, infographics and other documents to ensure they adhere to journalistic, organizational and Associated Press Stylebook standards; creating and developing communication plans for campaigns, policies and programs to internal audiences via various communication channels.
Time-In-Grade Requirement: In order to be eligible for this position, all current Federal employees must provide proof of meeting the time-in-grade requirement (i.e., at least 52 weeks of experience at the next lower grade level in the Federal service). This information must be in both your resume and on an SF-50. Those who do not provide proof of having met the time-in-grade requirement will be deemed ineligible for this position.
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.
PBGC encourages qualified applicants with disabilities to apply. If you are requiring reasonable accommodations, please contact PBGC’s Reasonable Accommodation Coordinator, Roderick Duncan, at (202) 286-7803 or Duncan.Roderick@pbgc.gov. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
All Veterans are encouraged to visit CareerOne for resume writing tips and skill conversion terms.
If you believe that you have been subjected to discrimination, you may contact the PBGC Office of Equal Employment Opportunity (OEEO):
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Visit PBGC Benefits for information on our Agency Benefits offered.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Referral: You will be assigned to one of three quality groups. Each group represents a quality level (i.e., Best Qualified, Qualified, Minimally Qualified). Candidates will be considered in quality group order. If you are among the top qualified candidates, your application may be referred to a selecting official for consideration. You may be required to participate in a selection interview (telephonic and/or in person at the discretion of the Selecting Official in accordance with hiring policies).
If your resume does not support the answers you gave on the assessment questionnaire, you may be rated Not Qualified or you may be placed in a lower quality group.
Your name will be placed in one of the three following quality groups:
•Best-Qualified - highly proficient regarding the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) related to this position.
•Qualified - competent regarding the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) related to this position.
•Minimally Qualified- possessing only the minimum qualifications required for this position.
Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs):
skill in applying communication practices and techniques
skill in developing and implementing public affairs activities
skill in written communication
WRITING SAMPLE: A writing sample of your own original research and writing not developed via or supplemented by generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
Please Note: The AP Style Book Test may be required if you are selected for an interview.
Interagency Career Transition Assistance Programs: These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; 2) be rated well-qualified for the position with a score of 80 or above based on the competencies listed above (which is equivalent to PBGC’s “qualified” quality group); and 3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For more information visit: Interagency Career Transition Assistance Programs.
Candidates who apply under Competitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are best qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the assessment questionnaire. The best qualified candidates will be referred if all other requirements are met.
Candidates who apply under Noncompetitive and Special Hiring Authorities procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are minimally qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the assessment questionnaire. The minimally qualified candidates will be referred if all other requirements are met.
Your rating may be lowered if your responses to the online questions are not supported by the education and/or experience described in your application.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Visit PBGC Benefits for information on our Agency Benefits offered.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
RESUME: You must submit a resume. Your resume must include your name and contact information and should clearly show your possession of the specialized experience and KSAs so that we can determine your qualifications for this position. Your resume should be specific to the position you are applying for, relating your skills and experience to those noted in the job posting.
PLEASE DO NOT include photographs, hypertext/hyperlinks, or other inappropriate material or content. This information will not be used to make eligibility or qualification determinations.
COVER LETTER (OPTIONAL): Your cover letter should state your interest in this position and the strengths that you feel will make you an asset to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. We will not use your cover letter to determine your qualifications; however, your cover letter will go to the Selecting Official along with your resume if you are referred.
Writing Sample: A writing sample of your own original research and writing not developed via or supplemented by generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
SF-50 (NOTIFICATION OF PERSONNEL ACTION): All status candidates or reinstatement eligibles must submit an SF-50.
DO NOT submit Award SF-50's and/or General Adjustment SF-50's as they cannot be used to prove time-in-grade.
Submit your most recent NON-AWARD SF-50. The SF-50 must indicate proof of status and should identify your position title, series, grade, step, salary, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted); also include your SF-50 reflecting when you entered your highest grade (e.g. Promotion, Appointment, etc.) in order to verify time-in-grade requirements.
Please note that it may be necessary to submit more than one SF-50 to show that all requirements have been met.
VETERANS PREFERENCE:If claiming veteran's preference, you should indicate the type of veteran's preference you are claiming on your resume. For veteran's preference, you must provide a copy of your DD-214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (Member 4 copy or Member 7 copy), official statement of service from your command if you are currently on active duty, or other official documentation (e.g., documentation of receipt of a campaign badge or expeditionary medal) that proves your military service was performed under honorable conditions. Your DD-214 must show the type of discharge and dates of active duty. If the appropriate copy of the DD-214 is not submitted and the discharge status is not confirmed, you will not receive credit for the claimed active-duty military service. To gain access to your DD-214 online, please visit: Request Military Service Records | National Archives. Information on Veterans Preference is available in the Vet's Guide that can be found at OPM's website: Feds Hire Vets - Veterans - Job Seekers - Veterans' Preference
Veterans Opportunity to Work Act (VOW): If you are currently serving on active duty, you MUST submit a statement of service from your unit (on unit letterhead) identifying the branch of service, period(s) of service, campaign badges or expeditionary medals earned, type of discharge, character of service, and the date you will be separated or be on approved terminal leave. If you provide a statement of service at this stage, your preference/eligibility will be verified by a DD-214 (Member 4 Copy) upon separation from the military.
Interagency Career Transition Assistance Programs: CTAP and ICTAP candidates must submit documents showing eligibility for selection priority (e.g., RIF separation notice, Certificate of Expected Separation, or other proof of eligibility for priority selection); an SF-50 showing the current (or former) position, grade level, promotion potential, and duty location; and the most current performance appraisal including the performance rating.
Failure to provide all the required information, as stated in this vacancy announcement, may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
In order to be considered, submit all of the required information (including your supplemental documentation) before midnight EST on the closing date.
If you are not able to apply online or require reasonable accommodations, contact Rozena Bear on (202) 229-4964or at bear.rozena@pbgc.gov no later than 5:00 p.m. on the day before the closing date of this vacancy announcement. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
Please complete all the steps in the online application process at USAJOBS (www.usajobs.gov). You may make updates to your information at any time prior to midnight EST on the closing date of this announcement.
Register with USAJOBS, which will store your information and resume. You will only need to complete this step once.
Locate and review the vacancy announcement on USAJOBS. Click the “Apply” link and then select a resume to submit with your application. If you do not have a resume to select, or you want to upload a new one, click “Add Resume” and upload your resume. You can also click “Edit” to edit an already-uploaded resume. Once you have selected a resume, click “Save and Continue.”
Add or remove your supporting documents.
Once you have attached your resume and supporting documents, review your application package to ensure that they have been attached, then check the box next to “I acknowledge that I have reviewed my resume and document(s).” Then Click “Save and Continue.”
Complete the “Include Personal Information” page and click “Save and Continue,”
On the “Continue Application with Agency” page, read the terms and certify by checking the box if you agree. Then click “Continue to Agency Site.” This will take you to the application for the position.
Click “Apply to this Vacancy.”
Complete or review the eligibility questions, which determine the types of positions you are eligible for.
Specify which series, grade(s), and location(s) you wish to be considered for.
Complete the online vacancy questions, then click "Finish". You will continue to the Vacancy Documents page.
Review your attached documents from USAJobs. If there are other documents that you need to attach, upload those here as well.
You will then see a summary of your application, including the documents that you submitted. You are strongly encouraged to save or print a copy of this page as proof of submission and receipt of your application and documents.
PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION
Human Resources Department
445 12th Street SW
Washington, District of Columbia 20024
United States
Next steps
You are encouraged to complete your USAJOBS personal account completely to receive notifications at each point in the recruiting process. Utilizing this option allows you to review and track the status of your application and receive email notifications from the hiring office.
You may check the status of your applications by clicking on the My USAJOBS tab at the USAJOBS website.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
RESUME: You must submit a resume. Your resume must include your name and contact information and should clearly show your possession of the specialized experience and KSAs so that we can determine your qualifications for this position. Your resume should be specific to the position you are applying for, relating your skills and experience to those noted in the job posting.
PLEASE DO NOT include photographs, hypertext/hyperlinks, or other inappropriate material or content. This information will not be used to make eligibility or qualification determinations.
COVER LETTER (OPTIONAL): Your cover letter should state your interest in this position and the strengths that you feel will make you an asset to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. We will not use your cover letter to determine your qualifications; however, your cover letter will go to the Selecting Official along with your resume if you are referred.
Writing Sample: A writing sample of your own original research and writing not developed via or supplemented by generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
SF-50 (NOTIFICATION OF PERSONNEL ACTION): All status candidates or reinstatement eligibles must submit an SF-50.
DO NOT submit Award SF-50's and/or General Adjustment SF-50's as they cannot be used to prove time-in-grade.
Submit your most recent NON-AWARD SF-50. The SF-50 must indicate proof of status and should identify your position title, series, grade, step, salary, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted); also include your SF-50 reflecting when you entered your highest grade (e.g. Promotion, Appointment, etc.) in order to verify time-in-grade requirements.
Please note that it may be necessary to submit more than one SF-50 to show that all requirements have been met.
VETERANS PREFERENCE:If claiming veteran's preference, you should indicate the type of veteran's preference you are claiming on your resume. For veteran's preference, you must provide a copy of your DD-214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (Member 4 copy or Member 7 copy), official statement of service from your command if you are currently on active duty, or other official documentation (e.g., documentation of receipt of a campaign badge or expeditionary medal) that proves your military service was performed under honorable conditions. Your DD-214 must show the type of discharge and dates of active duty. If the appropriate copy of the DD-214 is not submitted and the discharge status is not confirmed, you will not receive credit for the claimed active-duty military service. To gain access to your DD-214 online, please visit: Request Military Service Records | National Archives. Information on Veterans Preference is available in the Vet's Guide that can be found at OPM's website: Feds Hire Vets - Veterans - Job Seekers - Veterans' Preference
Veterans Opportunity to Work Act (VOW): If you are currently serving on active duty, you MUST submit a statement of service from your unit (on unit letterhead) identifying the branch of service, period(s) of service, campaign badges or expeditionary medals earned, type of discharge, character of service, and the date you will be separated or be on approved terminal leave. If you provide a statement of service at this stage, your preference/eligibility will be verified by a DD-214 (Member 4 Copy) upon separation from the military.
Interagency Career Transition Assistance Programs: CTAP and ICTAP candidates must submit documents showing eligibility for selection priority (e.g., RIF separation notice, Certificate of Expected Separation, or other proof of eligibility for priority selection); an SF-50 showing the current (or former) position, grade level, promotion potential, and duty location; and the most current performance appraisal including the performance rating.
Failure to provide all the required information, as stated in this vacancy announcement, may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
In order to be considered, submit all of the required information (including your supplemental documentation) before midnight EST on the closing date.
If you are not able to apply online or require reasonable accommodations, contact Rozena Bear on (202) 229-4964or at bear.rozena@pbgc.gov no later than 5:00 p.m. on the day before the closing date of this vacancy announcement. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
Please complete all the steps in the online application process at USAJOBS (www.usajobs.gov). You may make updates to your information at any time prior to midnight EST on the closing date of this announcement.
Register with USAJOBS, which will store your information and resume. You will only need to complete this step once.
Locate and review the vacancy announcement on USAJOBS. Click the “Apply” link and then select a resume to submit with your application. If you do not have a resume to select, or you want to upload a new one, click “Add Resume” and upload your resume. You can also click “Edit” to edit an already-uploaded resume. Once you have selected a resume, click “Save and Continue.”
Add or remove your supporting documents.
Once you have attached your resume and supporting documents, review your application package to ensure that they have been attached, then check the box next to “I acknowledge that I have reviewed my resume and document(s).” Then Click “Save and Continue.”
Complete the “Include Personal Information” page and click “Save and Continue,”
On the “Continue Application with Agency” page, read the terms and certify by checking the box if you agree. Then click “Continue to Agency Site.” This will take you to the application for the position.
Click “Apply to this Vacancy.”
Complete or review the eligibility questions, which determine the types of positions you are eligible for.
Specify which series, grade(s), and location(s) you wish to be considered for.
Complete the online vacancy questions, then click "Finish". You will continue to the Vacancy Documents page.
Review your attached documents from USAJobs. If there are other documents that you need to attach, upload those here as well.
You will then see a summary of your application, including the documents that you submitted. You are strongly encouraged to save or print a copy of this page as proof of submission and receipt of your application and documents.
PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION
Human Resources Department
445 12th Street SW
Washington, District of Columbia 20024
United States
Next steps
You are encouraged to complete your USAJOBS personal account completely to receive notifications at each point in the recruiting process. Utilizing this option allows you to review and track the status of your application and receive email notifications from the hiring office.
You may check the status of your applications by clicking on the My USAJOBS tab at the USAJOBS website.
Fair and transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
