This position is located in the Department of Health and Human Services, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, headquartered in Washington, District of Columbia.

Duties

WHAT YOU'LL BE DOING DAY TO DAY As a Public Affairs Specialist (Communications Specialist), you will use your knowledge of and experience with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs to optimize business results and customer experience by: Arranging press interviews and press conferences with program officials or preparing background material as necessary. Researching, writing, editing and generating press releases, letters to editors, manuscripts, speeches, etc. Optional: ability to produce these products in Spanish. Arranging clearances for press materials within assigned area to assure material is factually and technically accurate.

Requirements

• U.S. Citizenship required
• Males born after December 31, 1959 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service - http://www.sss.gov
• Suitable for federal employment
• Appointment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. All information concerning qualifications is subject to investigation.
• Documentation that you present for purposes of completing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Form I-9 will be verified through the DHS "E-Verify" System.
• All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choice.
• All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date.
• Financial disclosure statement may be required.
• Probationary (or trial) period may be required.

Qualifications

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR Minimum Qualifications: You must have at least one year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service performing at least two (2) of the following: Researching, modifying, and writing press releases for news media, pitching stories to media, or responding to media inquiries. Attending, monitoring, and/or managing press events, including setting up interviews with press and leadership. Managing and establishing working relationships with reporters, identifying reporters for agency's mission or target audience. Researching, monitoring, and analyzing news clips, new outlets, and other press activities to stay informed on trends, present analysis to leadership, and monitor press activity. Spanish language skills including ability to translate short and medium length documents from English to Spanish, including press advisories, social media posts, or op-eds, and comfortability working with Spanish media outlets. OR Have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree OR 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree if related to the work associated with this position OR LL.M. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that number cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered an academic year of graduate study. Note: Must submit transcript(s). OR Have a combination of experience as described and education as described in above. Note: Must submit transcript(s). Documenting experience: IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Qualifications are based on breadth/level of experience. In addition to describing duties performed, applicants must provide the exact dates of each period of employment (from MM/YY to MM/YY) and the number of hours worked per week if part time. As qualification determinations cannot be made when resumes do not include the required information, failure to provide this information may result in disqualification. Applicants are encouraged to use the USAJOBS Resume Builder to develop their federal resume. Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational application questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position. In accordance with Office of Personnel Management policy, federal employees are assumed to have gained experience by performing duties and responsibilities appropriate for their official series and grade level as described in their position description. Experience that would not normally be part of the employee's position is creditable, however, when documented by satisfactory evidence, such as a signed memorandum from the employee's supervisor or an SF-50 or SF-52 documenting an official detail or other official assignment. The documentation must indicate whether the duties were performed full time or, if part time, the "percentage of times" the other duties were performed. It is expected that this documentation is included in the employee's official personnel record. In order to receive credit for experience in your resume that is not within the official series and grade level of your official position, you must provide a copy of the appropriate documentation of such experience as indicated above. 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; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to gain employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. If such experience is on a part-time basis, you must provide the average number of hours worked per week as well as the beginning and ending dates of the experience so it can be fully credited. OPM Qualification General Policies Website

Education

Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that 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: http://www.ed.gov.

Contacts

• Address Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, DC 20201 US
• Name: SROC Help Desk
• Email: [email protected]