Public Affairs Specialist

Summary

This position is located in the Office of Public Affairs, Office of the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security, Department of State. You will be responsible for a broad range of public affairs initiatives, to include engaging the media; coordinating the office’s Press and Engagement or Publications and Special Projects teams; and advising the director, deputy and program offices on public affairs and press matters.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

U.S. Department of State employees within the Bureau of Diplomatc, and CTAP employees only

Duties

Guides Bureau program offices, and maintains positive and proactive relationships with Bureau program principals and Department and U.S. government public affairs counterparts.

Coordinates Bureau-sponsored special events in alignment with Bureau and Department strategic communications priorities, and oversees their planning and implementation.

Develops comprehensive project and communications plans for special events and publications to align with Department and Bureau strategic objectives.

Drafts speeches, talking points, and presentations for the Assistant Secretary and other senior Bureau officials as needed.

Assists with all clearance requests and drafts responses to media queries. Ensures press statements/releases are drafted and provided to requestors by deadlines. Establishes rapport with representatives of national and international news media.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

U.S. Citizenship is required.

Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing.

Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all the required qualification requirements described below by the closing date of this announcement.

NOTE: Applicants must meet time-in-grade and time after competitive appointment requirements, by the closing date of this announcement.

Time-In-Grade Requirements: Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions, per 5CFR 300, Subpart F.

Applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level in the Federal service which provided the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the duties of the position. Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

- Experience utilizing analytical methods and techniques to research, analyze, and evaluate complex data affecting the ability to communicate effectively with various public audiences;

- Experience developing informational materials including news releases, fact sheets, booklets, and broadcast spots;

- Experience providing representatives of the media with timely and accurate explanations of agency policies, regulations, operations, and activities; AND

- Experience analyzing media-related activities, programs and policies to develop recommendations that significantly assist with improving major programs and policies.

There is no substitute of education for specialized experience for the GS-13 position.

Education

Education requirements do not apply to this vacancy announcement.

Additional information

For at the U.S. Department of State, please contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations at or .

If eligible, telework agreements may be permitted with supervisory approval.

Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement. If eligible, applicants to this announcement may be referred to other similar positions in this Bureau for up to 240 days and may require a higher or lower security clearance. Telework eligibility and security clearance requirements may vary for such similar positions.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Once the application process is complete, a review of your will be conducted and compared against your responses to the assessment questions to determine if you are qualified for this job. Note: Responses to questions that are not fully supported by the information in your resume may result in adjustments to your rating.

Applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements, as described in the “Qualifications” section of this announcement, will be assigned a score between 70 and 100. The assessment is used to measure the degree in which your background matches the competencies (knowledge, skills, and abilities) required for this position. Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies:

Skill in developing public affairs communications strategies that provide a framework for the dissemination of program information to various audiences.

Ability to plan and manage major communications projects and initiatives that involve the use of a wide variety of communications media, including digital and social media.

Ability to develop strategic communications plans that promote support for public affairs programs, plans, and priorities.

Ability to communicate in writing to compose and edit a wide variety of materials.

Ability to communicate orally to prepare and deliver oral presentations to various internal and external audiences.

Applicants found to be among the top qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring official for further consideration and possible interview. Qualified non-competitive candidates must be deemed best qualified based on the applicant assessment in order to be referred to the hiring official for further consideration and possible interview.

Agency must be rated "Well Qualified" for the position and earn a score of at least 85 (when applicants are rated in a range of 70 to 100) to receive consideration for selection priority.

You may for this vacancy.

Required Documents

All required documents listed below, that are applicable to you, must be submitted to our automated system by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.

1. Resume showing relevant work/volunteer experience, education and training. Include the start and end dates (from month/year to month/year) and the number of hours per week worked/volunteered. Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must support your answers to the completed online assessment questions.

2. Most recent SF-50s (Notification of Personnel Actions), if you are a current eligible DOS employee (per 3 FAM 2313.4(a)(5)), including current employees applying under a non-competitive hiring authority. The SF-50s must show: effective date, position title, series, grade, salary, tenure, position occupied, full promotion potential, and name of agency. Multiple SF-50s may be needed to show all required information (e.g., promotion, within-grade increase, and separation SF-50s). Award SF-50s often do not show the required information.

3. Performance appraisal, strongly encouraged for current eligible DOS employees. Submit a copy of your most recent (i.e., usually within the last 18 months) final (i.e., not a mid-year review) official (i.e., signed by the rating official and in original format) annual performance appraisal for the hiring manager’s consideration. If a performance appraisal is not available, you may provide a statement and/or a statement from your supervisor explaining the reason one is not available and your servicing HR Office contact information (name, email address, phone number).

Note: You may be requested to provide an appraisal to the hiring official if one was not provided with your application. To receive a promotion, the employee’s most recent performance rating must be “fully successful” or an equivalent level or higher. Employees who are tentatively selected to receive a promotion will be required to provide performance documentation within two business days of request. Servicing HR Offices may be contacted to verify performance ratings.

4. Non-competitive hiring authority eligibility documentation, if applicable. If you are a current eligible DOS employee applying under a non-competitive hiring authority, you must submit proof of non-competitive eligibility with your application. For information related to visit OPM’s hiring information site.

5. CTAP documentation, if applicable. Visit our agency’s site for required documentation.