Summary The position serves as the Public Affairs Officer and a communications expert for the Lt. Col. Luke Weathers, Jr. VA Medical Center. The incumbent directs the development of and capture of data; provides expertise; and secures technical and legal opinions from higher levels. The incumbent works closely with senior management officials as well as external leaders from external community stakeholder groups to implement and evaluate policies, plans, and internal operational systems. Responsibilities The employee works in the Public Affairs Office and reports to the Medical Center Director at the Lt. Col. Luke Weathers, Jr. VA Medical Center, in Memphis, Tennessee. The primary purpose of this position is to collect, assemble, prepare, and disseminate information concerning the various programs of the organization; to include media operations, community relations, and assisting with Medical Media operations & Reproduction Services. Duties include but are not limited to: Ability to utilize a variety of analytical methods and practices to prepare and present reports at both the facility and network levels. Works closely with senior management officials to include VAMCs, VISN, and VACO leadership as well as external leaders from external community stakeholder groups to implement and evaluate policies, plans, and internal operational systems. Responsible for managing, supervising, and evaluating the entire public affairs program for a large health care system. Provides feedback to senior management on public affairs trends and stakeholder attitudes to assess program effectiveness and make improvements. Serves as the official spokesperson for the VAMC, for media, interviews, events, or crisis situations. Designate, train, and prepare a spokesperson or subject matter expert for media interviews on a case-by-case basis. Works with VISN, regional, and national teams (VA Offices of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs and Media Relations and VHA program offices) to ensure compliance with all polices relative to media and media inquires. Serves on various internal facility and VISN committees (facility examples: parking, water safety, whole health steering committee, and caregiver support steering committee; VISN examples: FCC steering committee and outreach subcommittee). Drives to outlying CBOCs and community events which may occur on non-regular duty hours. Provides other related duties as assigned. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00AM - 4:30PM EST (May occasionally be required to work other than normal duty hours.) Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Public Affairs Specialist/PD50519-0 and PD50519O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/30/2024. 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 by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. 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 and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Experience designing, planning, and executing a public affairs program. Knowledge of graphic, audiovisual, and photographic theories, principles, and practices not only impart information but also to attract and maintain audience attention and to emphasize certain points through the creative use of special production techniques. Current intranet/internet technologies and protocols and accessibility factors knowledge, including pertinent guidelines and government regulations, such as Section 508, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Including knowledge of the Adobe Creative Suite software and all included programs, Microsoft Office software and all programs including SharePoint. OR, Education: To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent Doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related;. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of successfully completed higher level education and specialized experience directly related to the position to meet the total experience requirement for the GS-11. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and Management Communication Communications and Media Creative Thinking 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. Note: 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. Physical Requirements: Work regularly involves extended periods of walking, standing, bending, and stooping to execute logistics for special events or to accompany media personal or other special groups. Considerable standing and walking throughout the main medical center and the grounds of the facility/CBOCs is required. Driving or riding in a vehicle is also required on a routine basis to attend outside meetings, interviews, and special events. The incumbent must attend lengthy meetings, both during the regular scheduled hours as well as weekends and evenings. The incumbent travels to numerous community events to promote the Lt. Col. Luke Weathers, Jr. VA Medical Center which involves carrying, lifting, and erecting display panels and media equipment which can weigh over 25lbs. The work requires manual dexterity, hand and eye coordination, and the ability to accurately perceive and sense color hues and chroma. Incumbent is also required to pick up loads of up to 15 pounds such as boxes and equipment. Work Environment: Work is primarily performed in an office setting. The work area is adequately lighted, heated and ventilated. The work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts that require normal safety precautions. The employee may occasionally be exposed to uncomfortable conditions in such places as research, laboratory and production facilities. Work does occasionally require incumbent to be outdoors, as for special events or interviews. Work environment may be stressful due to high workload volume and short deadline demands. 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 A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. 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. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/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/. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.