Summary

This position is located in the Small Business Administration, Field Operations Center West - FOCW in Citrus Heights, CA. Provides leadership support to the Public Affairs Manager to ensure effective planning, operation, and evaluation of an active well-balanced public affairs program for internal and external customers (media, the public, business, and civic organizations, etc.) and Federal, state, and local government offices concerning the SBA Disaster Assistance Program.

Duties

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This position is also being announced under Merit Promotion Procedures, Vacancy MP-26-FOCW-[redacted]. You will need to apply in order to receive consideration.

As a Supervisory Public Affairs Specialist at the GS- 1035-13, some of your typical work assignments may include:

• Serve as the first level supervisor to the Public Affairs staff and act as an advisor to the Public Affairs Manager on all public communications and intergovernmental issues.
• Ensures that the Center's plan, mission, vision, and values are communicated to the team and integrated into the team's strategic goals objectives, and work plans. The employee is responsible for planning the work to be accomplished by subordinates; sets and adjusts short term priorities; prepares schedules for completion of work; assigns work to subordinates based on priorities, and consideration of the difficulty and requirements of assignments and the capabilities of employees.
• Plan and manage public affairs projects and events, including coordinating timelines, logistics, and stakeholder participation to support organizational communication objectives concerning the SBA Disaster Assistance Program.
• Manage hiring and staff scheduling for the Public Affairs department, including interviewing candidates, recommending selections or reassignments, and adjusting work assignments to meet operational priorities.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen
• You must successfully complete a background investigation.
• You may be required to serve a one-year supervisory probationary period.
• You must be able to obtain and maintain a government travel credit card.
• If required to travel to a disaster site, you may encounter hazardous working and/or living conditions, for example, no water or electricity and/or minimal lodging facilities.
• Mandatory Overtime: In order to respond quickly and efficiently to disaster survivors, substantial compensated overtime hours may be required while on assignment (up to seven days a week and ten to fourteen hours a day).

Qualifications

Specialized Experience:

GS-13: One year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service, obtained in either the private or public sector:

• Planning and managing public affairs projects and events, including coordinating timelines, logistics, and stakeholder participation to support organizational communication objectives; AND
• Collaborating on a team, establishing work assignments and/or managing workload balance; AND
• Disseminating or providing information about an organization or program to internal and external customers such as the public, federal/state agencies and associated entities, local governments, and/or the media; AND
• Developing or implementing communication plans, outreach strategies, or public information campaigns to support an organization's mission or program objectives; AND
• Managing multiple competing priorities and deadlines in a dynamic or high-tempo environment while ensuring accurate and timely delivery of products and information.

These qualifications must be clearly referenced in your resume.

Education:

There is no education substitution for this grade level.

Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on OPM's Qualifications web site:

Public Affairs Series 1035

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). 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.

Generally, time in Non-Pay status as a federal employee is not creditable towards the specialized experience requirement listed above.

All qualification requirements must be met by 11:59 pm (Eastern Time) on 09/03/2026.

Education

APPLICANTS PLEASE NOTE: Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications (particularly positions with a positive education requirement.) Therefore, applicants must report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Verify School accreditation. All education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency accordingly.

If you are selected for this position and qualified based on education (i.e. basic education requirement and/or substitution of education), you will be required to provide an OFFICIAL transcript prior to your first day on duty.

*** 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, click on: Foreign Education.

Additional information

This is a non-Bargaining unit position.

This is not a (drug) testing designated position.

Reasonable Accommodation Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments

Career and InterAgency Career Transition Assistance Programs: Are programs that applies 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.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) is a program that helps "surplus" or "displaced" federal employees improve their chances of finding a new job in their current agency (intra-agency, i.e. SBA employees only).

Inter-Agency Career Transition Assistance (ICTAP) is a program that helps "surplus" or "displaced" federal employees improve their chances of finding a new job at another agency (inter-agency; i.e. not applying to their current or former agency).

You are eligible for CTAP/ICTAP if:

1. You are a current federal employee who meets the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee meaning you have received official notice that your job is no longer needed or that you will lose your job by Reduction-in-Force (RIF).

2. Your agency, or the agency to which you are applying, is accepting applications from within or outside of the permanent workforce.

3. The position to which you are applying MUST BE in the Local Commuting Area of the position of record from which you are being displaced.

4. You meet the qualifications and other requirements of the job for which you are applying. This includes being rated as well-qualified for the position (score of 85 or better based on your responses to the competencies and associated questions listed within the assessment).

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Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Benefits

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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.

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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.