Supervisory Public Affairs Specialist

Summary

The Supervisory Public Affairs Specialist supports strategic planning, budgeting, and procurement; manages media relations, crisis communication, and community outreach; oversees content creation, events, and stakeholder communication; ensures compliance, EEO practices, and effective program performance.

Duties

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Major duties include:

• Provide technical and administrative supervision for Public Affairs staff.
• Plan, assign, and prioritize work; set schedules and ensure alignment with organizational goals.
• Establish performance standards, evaluate staff, recommend training, and approve leave.
• Conduct interviews and manage hiring, promotions, reassignments, and disciplinary actions.
• Ensure equal employment opportunity and fair employment practices.
• Assist with budget management, forecasting, and resource oversight.
• Identify customer satisfaction trends and evaluate program effectiveness.
• Manage procurement, contracting, and serve as COR when needed.
• Maintain comprehensive knowledge of VA programs, policies, and healthcare issues.
• Support and evaluate public affairs and medical media programs for a large healthcare system.
• Plan and analyze public affairs activities that support organizational strategy.
• Provide guidance to senior leadership on public information and sensitive media issues.
• Coordinate and respond to media inquiries; serve as spokesperson when required.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm, evenings and weekends for special events and Veteran engagement. Work Schedule is subject to change based on agency need.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Public Affairs Specialist/PD114980

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. This position requires the application, assessment, and questionnaire to be fully completed. The assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/13/2026.

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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. 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 as described below:

• Specialized Experience: At least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level in the Federal Service that has equipped me with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of a Public Affairs Specialist, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position. Specialized experience includes applying advanced communication and analytical practices, methods, and techniques to resolve complex public affairs problems; planning, developing, and producing a variety of materials and publications (including print, visual, Web-based, multimedia, and video) to achieve understanding among audiences with varying levels of literacy; advising leadership on the development of communication plans and strategies and delivering clear, persuasive oral presentations on technical, sensitive, or controversial matters, while listening to others and responding appropriately to nonverbal cues and feedback; establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with media representatives, community groups, and other stakeholders, including identifying, engaging, influencing, and monitoring relationships with individuals and groups who are actively involved in, exert influence over, or have a vested interest (positive or negative) in a work effort; coordinating special events, ceremonies, outreach campaigns, and tours to generate public awareness of the organization's mission; preparing, justifying, and administering budgets for a program area, including planning, monitoring, and overseeing expenditures to ensure cost-effective and compliant use of program funds; managing and resolving conflicts, confrontations, and disagreements in a positive and constructive manner to minimize negative personal impact; and applying performance management principles to plan, monitor, rate, and reward employee performance in a supervisory capacity.

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

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced 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/.

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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.