Supervisory Public Affairs Specialist

The Supervisory Public Affairs Specialist serves as the Director of Field Operations, Office of Public Affairs (OPA), responsible for coordination and administration of all OPA field offices.

Qualifications:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/23/2026.

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-15 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-14. 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. See the Required Document section below for more information regarding the SF-50s needed to verify time-in-grade.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-14 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Manage the news media queries; Receive and assign media queries; Ensure VA responses have been properly vetted and obtain final clearance from leadership; Ensure VA is accurately portrayed in published and broadcast news; Engage with news reporters to ensure the accuracy of reports; Defend VA interest against unfair and inaccurate news media reporting; Experience working with the VA Press Secretary on national level media coverage.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Communication
• Communications
• Communications and Media
• Conflict Management
• Influencing/Negotiating
• Leadership
• Manages Resources
• Partnering
• Planning and Evaluating
• Project Management

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: The work is primarily sedentary. No physical demands are required to perform the work. Occasional instances of moderate walking and standing may be required.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

The 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 found well qualified, applicants must meet the following qualifications:

• Responsible for planning, designing, executing, and evaluating written materials which convey complex information to the public having diverse levels of understanding of the Agency's programs and functions.
• Establishes and maintains contacts with representatives of the news media, veterans service organizations, State and Federal agencies and public affairs personnel to obtain input on issues, disseminate information, coordinate work efforts, and solve mutual problems.
• Plans, directs, and executes national campaigns to convey complex information concerning sensitive VA programs, research on program-related areas, responsibilities, and activities.

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/.

Local Commuting Area: The local commuting area for this position is defined as a radius of 50 miles from Washington, DC; Milwaukee, WI; Vero Beach, FL; New York, NY; North Las Vegas, NV; Chicago, IL; Arlington, TX; and Decatur, GA. This includes all locations that fall within a 50-mile driving distance from the following locations:

810 Vermont Ave NW, Washington, DC 20420
115 S. 84th Street, Milwaukee, WI 53214
372 17th Street, Vero Beach, FL 32960
245 West Houston Street, New York, NY 10014
6900 N Pecos Rd, North Las Vegas, NV 89086
2122 W. Taylor Street, Suite 320 Chicago, IL 60612
2301 E. Lamar Blvd, Suite 410, Arlington, TX 76006
1700 Clairmont Road, Decatur, GA 30033

Responsibilities:

Major Duties

• Ensures proper and efficient management and execution by OP A field staff of responsibilities of management of personnel and resources, assignment of various duties and projects and the development of area-wide liaison and dissemination systems.
• Ensures that the VA Public Affairs program is fully implemented at the field station level by providing detailed guidance for accomplishing all facets of the program.
• Responsible for planning, designing, executing, and evaluating written materials which convey complex information to the public having diverse levels of understanding of the Agency's programs and functions.
• Reports include routine assessment of public relations status and public information activity in each field office.
• Analyzes the information needs and determines the most effective field-based approaches to employ in reaching V A's publics, modifying strategies or plans as necessary to more effectively communicate programs and functions.
• Establishes and maintains contacts with representatives of the news media, veterans service organizations, State and Federal agencies and public affairs personnel to obtain input on issues, disseminate information, coordinate work efforts, and solve mutual problems.
• Plans, directs, and executes national campaigns to convey complex information concerning sensitive VA programs, research on program-related areas, responsibilities, and activities.
• Must supervise and motivate personnel in the field without the benefit of frequent face-to-face contact with their supervisor or interaction with their peers.
• As technical authority to the principles, methods, practices and techniques of communication, ensures that the field staff keeps abreast of new developments in communications technology and professional practice.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM
Compressed/Flexible: Available with supervisory approval
Telework: Available
Virtual: The incumbent may work outside of Washington, DC in a VA owned or leased facility in one of the identified locations.
Remote: This is not a remote position.
Position Description/PD#: PD196680
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Salary : $126,384