What are the responsibilities and job description for the Communications Specialist position at Jonathan M Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center?
You will serve as a Communications Specialist with the Associate Chief of Staff Primary Care services located in Walla Walla, Washington.
Qualified applicants will begin to be referred to the hiring manager on Friday, May 15th, 2026. After that applicants will only be referred to the hiring manager upon request from the hiring manager. This position will remain open to the closing date unless the position is filled, in which case the announcement will be closed.
Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS-09 grade at any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. 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:
Communications and Media
Customer Service
Organizational Awareness
Organizational Performance Analysis
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 is primarily sedentary, but may require periods of standing during presentations, briefings, speeches, health fair activities, etc., although some slight physical effort may be required.
Work Conditions: Work is performed in an office setting with adequate lighted and climate-controlled office. May require occasional travel.
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/.
Develop multimedia campaign materials (e.g., printed articles, brochures, videos) to inform MHV's target population.
Create and deliver presentations to inform the public about MHV's Health Programs, products, capabilities, and health care issues.
Act as technical expert and lead the facility's efforts to integrate MHV and Secure Messaging (SM) among healthcare providers and patients and trouble shoot and resolve user issues.
Possess interpersonal communication skills to deal with Veterans who are difficult, hostile, or distressed, to be able to negotiate, and to interact with co-workers, supervisors, and high-level management.
Establish and manage communications plans throughout all levels of the organization that identify target audiences, appropriate messages, activities, and resources needed for effective communication, plan change management that incorporate multiple channels to manage expectations and disseminate project progress.
Work with senior functional subject matter experts, committees, workgroups, improvement projects, and process development teams to identify and manage significant changes in the way employees will integrate MHV in the fabric of care and the Patient-Centered Medical Home.
Maintain liaisons with management and MHV national coordinators in conference calls and discussion groups to ensure correct, current, and accurate portrayal of information is provided to meet objectives.
Generate and evaluate a variety of reports on a daily, monthly, or quarterly basis, including but not limited to the areas such as panel sizes, team assignments, enrollment capacity, and current capacity.
Establish, design, and manage the training plans and perform needs assessments within the project relative to functional and training needs and project effectiveness.
Perform other duties as assigned.
Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM.
Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Ad-hoc telework is defined as situational telework approved on a case-by-case basis. Examples of situational or ad-hoc telework include telework because of inclement weather, doctor appointment, or special work assignments. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Communications Specialist/PD801960
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized.
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not authorized.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS):Not authorized.
Qualified applicants will begin to be referred to the hiring manager on Friday, May 15th, 2026. After that applicants will only be referred to the hiring manager upon request from the hiring manager. This position will remain open to the closing date unless the position is filled, in which case the announcement will be closed.
Qualifications:
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 05/29/2026.Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS-09 grade at any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. 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 GS-09 level or pay band in the Federal service that includes performing the following duties: oversee an online patient Healthcare portal's presence and web content and lead innovations to keep facilities portal on the cutting-edge; develop multimedia campaign materials (e.g., printed articles, brochures, videos) to inform a targeted population; create and deliver presentations to inform the public about Health Programs, products, capabilities, and health care issues; act as technical expert and lead the facility's efforts to integrate their online patient portal and Secure Messaging (SM) among healthcare providers and patients and trouble shoot and resolve user issues; possess interpersonal communication skills to deal with patients who are difficult, hostile, or distressed, to be able to negotiate, and to interact with co-workers, supervisors, and high-level management; establish and manage communications plans throughout all levels of the organization that identify target audiences, appropriate messages, activities, and resources needed for effective communication, plan change management that incorporate multiple channels to manage expectations and disseminate project progress; work with senior functional subject matter experts, committees, workgroups, improvement projects, and process development teams to identify and manage significant changes in the way employees will integrate the online patient portal in the fabric of care and the Patient-Centered Medical Home; maintain liaisons with management and national online health portal coordinators in conference calls and discussion groups to ensure correct, current, and accurate portrayal of information is provided to meet objectives; generate and evaluate a variety of reports on a daily, monthly, or quarterly basis, including but not limited to the areas such as panel sizes, team assignments, enrollment capacity, and current capacity; and establish, design, and manage the training plans and perform needs assessments within the project relative to functional and training needs and project effectiveness. OR,
- Education (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): I have completed 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 that directly relates to the position.
Communications and Media
Customer Service
Organizational Awareness
Organizational Performance Analysis
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 is primarily sedentary, but may require periods of standing during presentations, briefings, speeches, health fair activities, etc., although some slight physical effort may be required.
Work Conditions: Work is performed in an office setting with adequate lighted and climate-controlled office. May require occasional travel.
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/.
Responsibilities:
Oversee the My HealtheVet (MHV) presence and web content and lead innovations to keep facilities MVH on the cutting-edge.Develop multimedia campaign materials (e.g., printed articles, brochures, videos) to inform MHV's target population.
Create and deliver presentations to inform the public about MHV's Health Programs, products, capabilities, and health care issues.
Act as technical expert and lead the facility's efforts to integrate MHV and Secure Messaging (SM) among healthcare providers and patients and trouble shoot and resolve user issues.
Possess interpersonal communication skills to deal with Veterans who are difficult, hostile, or distressed, to be able to negotiate, and to interact with co-workers, supervisors, and high-level management.
Establish and manage communications plans throughout all levels of the organization that identify target audiences, appropriate messages, activities, and resources needed for effective communication, plan change management that incorporate multiple channels to manage expectations and disseminate project progress.
Work with senior functional subject matter experts, committees, workgroups, improvement projects, and process development teams to identify and manage significant changes in the way employees will integrate MHV in the fabric of care and the Patient-Centered Medical Home.
Maintain liaisons with management and MHV national coordinators in conference calls and discussion groups to ensure correct, current, and accurate portrayal of information is provided to meet objectives.
Generate and evaluate a variety of reports on a daily, monthly, or quarterly basis, including but not limited to the areas such as panel sizes, team assignments, enrollment capacity, and current capacity.
Establish, design, and manage the training plans and perform needs assessments within the project relative to functional and training needs and project effectiveness.
Perform other duties as assigned.
Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM.
Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Ad-hoc telework is defined as situational telework approved on a case-by-case basis. Examples of situational or ad-hoc telework include telework because of inclement weather, doctor appointment, or special work assignments. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Communications Specialist/PD801960
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized.
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not authorized.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS):Not authorized.
Salary : $74,678