Public Affairs Specialist

Summary

The Public Affairs Specialist serves as a spokesperson for the facility, and as such is the point of contact for local and national media and is the liaison for Erie VA Medical Center stakeholders. The incumbent conducts the public affairs program for the facility with responsibility for developing and providing staff direction involving all public information, internal communications, Veteran Service Organizations, and community relations activities.

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Duties

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Major Duties include but are not limited to:

Directs and manages the medical center's marketing, communications, community outreach and public affairs missions. The incumbent often represents the facility Director, participating at public, civic or social events to improve perception of the facility as a valued part of the medical profession, government, and community.
The Public Affairs Specialist is designated authority and responsibility for design, implementation, and leadership of the facility public affairs program. Plans the development and implementation of all outreach programs and activities that are appropriate for expanding the patient base of the Erie VAMC and increasing the number of Veterans who receive care at the Erie VAMC and its CBOCs.
Conducts special studies involving communications, organization, and operation of facility functions. Develops reports along with recommendations to the Director including implementation and monitoring strategies.
Development, coordination, implementation and maintenance of public information, community relations and outreach programs that are designed to promote understanding, confidence and goodwill between the facility, surrounding communities, individuals, volunteers and groups who are interested in and affected by the VA.
Analyzes internal communication needs and develops publications or other information materials for staff, patients, volunteers, and others who contribute to the facility effectiveness and responsiveness.
collaborates with staff and program managers in identifying their information needs and assisting them with the development and dissemination of appropriate materials.
Undertakes other assignments, such as coordination of special projects, at the direction of the Director.
analyzes medical facility information needs, goals and resources and tailor's specific communication strategies using all media to reach target audiences both internal and external.
Advises and makes recommendations to the Director regarding the handling of media and community issues or concerns that have possible implications.
Serves as the point of contact for the media and public information inquiries and as the liaison with other facilities, central office, the VHA VISN, and Veteran organizations in the areas of public information and community relations.
Develops and is intimately involved in crafting speeches, public briefings, and other statements for the Medical Center executive leaders and prepares and reviews information material for dissemination to the public. Coordinates special events/projects at the direction of the Director.
Develops and utilizes a variety of methods and techniques in achieving communication goals, such as news releases, radio and television scripts, personal appearances, brochures, pamphlets, etc.
Performs other duties as assigned.
Work Schedule:

Monday - Friday: 8:00am - 4:30pm

Compressed/Flexible:

Not Available

Telework:

Available - Ad-Hoc

Virtual:

This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Public Affairs Specialist/ PD562-066100

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives:

Authorized for Highly Qualified Candidates

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.
All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
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 dentification 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)
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, 06/08/2026.

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-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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.

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-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Spokesperson for the facility, and is the point of contact for local and national media and is the liaison for the Medical Center stakeholders. Conducts the public affairs program for the facility with responsibility for developing and providing staff direction involving all public information, internal communications, VSO's, and community relations activities. Conducts special studies involving communications, organization, and operation of facility functions. Duties include developing reports along with recommendations to the Director including implementation and monitoring strategies. Analyzes internal communication needs and develops publications or other information materials for staff, patients, volunteers, and others who contribute to the facility effectiveness and responsiveness. Advises and makes recommendations to the Director regarding the handling of media and community issue or concerns that have possible implications and serves as the point of contact for the media and public information inquiries and as the liaison with other facilities, central office, the VHA VISN, and veteran organizations in the areas of public information and community relations. Provides technical and administrative supervision to a work unit of Public Affairs Specialist and Visual Information Specialist.

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.

Preferred Experience:

Writing and oral communication skills, media relations, outreaches and event planning Community relations, able to craft speeches, public briefings, customer service, marketing and communications

Physical Requirements:

Assignments regularly involve extended periods of walking, standing, bending, and stooping to execute logistics for special events or to accompany media crews or other special groups. Incumbent is also required to regularly pick up loads of 15 pounds such as boxes of newspapers and other literature and to push carts of supplies. Flexibility is required to accommodate events and activities occurring in other than normal duty hours. Mobility is required in terms of staging and assisting staff with equipment and other required materials.

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

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests:

If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA 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, based on your adjudication decision. 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 RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

Receiving Service Credit for 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. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. 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.

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/.

Placement Policy:

The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

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.

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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.