Communications Specialist

Summary The My HealtheVet (MHV) Change Agent Coordinator serves as facility champion, leads facility teams to support existing and future Veteran communication initiatives, and coordinates local implementation, training, communications, outreach, web health content and support efforts. MHV is a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) sponsored website for Veterans, their families, advocates, and VA employees, with the goal of optimizing Veterans' healthcare. Responsibilities The duties for this position include, but are not limited to: Responsible for establishing and managing communications plans that identify target audiences, appropriate messages, activities, and resources needed for effective communication, and effective communications plan for change management, incorporate multiple channels to manage expectations and disseminate project progress. Responsible for supporting and guiding facility VHA public affairs officers and stakeholders about My HeatheVet. Oversees MHV's online presence and web content and leads innovations to keep facilities MHV on the cutting-edge. Ensures accountability via written communication as it relates to MHV as each of these communication skills contributes importantly to the way VHA communicates with Veterans, Congress, our dedicated volunteers, the public and employees. Establishes and manages the training plans and design and perform needs assessments within the project relative to functional and training needs and project effectiveness. Works with EES to coordinate personnel and resources to evaluate the educational needs of Veterans and employees to develop MHV educational and training programs/classes. Based on the national MHV Program, develops and updates a facility-specific MHV implementation plan that includes developing a mission/vision statement, establishing a local team, leading team efforts, identifying local providers as champions, and developing MHV roles and responsibilities. Establishes, develops, and implements local MHV-related goals, strategies to meet goals, identifies responsible parties, tracks progress, including monitoring goals/activity status, and reports status/progress to medical center management. Formulates a marketing strategy from research, reports, products and organizational data. Designs, conducts and evaluates innovative means to advertise and market products of the MHV and Social Media Program. This includes creative writing and direct communication with all levels of personnel internal and external to the VAMC/HCS. Analyzes participation trends, customer markets, needs of the consumer and advises the VAMC/HCS leadership team on concerns and trends. Recommends specific approaches for managing special issues and findings. Represents the VAMC/HCS at forums, conferences, and meetings. Delivers presentations to all levels of the VAMC/HCS, service organizations, and veterans, family members and caregivers. Presentations are designed to inform the audience about MHV Program, MHV products, MHV capabilities, and health care issues. Work Schedule: Monday- Friday 8:00am-4:30pm, subject to change based on the needs of the facility. Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Communications Specialist/PD841010 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized. Requirements 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: 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. 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 ( 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) 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, 10/19/2026. 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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. 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: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Leading implementation, adoption, sustainment, or outreach for a patient portal, secure messaging, telehealth, electronic health record function, or other digital-health program; Coordinating facility, health-system, regional, or enterprise-level programs involving clinical, administrative, operational, technical, communications, and community stakeholders; Developing and implementing strategic communication, marketing, and outreach plans that increase awareness, enrollment, adoption, or effective use of health-care services or digital-health tools among Veterans, patients, caregivers, employees, and community partners; Designing, delivering, and evaluating training related to health-care services, patient engagement, technology, clinical workflows, business process changes, or outreach initiatives; and Using utilization data, participation trends, outreach results, customer feedback, performance measures, or program reports to assess results and recommend improvements. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at Education There is no educational substitution at this grade level. 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 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 CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at