Public Affairs Specialist

Summary

This position is located in the Under Secretary of Economic Affairs Office of the Executive Director (E/EX). The Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs leads the State Departments efforts to advocate for U.S. foreign policy priorities and develop and implement international policies related to economic growth energy agriculture maritime affairs the environment and science and technology.

Duties

• Monitors ongoing foreign affairs issues and policy developments as they relate to the Department public affairs initiative.
• Assists in writing announcements for the daily press briefing.
• Acts as a spokesperson engaging members of the national and international media to disseminate clarify and defend important U.S. foreign policy messages with far-reaching implications.
• Informs journalists of the rules for access including special requirements for entry and exit to/from foreign countries aboard Secretarial planes.
• Provides guidance to lower graded Public Affairs Specialists sharing institutional knowledge on a wide range of issues involving policy procedure and mechanisms for engaging the press; as well as substantive content issues.
• At the GS-12 level the incumbent performs essentially the same duties as outlined above; however the scope and complexity of assignments are of less responsibility and independence and receives closer than normal supervision than GS-13.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all the required qualification requirements described below by the closing date of this announcement.

NOTE: Applicants must meet time-in-grade and time after competitive appointment requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Time-In-Grade Requirements: Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions per 5CFR 300 Subpart F.

GS-12:

Applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service which provided the applicant with the particular knowledge skills and abilities to perform the duties of the position.

Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

• Experience developing and implementing media and/or public stakeholder outreach strategies.
• Experience drafting and clearing press materials memos and/or talking points for media and/or stakeholder outreach.

There is no substitute of education for specialized experience for the GS-12 position.

GS-13:

Applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level in the Federal service which provided the applicant with the particular knowledge skills and abilities to perform the duties of the position.

Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

• Experience identifying targets of opportunity to strategically engage stakeholders and/or media outlets to develop recommendations to improve media coverage and/or inform thought leaders.
• Experience leading coordination with Subject Matter Experts regarding drafting editing and clearing responses to press inquiries and/or talking points for media and/or stakeholder outreach.

There is no substitute of education for specialized experience for the GS-13 position.

Education

Education requirements do not apply to this vacancy announcement.

Additional information

• To request a reasonable accommodation foradditionaltime on thetimed sections of theassessment pleasesubmityour request using the Request a Reasonable Accommodation button within theAssessment Application.

  Forall otherreasonable accommodationsat the U.S. Department of State please contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations(OAA)at .

  OAAis responsible forreviewing andadjudicatingreasonable accommodation(RA)requests for the Assessment Battery being usedfor this following applies to all RA requests:

  • RA requestscoveradditionaltime on timed sections only.

  • Applicantssubmittinga RA request MUST attach supporting medical documentation signed by a licensed treatingmedical provider. The documentation should describe the nature severity and expected duration of the conditionidentifythe relevant medical condition or diagnosis and explain the basis for the requested extension. RA requests that do notcontainsupporting medical documentation attachmentsatthetime ofinitialrequest may be subject to further review.

  • Note:the following documents do not on their own qualify for automatic approval oftheRA request:Schedule A letters VA benefits lettersorSSA letters.

  • Applicants MUSTsubmittheir application before the vacancy closes even if pending anaccommodationdecision.

  • Applicants are encouraged to carefully follow instructions related to medical documentation provided in the vacancy announcement prior to beginning the RA process.

  • Applicants will have 48 hours after their RA request isadjudicatedto complete the assessment generated after the allottedtimeframewill not be admissible and the applicant will not be considered further for the vacancy.

  • If a different type of RA is needed please contact OAA directly at .

• If eligible situational telework agreements may be permitted with supervisory approval.
• Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement. If eligible applicants to this announcement may be referred to other similar positions in other Bureaus/Offices in the Department for up to 240 days and may require a higher or lower security clearance. Telework eligibility and security clearance requirements may vary for such similar positions.
• Agency & Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP & ICTAP):View OPMs CTAP & ICTAP eligibilitywebsite for more information. You must be rated in the Well-Qualified category and submit supporting documents under the required documents section of this announcement to receive selection priority be considered Well-Qualified applicants must: score an85 or above meet Minimum Qualifications and demonstrateproficiencyin some but notall major aspects of 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.

Required Experience:

IC