Public Affairs Specialist

Summary

This position is being announced under FEMA's Incident Management Assistant Team (IMAT) Program. This is a 1-year temporary appointment in the Excepted service. This position is located on a Type II, Regional IMAT Team and has a starting salary of $57.02 per hour; however, the maximum salary possible in this position is $87.58 per hour. Salary listed includes locality pay.

Learn more about this agency

Duties

Help

What will I do in this position if hired?

In this position, you will serve as a Public Affairs Specialist.

When deployed , the Public Affairs Specialist reports to the Federal Coordinating Officer (FCO) and manages all response-related Federal external affairs elements under the guidance of the Operation Director.

Typical assignments include:

• Establishing and maintaining mutual communication among federal, state, local, tribal and territorial authorities.
• Working with External Affairs specialists at all levels of government, as well as with appropriate representatives in private/non-profit organizations to implement effective communications plans and policies.
• Establishing work assignments, monitoring and evaluating performance and setting priorities for subordinates that are qualified to perform assigned positions.
• Directing and overseeing public information, congressional, intergovernmental, private sector, and community engagement programs as well as developing and releasing of incident information.
• Monitoring reports from various sources to identify emerging potential external affairs issues.
• Reviewing communications products, including social media outreach, for publication or release.
• Providing communications counsel and strategic advice to the FCO and Command and General Staff.
• Serving as a spokesperson for FEMA in responding to media inquiries from national, regional and local media.
• Providing information to broadcast, print and online reporters on controversial or sensitive topics related to the disaster.
• Participating in all relevant National Incident Communication Conference Line (NICCL), State Incident Communication Conference Line (SICCL) and Private Sector Incident Communication Conference Line (PICCL) calls through ESF-15 Concept of Operations.

When not deployed , the Public Affairs Specialist reports to the FCO and will work in full coordination with FEMA HQ and Regional EA leadership.

Typical assignments include:

• Participating in weekly conference calls to provide updates in EA activities as well as exercises at the national, regional and state levels.
• EA Division management.
• All training as required by the position.
• Development of regional catastrophic planning and designing exercise events to test plans and policies.
• Ensuring regional disaster EA operations are closed out appropriately and consistently.
• Providing input for the development of and participation in the execution and documentation of functions and plans for critical aspects of FEMA's mission, operational responses and programs.
• Evaluating and providing recommendations to improve effectiveness of existing programs, activities and management EA components of any Lessons Learned/Continuous Improvement plans resulting from disaster field operations.
• Representing EA leadership on task forces, work groups, councils, etc. related to incident communications and disaster operations.

What else do I need to know?

At FEMA, our mission is to help people before, during and after disasters, and every employee at FEMA has a role in emergency management. Every FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites. All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee's official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions.

This announcement is for a position as an IMAT CORE (Incident Management Assist Team, Cadre of Response/Recovery Employee). IMAT CORE employees are full time employees hired to directly support the response and recovery efforts related to disasters. IMATs are the first FEMA personnel deployed to an incident and manage the field-level federal response and early recovery with a primary focus on critical infrastructure stabilization, especially life-saving and life-sustaining efforts. Appointments to IMAT CORE positions may be renewed based upon workload needs and funding availability. Employees are hired under the Robert T. Stafford Act and are excluded from the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing jobs in the competitive service. They can be hired under a streamlined process instead of a competitive process. After 3 years of continuous service, Stafford Act employees may be granted competitive eligibility to apply for permanent full-time positions at FEMA.

Appointments may be renewed based on workload, funding, and supervisory approval.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo, successfully pass, and maintain a background investigation for Public Trust - Moderate Risk as a condition of placement into this position. This may include a credit check after initial job qualifications are determined, a review of financial issues, such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs (please visit: Mythbuster on Federal Hiring Policies for additional information). For more information on background investigations for Federal jobs please visit OPM Investigations.

Please ensure you meet the qualification requirements described below and that you clearly describe how your experience meets these requirements within your resume.

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to be considered for this position.
• You must successfully pass a background investigation.
• Selective Service registration required.
• You must be able to obtain and maintain a Government travel card
• Travel will be required.
• You may be required to be on a 24 hour on-call work schedule during emergency response periods.
• Please review the Additional Information section for additional key requirements.

Qualifications

All qualifications and eligibility requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.

To qualify for this Public Affairs Specialist position at the IT-04 level, you must possess one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the IT-03 level in the Federal government, which has equipped you with the skills needed to successfully perform the duties of the position. Experience may be obtained in the federal government, a state or local government, or private sector, and must demonstrate the following:

• Establishing and managing public information strategies for an organization;
• Responding to news media inquiries or reporting on general news or activities of a government agency; and,
• Leading, managing and training subordinates in support of public or external affairs efforts.

Please read the following important information to ensure we have everything we need to consider your application:

• Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.
• Your resume serves as the basis for experience related qualification determinations, and you must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable), as it relates to this job opportunity. Please use your own words, be clear, and specific when describing your work history. We cannot make assumptions regarding your experience.

Are you qualifying based on your work experience?

• Qualifications are based on your ability to demonstrate in your resume that you possess one year of the specialized experience for this announcement at a comparable scope and responsibility. To ensure all of the essential information is in your resume, we encourage you to use the USAJOBS online Resume Builder. If you choose to use your own resume, it must contain the following information organized by experience/position : (1) job title, (2) name of employer, (3) start and end dates of each period of employment (from MM/DD/YY to MM/DD/YY), (4) detailed description of duties performed, accomplishments, and related skills, and (5) hours worked per week (part-time employment will be prorated in crediting experience). Federal experience/positions must also include the occupational series, grade level, and dates in which you held each grade level.
• Are you a current or former FEMA Reservist/Disaster Assistance Employee (DAE)? To accurately credit your experience from intermittent positions and Reservist Deployments, you must list the dates (from MM/DD/YY to MM/DD/YY) of deployments that are relevant to your qualifying experience, along with the job title and specific duties you were responsible for during each deployment.
• Determining length of General or Specialized Experience is dependent on the above information. Failure to provide the above information in your resume may result in your application being found "not qualified."
• 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, religious, spiritual, community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills, and provides valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
• For additional information on crediting experience and/or education, please reference the OPM General Schedule Qualification Standards

Education

No Educational Substitution: There is no educational substitution for this position, and you must meet the qualifications listed in the "requirements" section of this announcement.

Additional information

• STAFFORD ACT EXCEPTED SERVICE APPOINTMENTS : Cadre of On-Call Response/Recovery Employee (CORE) is an appointment type granted under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Section 306 (b), which authorizes FEMA to appoint such temporary employees as necessary to accomplish work authorized under the Act. Appointments under this authority within FEMA are made to the excepted service and are nonpermanent in nature.
• If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.
• The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Homeland Security and its Components from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to View email address on click.appcast.io.
• DHS uses E-verify, an internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities.
• Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.
• During the application process you will have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.
• The salary range indicated in this announcement reflects the minimum locality pay up to maximum locality pay for all duty locations listed. The range will be adjusted for selected duty location. General Schedule locality pay tables may be found under Salaries & Wages. Please note: first time hires to the Federal Government are typically hired at the Step 01.
• Deployment travel may be required, based upon agency needs. Deployment expectations can vary and will be discussed with candidates during the selection process.
• This is a Non-Bargaining Unit 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.

Help

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.

DHS offers competitive salaries and an attractive benefits package, including health, dental, vision, life, and long-term care insurance; retirement plan; Thrift Savings Plan [similar to a 401(k)]; Flexible Spending Account; Employee Assistance Program; personal leave days; and paid federal holidays.

Other benefits may include flexible work schedules; tuition reimbursement; transportation subsidies; uniform allowance; health and wellness programs; and fitness centers. DHS is committed to employee development and offers a variety of employee training and developmental opportunities. For more information, go to the DHS Careers website and select "Benefits." Disabled veteran leave will be available to any federal employee hired on or after November 5, 2016, who is a veteran with a service- connected disability rating of 30 percent or more.

Review our benefits

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.