Communications Specialist

Summary This position is located at the William S. Middleton VA, Madison, WI, in Education Services. The Communications Specialist serves as the facility's integrated champion for both the VA's Online Personal Health Record (My HealtheVet, including Secure Messaging) and the facility's broader Patient/Veteran Health Education and Outreach programs. Responsibilities The Communications Specialist serves as facility champion for both programs, leading facility teams to support existing and future Veteran communication and health education initiatives, and coordinating local implementation, training, communications, outreach, web and print health content, and support efforts across My HealtheVet, Secure Messaging, and Veteran/patient health education. The Communications Specialist plans, organizes, directs, evaluates, and reports on all related local actions and activities, and serves as the facility's local subject-matter expert connecting Veterans with clinical health education resources and broader state, local, and national veteran service programs. Major duties of the position include but are not limited to: Establishes and manages communications plans that identify target audiences, appropriate messages, activities, and resources needed for effective communication and change management. Supports and guides facility VHA public affairs officers and stakeholders regarding My HealtheVet and patient/health education efforts. Oversees the program's online presence and web content and leads innovations to keep the facility's offerings on the cutting edge. Establishes and manages training plans; designs and performs needs assessments relative to functional and training needs and project effectiveness. Represents the VAMC/HCS at forums, conferences, and meetings, and at the VISN/national level on calls and conferences related to My HealtheVet and Patient Education. Establishes, develops, and implements local goals and strategies, identifies responsible parties, tracks progress, monitors activity status, and reports status/progress to medical center management. Analyzes functional clinical and business process changes and their impact on clinical guidelines, policies, procedures, and user behavior. Manages multi-disciplinary teams of professional, technical, and support personnel to coordinate clinical and business functions for the program. Work Schedule: Full-time, Monday - Friday, 07:30am - 4:00pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Communications Specialist/PD253630 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, and health fair activities, with some slight physical effort 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, 10/02/2026. 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 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-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: Knowledge and understanding of the full range of principles, concepts, and techniques of marketing, advertising and salesmanship, and the ability to transform these requirements into a working, viable program; Skill in editing web pages and creating links and using social networking technology; Knowledge of and skill in automated data processing applications (e.g., desktop publishing, graphics) sufficient to be able to design, establish, and operate in the operation of state-of-the-art personal computer (PC) equipment; Skill in audio-visual techniques to assist in preparation of radio, television, slide show, speech materials, or other methods of communication; Skill in organizing and communicating ideas and thoughts effectively through written correspondence and oral presentation; Skill, knowledge, and ability to analyze a variety of research reports, studies, fact sheets, and other documents and translate from analytical to commonly understood language. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or an LL.M. if related, that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. (Transcripts required) OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience directly related to the work of the position as outlined above and graduate education beyond a master's or equivalent graduate degree to meet total qualification requirements for this grade level. (Transcripts required) Preferred Experience: Experience with patient education and adult learning principles Experience with conducting outreach and Veteran engagement For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at Education A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. 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: 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: 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. 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