Summary The Public Affairs Officer for the VA Medical Center, in Huntington, WV works in the Office of the Director to lead and direct the medical center's public affairs and community relations programs, advise executive leadership, and serve as the medical center spokesperson, the point of contact for local and national media, and the liaison for veterans service organizations, congressional offices, civic groups, offices of local and state elected officials and education affiliates. Responsibilities Primary duties include but may not be limited to the following: Advise senior level management on the development of media campaigns, communication plans and strategies; responsible for developing and implementing such strategies, messages, and other communications tools for highly visible facility programs and during high profile situations which may be sensitive or controversial. Evaluate information from a variety of sources and advise senior management on public affairs trends and stakeholder attitudes to assess program effectiveness, make improvements and to enhance the visibility and reputation of the facility within the community. Complete special assignments such as writing speeches/remarks for the Director; coordinating special projects such as employee distributions or recognition events; or coordinating, participating in and/or chairing special committees and functional teams to ensure compliance for accreditation. Prepare congressional briefing packages and other presentations/documents for VA guests from regional and central offices as well as congressional staff, veterans organizations and other community representatives and groups. Plan and execute special events and official ceremonies, including dedications and ribbon cuttings and DV visits with VA officials, congressional representatives, and other elected officials; Manage all protocol requirements, advises on, and ensures proper protocol in ceremonial preparation, correspondence, setting, flags, music, sequence of operations, decorum, reception, security, orders of precedence, guests of honor, gold star families, and, gifts & refreshments. Serve as the medical center's official photographer to document special events, staff recognitions, historically significant issues, or other appropriate situations. Respond in writing and orally to questions about or criticisms of the medical center's activities or policies and explains the VA's position. Coordinates public affairs programs involving network activities, including congressional and news briefings and other public meetings. Manage communications with media and other stakeholders in a direct and concise manner when controversial and/or high-level issues impact the Medical Center, which often occur during crisis and emergency situations. Respond to directly or prepares responses for the medical center director, for issues related to medical center operations. These may be internal or external situations which are potentially urgent and/or sensitive. Plans, writes and produces a broad variety of materials and publications for internal and external audiences, including print, visual, Web based, multimedia, and video materials to convey information to a variety of stakeholders. Facility content manager for Internet and Intranet web sites; ensures compliance with regulations, visual identity quality standards and overall objectives for VA and the facility. Develops and publishes pertinent, appropriate messaging for the facility's social media presence including determining response to social media queries and criticisms. Manages the medical center's social media accounts and responds to inquiries from these accounts. Approving content manager for all patient education materials, announcements and other communications tools including electronic message boards, brochures, newsletters and patient information booklets. Works closely with all levels of VA staff to ensure appropriate, accurate and timely dissemination of communications materials, ensuring consistency and support of VA and facility strategic plan, mission, vision and values Develop and implement a community relations program on behalf of the medical center, including managing controversial or politically sensitive community relations strategies for highly visible programs. Liaise with other medical centers, VA central office, the VA Regional Office of Public Affairs and the VISN; works with officials in VA, VISN, OPA and the community to enhance understanding of facility programs and initiatives to build and strengthen relationships, increase visibility and enhance the medical center's reputation. Establishe and maintain relationships with the public and serves in an advisory capacity to facility leadership, recommending innovative methods for avoiding or resolving problems and reducing conflict with stakeholders and the public at large. Support and promote activities related to outreach to veterans not enrolled in VA health care including welcome home events, and health and enrollment fairs. Work Schedule: Full-time, Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Public Affairs Specialist/PD203330 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. 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: 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 newsletters and other literature and to push carts of supplies. 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, 03/04/2026. 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. 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. Specialized Experience: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-11) in the Federal Service, that is directly related to the work of the position and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties as a Public Affairs Specialist. Specialized experience includes experience where you were responsible for applying advanced communication and analytical practices, methods and techniques to the solution of complex public affairs problems; planning, developing, and producing a variety of materials and publications (including print, visual, Web-based, multimedia, and video materials) to achieve understanding of various points of view or concepts; advising leadership on the development of communication plans and strategies; establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with local media representatives and community groups; and coordinating and implementing special events, ceremonies, outreach campaigns, tours, and other activities to generate public awareness of organization's mission. NOTE: One (1) 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. Physical Requirements and Work Environment: Work is generally sedentary with walking required during visits and tours of Medical Centers. Flexibility is required to accommodate events and activities occurring in other than normal duty hours. Mobility s required in terms of staging and assisting staff with equipment and other required materials. Work is performed in an administrative office setting, which is adequately lighted, heated, ventilated and climate controlled. However, work does occasionally require incumbent to be outdoors, as for special events or as escort for media crews. Coordination and participation in meetings and other community relations activities requires presence in a variety of inhouse and off-station areas and facilities. The incumbent' has access to office automation and computer equipment. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: 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. Whole Health is an approach to health care that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their life to the fullest. The VA is committed to Whole Health and values Veteran and Employee health and wellbeing. As a VA employee, you will practice Whole Health in an environment that supports personalized and proactive care 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/.
