Summary This position is the Facility Communications Officer/Public Affairs Officer (CO/PAO), located in the Office of the Director for the St. Cloud VA Health Care System (STCVAHCS), and directs the facility Office of Communications, which provides public affairs advising and support services to facility staff and leadership; and is the Staff Advisor and Subject Matter Expert for all communications, public affairs, and related issues and functions. Responsibilities Major duties include, but not limited to: Consulting with executive leadership to advise, plan, coordinate, and facilitate effective communications activities, programs, and policies. Developing communication plans and implementation strategies that ensure communications are presented clearly, concisely, persuasively, and systematically in a timely manner. Managing the facility public affairs program. Establishing short and long-term goals and objectives for facility communications and public affairs programs. Responsible for ensuring consistent messaging to Veterans, employees, and the public. Developing and evaluating communication and outreach strategies incorporating a wide variety of media. Responsible for managing facility internet and intranet content, maintaining public websites, email marketing system, and all social media and digital public email marketing systems. Collaborating with subject matter experts (SMEs) to plan communication campaigns. Coordinating news conferences, special media events, press releases, and facilitates feature stories. Establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with members of the media, Congressional and legislative representatives, Veterans Service Organizations, and other specialized groups. Responsible for supervising the facility's Office of Communications staff. Representing the facility in public and private forums and events, including federal, state, and local government agencies, private organizations, educational institutions, and other entities. Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday thru Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Public Affairs Specialist/PD905710 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized The VA Midwest Health Care Network advocates for a Whole Health System of care in each of the Medical Centers. This is an approach to healthcare that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their lives to the fullest. As an employee operating in a Whole Health System of care, you will operate in a model with three core elements, seeking to create a personalized health plan for each Veteran. This is done in the @context of healing relationships and healing environments and a connection back to the Veteran's community. This aligns with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Mission Statement to Honor America's Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 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 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) Physical Requirements: 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. 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 or trial 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, 05/11/2026. 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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. 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 (1) year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: managing an organization's communication and public affairs program; developing long and short-term goals for a facility communications and public affairs programs; advising executive leadership on cohesive branding and marketing strategies; developing and evaluating communication and outreach strategies; managing a facility's internet and intranet content (i.e. maintenance of public websites, public email marketing, and/or social media and other digital public information platforms); supporting media needs and requests from facility education programs, training and instructional videos, publicity, marketing, and information materials; coordinating conferences, special events, and press releases; establishing and maintaining working relationships with members of the media, congressional and legislative representatives, Veteran Service Organizations and stakeholders; leading or supervising a facility's communications staff setting annual plans to be accomplished, priorities, and prepares work schedules. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and Management Customer Service Multimedia Technologies Oral Communication Writing 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; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Preferred Experience: Strong written and verbal communication skills; Ability to build coalitions with internal and external stakeholders; Knowledge of Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) public relations policy; and/or Knowledge of media relations and congressional liaison. NOTE: A 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: Work is generally sedentary but may require some walking, standing, bending, carrying/traveling with items such as books and portable laptop. Work Environment: The work is usually performed in an office environment, meeting rooms or similar settings. Travel involves the normal risks and discomforts of automobile, bus, rail, or air transportation. 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. Additional Information 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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. 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.
