Summary This position provides leadership and direction for the Public Affairs program at VA Pacific Islands Health Care System (VAPIHCS) while displaying tact, common sense, diplomacy, initiative, and solid professional judgment. The goal of the position is to increase internal and external awareness of VA programs, services, special events and projects, technologies, personnel, and research accomplishments. Responsibilities The duties related to this position include but are not limited to the following: Supervisory Duties: Plans work to be accomplished by subordinates, sets, and adjusts short-term priorities, and prepares schedules. Assigns work to subordinate employees based on organization priorities and consideration of difficulty and requirements of assignments such that the experience, training, and abilities of staff are effectively utilized to meet organization and customer needs. Balances workload and provides advice, guidance, and direction on a wide range of (insert Area of Responsibility) and administrative issues. Communication: Evaluates information from a variety of sources and provides feedback to senior management on public affairs trends and stakeholder attitudes to assess program effectiveness and make improvements. Serves as agency spokesman for the facility. Handles communication efforts when controversial, high-level issues impact the VA Medical Center, often during crisis and emergency situations. Serves as Public Information Officer under Hospital Incident Command System. Outreach Planning Management: Provides guidance with the direction of all outreach initiatives of the VAPIHCS, offering authoritative advice, and technical expertise concerning health care community outreach strategies for the VAPIHCS. Plans and executes special events, coordinates high profile visits, and supports outreach to veterans not enrolled in the VA health care system. General Administrative: Plans, develops, and produces a variety of materials and publications including print, visual, Web-based, multimedia, and video materials to convey information about the VA to a variety of stakeholders. Develops budgets, writes statements of work, and directs, coordinates, and supervises activities of supporting staff and contractors, if applicable. Prepares responses to reports, surveys, requests for Information and other correspondence required by headquarters, VISN, VACO, regulatory bodies, Medical Affiliates or community organizations. Work Schedule: 7:30am - 4:00pm Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Public Affairs Specialist/PD028450 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 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 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 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. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year 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: designing, organizing, and implementing plans for community and media relations, printing/reproduction, internal and external websites, strategic outreach initiatives, increasing internal and external awareness of VA programs, services, special events and projects, technologies, personnel, and research accomplishments. Establishing and maintaining proactive contacts with media outlets, legislative offices, veteran service organizations, and health care affiliates. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Communications Communications and Media Customer Service 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. 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: 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 newspapers and other literature and to push carts of supplies. 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 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.
