Public Affairs Specialist

Summary
This is a non-bargaining unit position. This is not a (drug) testing designated position (TDP).
This position is with the Small Business Administration, Office of Field Operations - Region V in Chicago, IL. Plans, directs, coordinates, and executes the Small Business Administration's (SBA) marketing, communications, and Public Affairs for internal and external communications throughout the assigned area.
This job is open to

• Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)
  Federal employees who meet the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee.
• Family of overseas employees
  Family members of a federal employee or uniformed service member who is or was, working overseas.
• Federal employees - Competitive service
  Current or former competitive service federal employees.
• Individuals with disabilities
• Land & base management
  Certain current or former term or temporary federal employees of a land or base management agency.
• Military spouses
• Peace Corps & AmeriCorps Vista
• Veterans

This job is also open in another announcement to:

• Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)
• The public

This job is also open in another announcement to:

• Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)
• The public

Videos
Duties

• The Public Affairs Specialist (Regional Communications Director) acts as the agency's primary spokesperson for multiple states, and is responsible for marketing, brand expansion, media outreach, social media, speech writing, and coordination of high-level events throughout the region. Creative self-starters who take initiative, and thrive in a fast moving, dynamic, high visibility environment are encouraged to apply for this opportunity.
• Responsible for a broad range of duties that contribute to awareness, utilization, and positive perception of the SBA's programs, products, and initiatives by the public, industry groups, small businesses, trade organizations, and communities.
• Through the development of a variety of written materials including marketing strategies, communications plans, speeches, press releases, editorials, and social media posts, the incumbent influences usage and acceptance of agency resources that support small businesses and entrepreneurs.
• Works closely with staff in headquarters and district offices to develop high impact events which support and showcase national initiatives, generate positive and extensive media coverage, and increase SBA market share.
• Serves as a subject matter expert for district staff on social media, press, communications, marketing, and publicity, and provides regular training on these topics to field staff.

Requirements
Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen
• You must successfully complete a background investigation.
• You may be required to serve a one-year probationary period.

Qualifications
GS-13
Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service, obtained in either the private or public sector:
1.) Preparing key messages, talking points and Public Affairs guidance for issues that may generate external or media interest; AND
2.) Leading the development and implementation of communications initiatives that reach a wide variety of audiences; AND
3.) Advising and assisting senior leadership in implementing public relations strategies, planning projects and events; AND
4.) Preparing and conducting relevant training for leadership and Public Affairs staff.
Your resume must fully support this experience.
Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on OPM's Qualifications web site:
Public Affairs Series 1035
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 can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
TIME-IN-GRADE: If you are a current career or career-conditional federal employee applying for promotion under Merit Promotion you must have completed a minimum of 52 weeks in positions at the next level lower than the position being filled.
All qualification requirements must be met by 11:59 pm (Eastern Time) on 12/05/2023.
Education
Education may not be substituted for experience for this position.
Additional information
Reasonable Accommodation Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations 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. 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 Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire
Career and InterAgency Career Transition Assistance Programs:
Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) is a program that helps "surplus" or "displaced" federal employees improve their chances of finding a new job in their current agency (intra-agency, i.e. SBA employees only).
Inter-Agency Career Transition Assistance (ICTAP) is a program that helps "surplus" or "displaced" federal employees improve their chances of finding a new job at another agency (inter-agency; i.e. not applying to their current or former agency).
You are eligible for CTAP/ICTAP if:
1. You are a current federal employee who meets the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee meaning you have received official notice that your job is no longer needed or that you will lose your job by Reduction-in-Force (RIF).
2. Your agency, or the agency to which you are applying, is accepting applications from within or outside of the permanent workforce.
3. The position to which you are applying MUST BE in the Local Commuting Area of the position of record from which you are being displaced.
4. You meet the qualifications and other requirements of the job for which you are applying. This includes being rated as well-qualified for the position (score of 85 or better based on your responses to the competencies and associated questions listed within the assessment).
Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. For additional information visit www.sss.gov.
Consistent with work requirements and current SBA Policy, and all applicable provisions of the collective bargaining agreement with AFGE the SBA offers employees opportunities to perform work at an alternative location (e.g. home).
Telework may be available. For information on Telework visit: http://www.telework.gov/
Additional vacancies may be filled from this vacancy announcement if additional vacancies occur within 180 days of the date the certificates were issued.

• Benefits
  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.
  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.

How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Applicants meeting basic eligibility requirements will be further evaluated based on the information provided in the Occupational Questionnaire. To preview this questionnaire, click on the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12215867. You will be rated based on your responses to the occupational questionnaire. The occupational questions relate to the following Competencies required to do the work of this position:

• Attention to Detail
• Communication
• Customer Service
• Flexibility
• Flexibility
• Influencing/Negotiating
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Media
• Reading Comprehension
• Reasoning
• Sales and Marketing
• Self-Management
• Social Media
• Strategic Thinking
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
All qualified Non Competitive applicants and the best qualified Merit Promotion applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration.
Career and InterAgency Career Transition Assistance Programs: To receive selection priority for this position, you must:
1. meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria as described under "Additional Information" above; and
2. submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP/ICTAP eligibility claim which can be found under the Required Documents section of this vacancy announcement.

• Benefits
  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.
  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.
• Required Documents
  As a new or existing federal employee, you and your family may have access to a range of benefits. Your benefits depend on the type of position you have - whether you're a permanent, part-time, temporary or an intermittent employee. You may be eligible for the following benefits, however, check with your agency to make sure you're eligible under their policies.
  Failure to submit any of the required documents by the closing date/time of the vacancy will result in your removal from consideration for this position. Please review your application prior to final submission and ensure you have submitted all appropriate documents. Uploading documents to USAJobs does NOT ensure inclusion with your application to our system. You must verify that the documents are in the system with your application prior to final submission.
  1. Your Resume - must contain the following information:
  
  • Name, address, telephone number, email address;
  • Supervisor's contact information, if available (indicate if you would prefer to be notified before your supervisor is contacted);
  • Job Title (if Federal Service, provide series and grade; if not in GS plan, provide GS equivalent grade);
  • If qualifying based on related unpaid (e.g. volunteer service) experience, you must provide hours worked per week and beginning/ending dates (mm/dd/yyyy to mm/dd/yyyy);
  • If other than full time you must provide hours worked per week.
  • An integral part of our selection process includes the completion of reference checks. Please provide the names and telephone numbers of three professional references (e.g., current and/or former supervisors, college or university professors, managers or coordinators of volunteer activities, etc.) who know your qualifications relative to this position and who we can contact to verify your credentials. Do not list personal friends or relatives.
  • PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume/application does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates (mm/dd/yyyy - mm/dd/yyyy) of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level.
  • Should you submit multiple resumes, only the latest uploaded resume will be reviewed.
  
  2. A complete Occupational Questionnaire.
  3. In addition to the online application (resume and responses to the occupational questionnaire), you are required to submit the following forms, if applicable. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure all document...