Public Affairs Specialist

If selected for this position as a Public Affairs Specialist in the United States Attorneys Office (USAO) you will join a well-respected team that is responsible for providing public information support. Typical work assignments will include:

• Providing a variety of ancillary administrative and office support services to the United States Attorney.
• Providing administrative support on all public affairs and press matters.
• Maintaining office files projects media contacts distribution lists and records related to outreach and communication activities.
• Participating in planning writing and editing news releases briefing news media representatives and preparing written material for dissemination and publication.
• Planning initiating and implementing comprehensive public affairs campaigns to enhance the understanding of USAO initiatives among the general public specialized groups and organizations.
• Furnishing policy guidance developing directives for policy procedures and evaluating program effectiveness.
• Formatting correspondence organizes briefing materials and ensures proper routing and coordination of documents.
• Responding to routine inquiries regarding administrative matters for the USAO.
• Developing a variety of recurring reports and documents which involve obtaining information from the staff subject files or other sources and formatting the needed information properly in narrative table or graph formats.

Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen or National
• Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory pre-employment adjudication. This includes fingerprint credit and tax checks and drug testing. Continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation
• You must be registered for Selective Service if applicable
• If selected you may be required to complete a one year probationary period.
• You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.

Qualifications

GS-9: To be eligible at the GS-09 level you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions as defined below: Specialized Experience Education OR a combination of Education and Experience.

Specialized Experience: One full year of full-time specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service which could have been gained in the federal public and/or private sector. Specialized Experience is defined as

• coordinating organizing and planning media events;
• gathering facts and drafting press releases or news stories for publication;
• developing digital strategy campaigns using diverse digital media platforms and tools (such as Instagram Facebook Twitter LinkedIn and content management systems) to drive public awareness disseminate public interest and/or public safety information; and
• responding to information requests from the media the general public and/or specialized groups and organizations.

OR

Education: One of the following types of education in a related field (e.g. Communications Journalism Public Affairs): a Masters or equivalent graduate degree; OR 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; OR LL.B. or J.D. if related. Education at the graduate level must be in an accredited college or university and must demonstrate the knowledge skills and abilities necessary to perform the duties of the position.

OR

Combining Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed graduate education and experience may be used to meet total qualification order to qualify based on a combination graduate education must be in excess of 1 full year.

GS-11: To be eligible at the GS-11 level you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions as defined below: Specialized Experience Education OR a combination of Education and Experience.

Specialized Experience: One full year of full-time specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service which could have been gained in the federal public and/or private sector. Specialized Experience is defined as

• coordinating and participating in media events and/or press conferences;
• utilizing media relationships with organizations and personnel in local and/or national media markets;
• responding to information requests from media and the general public;
• drafting press releases speeches and/or public remarks for news stories or publication; and
• developing and managing organizational social media platforms and internet presence to disseminate public interest and/or public safety information.

OR

Education: One of the following types of education in a related field (e.g. Communications Journalism Public Affairs): a Ph.D. or equivalent doctorate degree; OR 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; OR LL.M. if related. Education at the graduate level must be in an accredited college or university and must demonstrate the knowledge skills and abilities necessary to perform the duties of the position.

OR

Combining Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed graduate education and experience may be used to meet total qualification order to qualify based on a combination graduate education must be in excess of 2 full years

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)- The ICTAP provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your ICTAP eligibility; 2) you apply under the instructions in the announcement; and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and receive a score of 85 or better on established ranking criteria. You must provide proof of eligibility to receive selection priority. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation personnel action form. Additional information about ICTAP eligibility is at: Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)-The CTAP provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees in the Department of Justice with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your Department of Justice component has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP consideration you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your CTAP eligibility 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and receive a score of 85 or better on established ranking criteria. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Additional information about CTAP eligibility is at