Supervisory Public Affairs Specialist

DutiesYou will:Serve as the primary lead for management and strategic planning, including implementation of all aspects of Region 10’s Public Affairs program including public information, media relations, community engagement, congressional and intergovernmental affairs, internal communications and on-line content.Exercise supervisory personnel management responsibilities.Represent the organizational unit and Agency with a variety of functional area organizations.One or more positions may be filled (in the organization advertised and/or in other organizations), if appropriate to the position.Requirements Conditions of EmploymentYou must submit a resume and required documents--see How to Apply section.You must be a U.S. citizen.#LI-OnsiteThis position is designated as High Risk and requires a background investigation. Unless an appropriate background investigation is already on record with the Office of Personnel Management, you must undergo a background investigation. All conditions of the pre-employment security process must be met before an official letter of employment can be issued with a report for duty date.If you are selected, you will be required to complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure form within 30 days of your first day of employment and annually thereafter.If you are selected, you may be required to complete a one-year probationary period.If you are selected, you must complete (or have already completed) a 1-year supervisory or managerial probationary period.Upon acceptance of an initial appointment to a supervisory or managerial position with the EPA, you agree to complete all elements of the EPA Successful Leaders Program. This development program is designed to enhance leadership skills and abilities and meet the Agency's goal of providing new leaders with the skills and tools you need to be successful. QualificationsNOTE:  You must meet qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.To qualify for the GS-15 level, you must have 1 year of full-time* specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-14 level defined as providing leadership, oversight and expertise for intergovernmental, congressional, and public affairs for environmental programs, including experience in presenting recommendations for communications on controversial or sensitive issues; and, experience in communicating environmental issues and programs to a variety of audiences.Your answers to the online assessment will be used to evaluate your competencies in the following areas:Ability to plan, develop, and carry out programs which impact environmental matters and communications.Ability to implement the agency's accomplishment of its primary mission or programs of national significance.Knowledge to oversee the organizational unit’s programs which encompass an entire Region.Ability to closely work with Division Directors on high level communication and roll out initiatives of national importance to the public.Skill to provide advisory expertise on all aspects of communication as well as planning, designing and executing a program to inform and educate the public.Skill in direct community engagement, written materials, news releases, verbal communication, speech preparation meetings and social media presence.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.*If you have part-time work experience, read this: EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures.Additional informationAre you a Displaced Federal Employee? If so, please read the Required Documents section and visit the EPA website for additional information on the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): EPA Announcement Policies and ProceduresNOTE: To be entitled to selection priority, you must be rated well-qualified (i.e., you must fall into the Well Qualified category or higher--see the How You Will Be Evaluated section).Diversity, equity, and inclusion are core values at EPA. Our excellence can only be fully realized by staff who share our commitment to these values. Successful candidates are committed to advancing equity and inclusion in the Agency’s workplace and mission. We encourage applications from candidates with a variety of personal experiences, values, and worldviews that arise from differences of culture and circumstance. At EPA, diversity is a vital element in bringing a balance of perspectives to bear on every challenge we face. We are committed to creating a diverse workforce because we know that the individual strengths and abilities of our employees make us a stronger organization. The more inclusive our employee base is, the greater the variety of ideas that are generated, and the more representative we are of the nation we serve. To learn more about how EPA values and supports our diverse workforce, visit Equal Opportunity Employment at EPA.EPA participates in E-Verify. E-Verify is an Internet based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA) that enables participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees. For additional information: EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures.This position is not in the bargaining unit.If you are selected, travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will not be paid by EPA. Any travel, transportation, and relocation expenses associated with reporting to work in this position will be your responsibility.Except in special circumstances, those new to the federal government will be hired at the starting salary (step 1) of the applicable grade range listed in the Overview section. Help 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. Join EPA in protecting human health and the environment and enjoy many work life quality options! Working for the EPA offers you a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation, sick leave, holidays, life insurance, health benefits, and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. To learn more about us, visit Life and Careers at EPA.EPA offers workplace flexibilities as described on the EPA Benefits page. These flexibilities are not guaranteed, and eligibility will be determined in accordance with position requirements, policy, and/or applicable Collective Bargaining Agreement after you are hired.PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS (PSLF):  As a federal employee, you may be eligible for student loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. The PSLF program forgives the remaining balance on federal Direct Loans after you have made 120 qualifying payments while working full-time for a qualifying employer, including EPA. Learn more:  pslf.govThis position has portable work. If selected for this position, you may be eligible for partial work-from-home flexibilities after meeting eligibility requirements, as allowable by agency policy and/or applicable collective bargaining agreement.Review our benefitsEligibility 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 EvaluatedYou will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.After the vacancy announcement closes, we will review your resume and required documents to ensure you meet the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements.If we determine you are eligible/qualified, you will be further assessed based on your responses to the occupational questionnaire you completed as part of your online application. We will compare your resume and supporting documentation to your questionnaire responses; if you rated yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job. After your responses are evaluated, a score will be calculated, and you will be placed into the Best Qualified, Well Qualified, or Qualified category using the category rating method. As a result of this assessment process, your category assignment will reflect the degree to which your background matches the competencies required for successful performance in this position (see the Qualifications section for a list of the competencies being evaluated).Veterans’ preference is applied after applicants are assessed. Qualified preference eligibles who have a compensable service-connected disability of 10 percent or more are placed at the top of the highest category (except for scientific or professional positions at the GS-09 level or higher). All other preference eligibles are placed above non-preference eligibles within their assigned category.NOTE: Applicants who are referred to the selecting official for consideration and are entitled to veterans’ preference in the hiring process must be selected, or decline further consideration, before applicants who are ineligible for veterans’ preference can be selected (to learn more, visit Veterans' Preference).If you are referred for consideration, you may be subject to additional assessments by the selecting official (e.g., technical writing sample or other work sample, job knowledge test, case scenario analysis, scientific data assessment, structured interview, etc.).You may preview questions for this vacancy.