Summary
This position is located in the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's, Office of Policy & External Affairs (OPEA), Communications, Outreach, & Legislative Affairs Department (COLAD).
This job is open to
Internal to an agency
Current federal employees of the hiring agency that posted the job announcement.
Clarification from the agency
All current internal employees to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) who are currently serving or previously served on a career or career-conditional appointment.
Duties
The candidate selected for this position will:
- Direct PBGC communications with the public, pension plan participants, businesses that sponsor pension plans, and stakeholder groups representing labor, pension practitioners, and retiree organizations. Lead outreach to congressional staff and key congressional leadership and committees, development of information and briefing materials on PBGC’s insurance programs and translating complex retirement policy issues for a broad audience.
- Direct the planning, execution, and evaluation of PBGC's external and internal communications activities, legislative outreach, and publications related to PBGC’s mission under ERISA and its insurance program operations.
- Oversee PBGC’s public information and media relations including press releases, reports to Congress and other publications, audio-visual, print, new media, and graphics, web-content, in-house and external publications, etc. ensuring alignment with PBGC strategic goals and consistency with administration communication strategies.
- Carry out the full range of management and program duties and oversee the overall planning, direction, and timely execution of programs including but not limited to supervision of employees, oversight of budget formulation/planning, management plans, reports of work performed, and resources expended.
Requirements
Conditions of employment
- 1-year supervisory probationary period is required unless already met in previous supervisory position.
Qualifications
All qualification requirements must be met within 30 days of the announcement closing date.
Applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience at the GS-14 grade level in the Federal service or equivalent to the GS-14 grade level in the private sector directing the formulation, development, execution, and evaluation of communications, media relations, legislative, and policy matters for an organization in the retirement, insurance, or financial sector.
Examples may include: Serving in a communications or legislative affairs role in a government or regulatory agency, a trade or advocacy organization in the pensions or financial services area, as a staff member on one of PBGC’s Committees of Jurisdiction (Senate Committee of Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Senate Finance Committee, Committee on Education & the Workforce, House Committee on Ways and Means) preparing and communicating retirement or financial policy papers; communicating complex retirement or financial policy information to Congress or stakeholders; and overseeing a communications program related to retirement or financial policy.
Knowledge of ERISA is highly desirable.
Time-In-Grade Requirement: In order to be eligible for this position, all current Federal employees must provide proof of meeting the time-in-grade requirement (i.e., at least 52 weeks of experience at the next lower grade level in the Federal service). This information must be in both your resume and on an SF-50. Those who do not provide proof of having met the time-in-grade requirement will be deemed ineligible for this position.
Education
NO EDUCATION IS REQUIRED.
Additional information
PBGC encourages qualified applicants with disabilities to apply. If you are requiring reasonable accommodations, please contact PBGC’s Reasonable Accommodation Coordinator, Denorse Prince, at (202) 229-4026 or prince.denorse@pbgc.gov. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
All Veterans are encouraged to visit CareerOne for resume writing tips and skill conversion terms.
If you believe that you have been subjected to discrimination, you may contact the PBGC Office of Equal Employment Opportunity (OEEO):
OEEO Main Office Phone: 202-229-4363
Email: EEO@PBGC.gov
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
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 for information on the major Agency benefits offered.
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.
Referral: You will be assigned to one of three quality groups. Each group represents a quality level (i.e., Best Qualified, Qualified, Minimally Qualified). Candidates will be considered in quality group order. If you are among the top qualified candidates, your application may be referred to a selecting official for consideration. You may be required to participate in a selection interview (telephonic and/or in person at the discretion of the Selecting Official in accordance with hiring policies).
If your resume does not support the answers you gave on the assessment questionnaire, you may be rated Not Qualified or you may be placed in a lower quality group.
Your name will be placed in one of the three following quality groups:
•Best-Qualified - highly proficient regarding the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) related to this position.
•Qualified - competent regarding the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) related to this position.
•Minimally Qualified- possessing only the minimum qualifications required for this position.
Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs):
1. Ability to communicate information to the media and specialized groups through various media platforms.
2. Knowledge of retirement plans, pension law and regulations.
3. Skill in applying principles, practices, and techniques of communications programs.
4. Ability to lead, manage, or supervise.
Candidates who apply under Competitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are best qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the assessment questionnaire. Best qualified will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.
Candidates who apply under Noncompetitive procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are minimally qualified based on the content of their resume, supporting documentation submitted and their responses to the assessment questionnaire.
Your rating may be lowered if your responses to the online questions are not supported by the education and/or experience described in your application.
You may preview questions for this vacancy.
Required Documents
RESUME: You must submit a resume. Your resume must include your name and contact information and should clearly show your possession of the specialized experience and KSAs so that we can determine your qualifications for this position. Your resume should be specific to the position you are applying for, relating your skills and experience to those noted in the job posting.
Please limit your resume to two pages. If more than two pages are submitted, only the first two pages will be reviewed by Human Resources and the hiring manager to determine your eligibility/qualifications.
PLEASE DO NOT include photographs, hypertext/hyperlinks, or other inappropriate material or content. This information will not be used to make eligibility or qualification determinations.
COVER LETTER (OPTIONAL): Your cover letter should state your interest in this position and the strengths that you feel will make you an asset to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. We will not use your cover letter to determine your qualifications; however, your cover letter will go to the Selecting Official along with your resume if you are referred.
SF-50 (NOTIFICATION OF PERSONNEL ACTION): All status candidates or reinstatement eligibles must submit an SF-50.
- DO NOT submit Award SF-50's and/or General Adjustment SF-50's as they cannot be used to prove time-in-grade.
- Submit your most recent NON-AWARD SF-50. The SF-50 must indicate proof of status and should identify your position title, series, grade, step, salary, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted); also include your SF-50 reflecting when you entered your highest grade (e.g. Promotion, Appointment, etc.) in order to verify time-in-grade requirements.
Please note that it may be necessary to submit more than one SF-50 to show that all requirements have been met.
TRANSCRIPT(S) (IF APPLICABLE): If you are relying on education to meet the minimum qualification requirement for this position, you must submit transcripts to verify that you meet the requirement. Information on the specific education requirement can be found under the Education in the vacancy announcement. Your transcripts should include course titles, school name/location, date completed, grades, and number of credits earned. Applicants who obtained their qualifying education outside of the U.S. and its territories must provide proof that their degrees have been validated as equivalent to a degree conferred by a college or university in the U.S. Unofficial transcripts may be submitted with your application; however, you must bring official transcripts with your first day if you are hired. Please see the Education section of this announcement for additional information.
FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.
Career Transition Assistance Program: CTAP candidates must submit documents showing eligibility for selection priority (e.g., RIF separation notice, Certificate of Expected Separation, or other proof of eligibility for priority selection); an SF-50 showing the current (or former) position, grade level, promotion potential, and duty location; and the most current performance appraisal including the performance rating.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from
schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
How to Apply
In order to be considered, submit all of the required information (including your supplemental documentation) before midnight EST on the closing date.
If you are not able to apply online or require reasonable accommodations, contact Denay Austin on (202) 229-6532 or at austin.denay@pbgc.gov no later than 5:00 p.m. on the day before the closing date of this vacancy announcement. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
Please complete all the steps in the online application process at USAJOBS (www.usajobs.gov). You may make updates to your information at any time prior to midnight EST on the closing date of this announcement.
- Register with USAJOBS, which will store your information and resume. You will only need to complete this step once.
- Locate and review the vacancy announcement on USAJOBS. Click the “Apply” link and then select a resume to submit with your application. If you do not have a resume to select, or you want to upload a new one, click “Add Resume” and upload your resume. You can also click “Edit” to edit an already-uploaded resume. Once you have selected a resume, click “Save and Continue.”
- Add or remove your supporting documents.
- Once you have attached your resume and supporting documents, review your application package to ensure that they have been attached, then check the box next to “I acknowledge that I have reviewed my resume and document(s).” Then Click “Save and Continue.”
- Complete the “Include Personal Information” page and click “Save and Continue,”
- On the “Continue Application with Agency” page, read the terms and certify by checking the box if you agree. Then click “Continue to Agency Site.” This will take you to the application for the position.
- Click “Apply to this Vacancy.”
- Complete or review the eligibility questions, which determine the types of positions you are eligible for.
- Specify which series, grade(s), and location(s) you wish to be considered for.
- Complete the online vacancy questions, then click "Finish". You will continue to the Vacancy Documents page.
- Review your attached documents from USAJobs. If there are other documents that you need to attach, upload those here as well.
- You will then see a summary of your application, including the documents that you submitted. You are strongly encouraged to save or print a copy of this page as proof of submission and receipt of your application and documents.
- To finish, click "Submit Application."
Next steps
You are encouraged to complete your USAJOBS personal account completely to receive notifications at each point in the recruiting process. Utilizing this option allows you to review and track the status of your application and receive email notifications from the hiring office.
You may check the status of your applications by clicking on the My USAJOBS tab at the USAJOBS website.