Public Affairs Specialist Job in Washington, DC

Vacancy No. 24-HUDIG-104 Department Office of Inspector General
Salary $139,395.00 to $181,216.00 Grade 14 to 14
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 9/27/2024 Close Date 10/11/2024
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Washington, DC


Job Description (Please follow all instructions carefully)

Summary

This position is located at Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General, Deputy Inspector General. As a Public Affairs Specialist, you will work closely with the senior staff and makes decisions on courses of action and public affairs requirements, status and progress, and policy matters.

Duties

As a Public Affairs Specialist, you will:

  • Determine and analyze communication needs and concerns of external entities as they relate to program, policies, and activities of HUD OIG.
  • Prepare speeches, briefings, and other statements from the IG, DIG, and other senior staff as needed.
  • Be responsible for effective planning and implementation of strategic communications, social media, public engagement, and external relations.
  • Prepare and review information materials for dissemination to various publics in conformance with OIG policy. Keeping the IG, DIG, and senior staff informed on matters of public affairs interests and advises on courses of action.
  • Serve as a point-of-contact for the media. Responds to media queries, including issues of a sensitive nature or those subject to misunderstanding, which may draw adverse public notice.
  • Conduct continuous analysis of communications plans and programs both from a technical and an operational standpoint.




Requirements

Conditions of Employment

The experience may have been gained in either the public, private sector or volunteer service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/day/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week on your résumé.

Key Requirements:
  1. Click "Print Preview" to review the entire announcement before applying.
  2. Must be U.S. Citizen or U.S. National.
To ensure compliance with an applicable preliminary nationwide injunction, which may be supplemented, modified, or vacated, depending on the course of ongoing litigation, the Federal Government will take no action to implement or enforce the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to Executive Order 14043 on Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees. Therefore, to the extent a Federal job announcement includes the requirement that applicants must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 pursuant to E.O. 14043, that requirement does not currently apply. Federal agencies may request information regarding the vaccination status of selected applicants for the purposes of implementing other workplace safety protocols, such as protocols related to masking, physical distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine.

Qualifications

You must meet the following requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

To be qualified for this position at the GS-14 level, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level. This experience is defined as:
-Drafting press releases, speeches, and other informational materials for public dissemination through a variety of media; AND
-Serving as liaison with representatives of the media to provide timely and accurate explanations of agency announcements and activities; AND
-Developing and maintaining effective working relationships with a variety of individuals and organizations.

Time-in-Grade: In addition to the above requirements, you must meet the following time-in-grade requirement, if applicable: For the GS-14, you must have been at the GS-13level for 52 weeks.

Time After Competitive Appointment: Candidates who are current Federal employees serving on a non-temporary competitive appointment must have served at least three months in that appointment.

Education


Additional information

Other Information:
- We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.
- This is a non-bargaining unit position.
- We offer opportunities for telework. HUDOIG's telework is a hybrid model-2 days telework (Monday & Friday) AND 3 days in the office (Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday).
- We offer opportunities for flexible work schedules.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT (CONTINUED):
- A one year probationary period may be required.
- Public Trust background Investigation will be required.
-This is a moderate risk position.
- Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency.
- If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so.
- Have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer.
- Go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form I-9. Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S.
- Obtain and use a Government-issued charge card for business-related travel.
- File a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report within 30 days of appointment and annually from then on.

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.

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.

Your application includes your résumé, responses to the online questions, and required supporting documents. Please be sure that your résumé includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this position; failure to provide sufficient evidence in your résumé may result in a "not qualified" determination.

Applicants that are in the top tier will then be referred for an additional review.

Rating: Your application will be evaluated in the following areas: Managerial, Client Engagement, Communication, Analytical

Your application will be rated and ranked among others, based on your responses to the online questions, regarding your experience, education, training, performance appraisals and awards relevant to the duties of this position. 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.

Referral: 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.

If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee (eligible for the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)) you must receive a score of 85 or better to be rated as "well qualified" to receive special selection priority.

Required Documents

A complete application includes 1. A résumé, 2. Vacancy question responses, and 3. Submission of any required documents. Please note that if you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, you may not be considered for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible).

All applicants are required to submit a résumé either by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one of their own choosing. (Cover letters are optional.) To receive full credit for relevant experience, please list the month/date/year and number of hours worked for experience listed on your résumé. We suggest that you preview the online questions, as you may need to customize your résumé to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions. Please view résumé tips.

CURRENT AND FORMER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES -- Documentation Relating to Your Federal Employment:- Submit a copy of your SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, which shows your current (or most recent) grade and competitive service status. (The "position occupied" block on the SF-50 should show a "1" and your "tenure" block should show a "1" or "2".)
-If you are currently on a Veterans Recruitment Appointment (VRA), submit a copy of an SF-50 showing that. Also, you must submit a copy of your DD214 or other documentation showing dates of service and type of discharge and any other applicable documents such as SF-15, VA letters, etc.
- Indicate on your application the highest permanent grade you have held; if this grade is different from your current grade, submit a copy of an additional SF-50 showing this grade.

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL: Submit a copy of your most recent performance appraisal, including the evaluation/rating. If you have not received this documentation for any reason (not employed, current employer does not give a performance appraisal, etc.) you must explain why in your application.

CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PLAN (CTAP) OR INTERAGENCY CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PLAN (ICTAP) DOCUMENTATION: If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee, click CTAP/ICTAP for eligibility and a detailed list of required documents.

REINSTATEMENT: If you are a former federal employee that has been separated for at least one year, and wish to be non-competitively reinstated for a higher grade or full performance level than which you left federal employment, you MUST provide a copy of your separation SF50 (the "position occupied" block on the SF-50 should show a "1" and your "tenure" block should show a "1" or "2") AND the last performance appraisal you received from your federal employment which shows at least a fully successful rating.
If you are applying under a special hiring authority (e.g. Military Spouses, Interchange Agreement, VEOA, VRA, Schedule A Disability, etc.), please see applicant guide for required documentation. In order to be eligible under one of these authorities, you must submit all required documentation as outlined in the applicant guide.

How to Apply

HUD OIG has partnered with the Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service to provide certain personnel services to its organization. Fiscal Service's responsibilities include advertising vacancies, accepting and handling applications, and extending job offers.

The following instructions outline our application process. You must complete this application process and submit any required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, please contact us by noon ET on the announcement's closing date.

The Bureau provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us if you require this for any part of the application and hiring process.

  • To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application.
  • Follow the prompts to select your résumé and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
  • After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.
  • You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application.
To verify the status of your application:
-Log into your USAJOBS account (USAJOBS Login)
-Under "application status," click "Track this application" and you will be taken to the agency website where you can check your application status. For more information regarding the job and applicant status, please refer to https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/ If you wish to make changes/updates to your application and the vacancy is still open, you can click on the job announcement and "Update Application" to be taken back to your application. No updates can be made once the announcement has closed. Please notify us if your contact information changes after the closing date of the announcement. Also, note that if you provide an email address that is inaccurate or if your mailbox is full or blocked (e.g., spam-blocker), you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.
For additional information on how to apply, please visit the Partnership for Public Service's Go Government website.

To preview the assessment questionnaire: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12558746

Agency contact information

Applicant Call Center
Address
Deputy Inspector General
Administrative Resource Center
Parkersburg, WV 26101
US
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

Once the online questionnaire is received, you will receive an acknowledgement email that your submission was successful. We will review your résumé and transcript(s) (if appropriate) to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. We will evaluate each applicant who meets the basic qualifications on the information provided and may interview the best-qualified applicants. After making a tentative job offer, we will conduct any required suitability and/or security background investigation.

To check the status of your application for this position, please follow these steps:
1. Login to your USAJOBS account, select the "Applications" section and click on the vacancy you would like to view and have already applied for.
2. Under "application status," click "Track this application" and you will be taken to the agency website where you can check your application status. For more information regarding the job and applicant status, please refer to https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/

If you wish to make changes/updates to your application and the vacancy is still open, you can click on the job announcement and "Update Application" to be taken back to that portion of the application. No updates can be made once the announcement has closed. Please notify us if your contact information changes after the closing date of the announcement. Also, note that if you provide an email address that is inaccurate or if your mailbox is full or blocked (e.g., spam-blocker), you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.