Public Affairs Specialist

Department of Justice

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Office of Field Operations

Summary

This position is located in any field division, Office of Field Operations (FO), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and is responsible for planning, organizing, and developing communications strategies and media plans for mass media in support of the field division and the ATF mission.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from current or former federal employees, VEOA eligibles, Career Transition eligibles, and those eligible for special/noncompetitive hiring authorities.

Duties

The major duties of the Public Affairs Specialist position include, but are not limited to, the following:

Evaluating and determining effective methods of disseminating information that highlight programs and enforcement activities.
Ensuring policies and views are consistent with public presentations and recognizing instances in which it is necessary to institute steps to resolve divergent public expression.
Staying up to date and current with criminal enforcement and industry operations developments, with particular emphasis on matters that affect the public, legislative relationships and major program matters of immediate concern.
Working with senior management to develop guidelines to ensure appropriate public information techniques are utilized.
Communicating both orally and in writing to represent the organization with the media at conferences and meetings.

Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

The requirements listed below must be met by the closing date of the announcement.

Must be U.S. Citizen or National
Selective Service registration is required for males born on, or after, December 31st 1959. Those not registered should have an approved exemption on file.
May be required to serve a one-year probationary period.
Suitable for Federal employment determined by background investigation.
You must meet all applicable time-in-grade requirements by the closing of this announcement.
Financial Disclosure: If selected, you may be required to disclose financial information in accordance with DOJ and Federal ethics guidelines.

MOBILITY PLAN: New employees hired pursuant to this vacancy announcement must sign a mobility agreement. The purpose of ATF's mobility policy is to enhance career development and progression, and achieve mission and business effectiveness. To accomplish these objectives, the mobility plan will facilitate the movement of employees through special short-term assignments or permanent reassignments throughout the Bureau. Applicants who decline to sign a mobility agreement, as required, will be removed from the hiring process. This is a non-bargaining unit position.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

Specialized experience is demonstrated experience, which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position. Experience must be in the normal line of progression or must be related to the work of the position advertised and must be reflected in resume.

To qualify for the Public Affairs Specialist position at the GS-13 grade level, candidates must meet the following specialized experience by the closing date of this announcement. Candidates must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-12) (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience must include all of the following.

Planning, organizing and developing programs for and determining effective dissemination of information through appropriate mass communications media; AND
Responding to unscheduled media inquiries concerning ongoing investigations, conducting press conferences, arranging interviews, resolving complaints in general; AND
Providing specialized training for specific division needs.

Your resume must support your responses to the application questionnaire and the qualification requirements. Failure to do so may result in an ineligible rating.See the Required Documents section for important notes about what must be included in your resume.

After you submit this application, you will receive an e-mail informing you that a USA Hire assessment is required of you. You will have 48 hours from the closing date of this announcement (09/21/2026) to complete the assessment as this assessment is part of your application.

Education

Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone. No substitution of education for experience is permitted.

Additional information

Additional selections may be made from this announcement.

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. Candidates will not be hired based on their race, sex, color, religion, or national origin.

Notice to Prospective Employees of Ethical Obligations from ATF's Human Resources Operations Division. Please click on the following link to read important information. DOJ Notice to Prospective Employees of Ethical Obligation s

Career Transition Programs (CTAP or ICTAP): These programs apply to Federal and/or DOJ employees who meet the definition of surplus or displaced from a position in the competitive service. To receive selection priority for this position, you must:

Meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria;
Be rated well-qualified for the position with a score of 85 or above based on the competencies listed above; and
Submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility.

EEO Statement/Policy: The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor.

Reasonable Accommodation:ATF provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the job application and hiring process, and you meet the eligibility requirements listed above, please notify the human resources specialist listed on the vacancy announcement, or contact the ATF's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity at (202) 648-8760 or send an email to reasonableaccommodations@atf.gov. The decision on granting a reasonable accommodation is handled on a case-by-case basis.

Selective Service: If you were born male, on or 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. Additional information is found at: www.sss.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

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.

In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. Once the announcement closes, a review of your resume and supporting documentation will be conducted by the HR Specialist. This information will be compared against your responses to the application questionnaire to determine your eligibility for Federal employment, and then whether you are qualified for this particular position. If a determination is made that you have inflated your responses when compared to your background information, you may be deemed ineligible. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires SME Review

Structured Resume Review: Subject matter experts (SMEs) will review your resume to determine your technical qualifications for this position based on the required specialized experience. SMEs will review ONLY two pages of your resume, starting at your work experience. SMEs will not review any additional information beyond your resume (e.g., cover letter). Applicants who pass the structured resume review will be added to the list of qualified candidates.

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

Communication and Media
Manages and Organizes Information
Writing
Web Technology

When addressing the specialized experience statement, applicants must present evidence of the experience in their resume. If the specialized experience statement is repeated in the applicant's resume, Human Resources will deem the applicant as ineligible.

Required Documents

It is your responsibility to carefully review the list of required documents below and submit the necessary documentation to prove you possess the required specialized experience for this position. IF YOU OMIT ANY OF THE REQUIRED INFORMATION, YOU RUN THE RISK OF BEING FOUND INELIGIBLE FOR THE POSITION.

Resume - All Applicants: You must submit a resume (a two page or less resume is required) containing the following pieces of information for each job entry listed in your employment history. Showing relative permanent and volunteer work experience, education, and training, your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations.

To reduce possible disqualification due to a lack of verifiable information, you should include all six of the following elements for every job entry listed in your employment history.

If any element is omitted, the HR Specialist may be unable to determine your eligibility, resulting in your removal from consideration with an ineligible rating:

Official Position Title: State your exact federal or corporate title to establish the professional level of your experience. For example, Division Chief, Group Supervisor, etc.
Employer Name and Contact Information: Provide the company/agency name and a valid phone number or email address for verification purposes.
Start and End Dates: List the exact month and year for both the start and end of each employment period to verify you meet the time-in-grade and minimum duration requirements for specialized experience.
Hours Worked Per Week: Explicitly indicate if the position was full-time or state the exact number of hours worked per week if part-time. (Specialized experience is credited based on a 40-hour work week; failure to provide hours means your experience cannot be quantified or credited.)
Pay Plan/Series/Grade: For all federal positions held, you should explicitly state your Pay Plan (i.e., GS, GL, etc.), Series (i.e., 1811, 1801, 2210, etc.) and Grade (e.g., GS 01-15). It should be expressed as following example GS-1811-14). If a position was in the private sector or was volunteer work, explicitly state "N/A - Private Sector" or "N/A - Volunteer" so the HR Specialist can accurately assess your equivalent level of experience.
Duties Performed and Accomplishments: Provide a targeted list of responsibilities and measurable achievements. This section must directly mirror and provide evidence of the specialized experience outlined in the qualifications section of this announcement. Use action-oriented, quantifiable bullets to demonstrate your mastery of the required skills.

Two-Page Absolute Limit: Resumes must be limited to two pages or less. USAJobs will only allow candidates to upload 2-page resumes. However, any resumes in excess of 2-pages will result in immediate disqualification.
Most Recent Submission Counts: Only the most recent resume submitted under the "Resume" document type will be evaluated for rating and qualification determinations.

Showing relative permanent and volunteer work experience, education, and training. Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations.

If you are a current or former Federal employee:

You must submit your most recent SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) or equivalent agency form. Do not submit an award SF-50, these do not contain sufficient information about your appointment. Your SF-50 should list the full position title, series, grade and step,organization, duty location, service computation date, effective date, and your service type and tenure status.
An SF-50 showing your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Examples of appropriate SF-50's include:
- Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or
- Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or
- SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the online application questionnaire and submit your supporting documentation. Your complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 09/21/2026 to receive consideration.

The application process is as follows:

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 resume 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 update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period return to your USAJOBS account. There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Edit My Application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement is closed.

To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account. Your applications will appear on the Welcome page. Navigate to the job application and click Track this application to view your application status. The link will take you to the hiring agency application system, which has the most up-to-date status of your application. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means click here.

NEED HELP? If you need help with USAJOBs or the application process, please see the USAJOBS Help or Application Manager Online Help websites which includes information on managing your account, creating an application, uploading documents, etc.

Agency contact information

SAIOI Applicant Info

Email: saioiapplicantinfo@atf.gov

Address: Office of Field Operation
99 New York, NE
Washington, DC 20226
US

Next steps

You can check the status of your application anytime by accessing the USAJOBS online application system at http://www.usajobs.gov. You will need to provide your USAJOBS User ID and Password to access the Track your Online Job Application feature. You may also click on the link provided to access additional information on USAJobs.

All applicants will be notified at four (4) stages in the hiring process:
(1) upon receipt of your application;
(2) after your qualifications have been assessed;
(3) whether or not you've been referred to the Selecting Official;
(4) whether or not you've been selected for the position.

If your name is sent to the hiring manager, you may be invited for an interview.

Additional locations

Columbus, OH

Public Affairs Specialist Job