Public Affairs Specialist

Summary

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides leadership on food and agriculture issues based on public policy, the best available science and effective management. The USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) links U.S. agriculture to the world, improves foreign market access for U.S. food and agricultural products, builds new markets, improves the competitive position of U.S. agriculture in the global marketplace, and provides food aid and technical assistance to foreign countries.

Duties

• Oversees the development and preparation of talking points, speeches, presentations, and other communications for use by senior agency officials oftentimes dealing with complex, policy-sensitive, and controversial issues.
• Provides guidance to the CES staff and other FAS staff in best practices for communicating about FAS activities, operations, and program objectives to audiences such as Congress, international bodies, farm and industry organizations, and news media.
• Plans, directs, and implements the FAS social media strategy, coordinating with stakeholders across the agency to ensure its effectiveness and leading and encouraging use of relevant social media tools and techniques.
• Liaises with external organizations, including industry cooperators and food assistance implementing partners, to develop joint strategies for sharing information and successes via social media channels
• Demonstrates steady leadership when responding to dynamic mission needs and short deadlines, and following through in carrying out duties as the mission requires.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. TIME-IN-GRADE: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. FOR THE GS-14 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-13 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates: -Experience identifying targets of opportunity to engage stakeholders and/or media outlets to recommend and carry out strategies to improve media coverage and/or inform thought leaders. -Collaborate with senior officials on short- and long-term priorities for Agency communications with foreign and domestic audiences and partners, evaluating and reporting effectiveness, and adjusting strategies based on lessons learned. -Collaborates with members of the news media who cover agriculture and trade policy issues, drafting, clearing, and coordinating responses, arranging schedules for interviews, briefing and training spokespersons, and creating supporting materials. -Experience in steady leadership when responding to dynamic mission needs and short deadlines, and following through in carrying out duties as the mission requires. -Experience coordinating with Subject Matter Experts and Agency leadership in drafting, clearing, and implementing press materials, strategies, memos, talking points, social media, and other supporting products for media and stakeholder engagement and outreach. 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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education

This position does not have an education qualification requirement. How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Influencing/Negotiating Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork ***Written Exercise: If selected for an interview a Written Exercise will be scheduled immediately following the interview. Applicants who pass the Written Exercise may be invited to participate in a second interview. Completing a second interview does not guarantee an offer of employment. Your application, including the online Assessment Questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet (a) minimum qualification requirements and (b) the resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions. Your resume must clearly support your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position. Applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements and are determined to be among the best qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. Noncompetitive candidates and applicants under some special hiring authorities need only meet minimum qualifications to be referred. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Clicking the link below will present a preview of the application form; i.e. the online questionnaire. The application form link below will only provide a preview and does not initiate the application process. To initiate the online application process, click the "Apply" button to the right. To preview the application questionnaire, please visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13071814 Other Information

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire CompetencyBased Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. (https://appsupport-usastaffing.opm.gov/hc/en-us/sections/45063131363475-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information) Veterans who are preference eligible or who have been separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions after three years or more of continuous active service are eligible for consideration under the Veteran's Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA). Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Employees: Permanent County employees without prior Federal tenure who are selected for a Civil Service position under Public Law 105-277 will be given a career-conditional appointment and must serve a 1-year probationary period. For more information on applying under special hiring authorities such as the Veteran's Recruitment Act (VRA), 30 percent disabled veterans, certain military spouses, Schedule A Disabled, etc., explore the different Hiring Paths on the USAJOBS website. Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) provides current or former temporary or term employees of federal land management agencies opportunity to compete for permanent competitive service positions. Individuals must have more than 24 months of service without a break between appointments of two or more years. Service must be in the competitive service and have been at a successful level of performance or better. Refer to PUBLIC LAW 114-47-AUG. 7, 2015 for more information. First time hires to the federal government normally start at the lowest rate of the salary range for the grade selected. Travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will NOT be paid. Any travel, transportation, and relocation expense associated with reporting for duty will be the responsibility of the selected employee. Recruitment or Relocation Incentives will NOT be considered. For more information on applying under special hiring authorities such as the Veteran's Recruitment Act (VRA), 30 percent disabled veterans, certain military spouses, Schedule A Disabled, etc., explore the different Hiring Paths on the USAJOBS website.