Supervisory Public Affairs Specialist
Administration for Children and Families
Washington, DCFull-time$144–187K/yrPosted 3 days ago
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At a glance
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Job overview
The Supervisory Public Affairs Specialist advises senior leaders on public affairs and communications, leads organization-wide communication efforts, and oversees digital communications. The role supervises communications staff and contractors, evaluates outreach effectiveness, and improves strategies and processes. It is located within the Administration for Children and Families in Washington, District of Columbia.
Skills & qualifications
Skills
Qualifications
Benefits
Full job description
Summary
This position is located in the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, headquartered in Washington, District of Columbia. This announcement will close at 11:59 PM, on the day that 50 applications have been received or the closing date of the announcement, whichever comes first.
Duties
WHAT YOU'LL BE DOING DAY TO DAY As a Supervisory Public Affairs Specialist, you will: Advise senior leaders on public affairs and communications, including how to communicate complex, sensitive, or high-profile issues to stakeholders and the public. Lead communication efforts for the organization, including developing strategies, messages, outreach materials, presentations, guidance, and other content for internal and external audiences. Oversee digital communications, including website and social media content, and help ensure digital information is clear, accessible, and effectively managed across communication platforms. Supervise and lead communications staff and contractors by setting priorities, assigning work, evaluating performance, identifying training needs, solving problems, and supporting an effective and collaborative team. Evaluate and improve communication and outreach efforts by assessing what is working, identifying areas for improvement, and developing better strategies and processes to meet organizational goals. Qualifications
Minimum Qualifications: You must have one year of specialized experience to perform successfully the duties of the position. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service performing ALL of the following: Advising senior leadership on public affairs, strategic communications, stakeholder engagement, and communication strategies involving complex, sensitive, or high-profile issues; Developing and implementing organization-wide public affairs and communication strategies, plans, and products for internal and external audiences; Leading or providing technical direction for digital communications, including web and social media content, content management, plain language, accessibility, and digital publishing practices; Supervising, leading, or coordinating the work of communications staff, contractors, or cross-functional teams, including assigning work, establishing priorities, reviewing work products, providing guidance or feedback, and supporting staff or team development; and Evaluating the effectiveness of public affairs, outreach, or communication activities and recommending improvements to communication strategies, products, processes, or procedures. Documenting experience: IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Qualifications are based on breadth/level of experience. In addition to describing duties performed, applicants must provide the exact dates of each period of employment (from MM/YY to MM/YY) and the number of hours worked per week if part time. As qualification determinations cannot be made when resumes do not include the required information, failure to provide this information may result in disqualification. Applicants are encouraged to use the USAJOBS Resume Builder to develop their federal resume. Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational application questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position. In accordance with Office of Personnel Management policy, federal employees are assumed to have gained experience by performing duties and responsibilities appropriate for their official series and grade level as described in their position description. Experience that would not normally be part of the employee's position is creditable, however, when documented by satisfactory evidence, such as a signed memorandum from the employee's supervisor or an SF-50 or SF-52 documenting an official detail or other official assignment. The documentation must indicate whether the duties were performed full time or, if part time, the "percentage of times" the other duties were performed. It is expected that this documentation is included in the employee's official personnel record. In order to receive credit for experience in your resume that is not within the official series and grade level of your official position, you must provide a copy of the appropriate documentation of such experience as indicated above. 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; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to gain employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. If such experience is on a part-time basis, you must provide the average number of hours worked per week as well as the beginning and ending dates of the experience so it can be fully credited. OPM Qualification General Policies Website
Education
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. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov. How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this announcement. Evaluation will be based on your application materials (such as your resume and supporting documents), your responses to the application questionnaire, and the results of all required assessments. Resume Requirement Your resume must not exceed two (2) pages in length. Minimum Qualification Question As part of the application process, you must answer a minimum qualification question addressing whether you meet the Specialized Experience required for this position, as described in this announcement. Your response must be supported by the experience documented in your resume. If your resume does not demonstrate the required Specialized Experience, you may be found not qualified. Assessment Process USA Hire Technical Assessment You are required to complete a USA Hire technical assessment to evaluate the job-related knowledge, skills, and abilities required for this position. HR Resume Review Human Resource (HR) Specialists will review your resume to determine whether you meet the required Specialized Experience. Applicants who successfully pass the assessment(s) may be referred to the Hiring Manager for consideration. You must complete all required steps in the process, including submitting an application and resume and participating in the structured interview, to be considered for this position. Additional selections may be made for similar positions across the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) within the local commuting area(s) of the location identified in this announcement. By applying, you agree to have your application shared with any interested selecting official(s) at HHS. Clearance of CTAP will be applied for similar positions across HHS. In accordance with Executive Order 12564 of September 14, 1986, The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is A Drug-Free Federal Workplace. The use of illegal drugs, on or off duty, by Federal employees is inconsistent not only with the law-abiding behavior expected of all citizens, but also with the special trust placed in such employees as servants of the public. For PHS Commissioned Corps (CC) Officers: PHS Commissioned Corps (CC) Officers interested in performing the duties of this position within the commissioned Corps may apply online to this announcement. Candidates will be referred as CC personnel and not as candidates for conversion to a permanent career or career-conditional appointment. For Noncompetitive Applicants: All qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring agency. Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics): Accountability Communication Design & Delivery Customer Service Decisiveness Flexibility Interpersonal Skills Leadership Planning and Evaluating Problem Solving Resilience Supervision Technical Competence - Digital Communications To preview the application questionnaire, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13085588 Other Information
THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW Incentives may be authorized; however, this is contingent upon multiple factors, including funds availability. If authorized, certain incentives may require you to sign a service agreement to remain in the Federal government for a period of up to 3 years. Note: This statement does not imply nor guarantee an incentive will be offered and paid. Incentives may include the following: moving expenses, recruitment or relocation incentive; student loan repayment, superior qualifications appointment, creditable service for annual leave for prior non-federal work experience or prior uniformed military service, etc. Bargaining Unit Position: No Research position: No Drug Screening Required: No Applicants selected for this position will be subject to reasonable suspicion and post-accident drug testing upon hiring. Special Hiring Authorities for Veterans - https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/veterans/ Special Hiring Authorities for Military Spouses - https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/military-spouses/ People With Disabilities (Schedule A) - https://help.usajobs.gov/index.php/Individuals_with_Disabilities Career Transition Assistance Program/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP): For information on how to apply as an CTAP eligible see http://opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp#ictap. To be well-qualified and exercise selection priority for this vacancy, displaced Federal employees must be rated at 85.0 or above on the rating criteria for this position. Beginning January 1, 2010, agencies must seek prior approval from OPM before they can appoint a current or recent political appointee to a competitive or non-political excepted service position at any level under the provisions of title 5, United States Code. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-career SES employee in the executive branch, you MUST disclose that to the Human Resources Office.
How this job compares
Set against the 526 open Public Affairs jobs on Olive Jobs, counted October 30, 2026.
- Pay
- This posting$144–187K/yr
- Washington, D.C. median$137–184K/yr42 salary ranges
- US median$160–232K/yr400 salary ranges
This range's midpoint, $166K, is 5% above the Washington, D.C. median midpoint ($158K) — in the middle half of Public Affairs salary ranges in Washington, D.C..
- Openings
- Olive Jobs lists 53 open Public Affairs jobs in Washington, D.C. and 526 across the US. 3% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
- Hiring the most in Washington, D.C.
- Meta6 open
- Google5 open
- FleishmanHillard3 open
- Experience
- This posting asks for at least 1 year of experience — less than three in four Public Affairs postings that state a minimum ask for (median 8 years, across 481 postings).
- Education
- 119 of the 526 open Public Affairs jobs (23%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.
Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on October 30, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.
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