Public Affairs Specialist

About the role

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.

What you will do

• 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

• 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.

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.

How you will be evaluated

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.

Documents you must provide

• 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.

What to expect next

You can check the status of your application anytime by accessing the USAJOBS online application system at *** 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 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 Obligations 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 *** or send an email to ***.

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: ***