Communications Specialist
Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration - Atlanta, GA
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Summary Timely, effective communication with Veterans is critical to the mission of the VA. Online Personal Health Record, My HealtheVet (MHV) and Secure Messaging can be utilized to communicate with Veterans in a timely manner. My HealtheVet, Social Networking Media and Secure Messaging are components of the VA's transformation to the 21st Century. My HealtheVet Change Agent Coordinator serves as facility champion, to support existing and future Veteran communication initiatives. Responsibilities Major duties include but are not limited to: Establishing and managing communication plans that identify target audiences, appropriate messages, activities, and resources needed for effective communication. Supporting and guiding facility VHA public affairs officers and stakeholders about My HealtheVet (MHV). Establishes and manages the training plans and design and perform needs assessments within the project relative to functional and training needs and project effectiveness. Works with Employee Education System (EES) to coordinate personnel and resources to evaluate the educational needs of Veterans and employees to develop MHV educational and training programs/classes. Formulates a marketing strategy from research, reports, products, and organizational data. Represents the Veterans Affairs Medical Center/Health Care Systems (VAMC/HCS) at forums, conferences, and meetings. Delivers presentations to all levels of the VAMC/HCS, service organizations, and veterans, family members and caregivers Uses the world wide web to maximize outreach efforts, and conducts required coordination and obtains clearances as required for release of information. Identifies problems and applying analytical techniques for the purpose of resolving issues. Negotiates conflicting demands and manages multiple projects with tight deadlines. Serves as the facility liaison to the MHV National Program Management Office and National Help Desk. Utilizes interpersonal communication skills to deal with Veterans who are difficult, hostile, or distressed, working with co-workers, supervisors, and high-level management, and negotiating. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Fulltime: Monday - Friday 7:30am-4:00pm Hours may change based on the need of the agency. Telework: Yes - As determined by the Agency Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Communications Specialist/PD507220 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See 'Additional Information' below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/20/2024. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows 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. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Experience in full range of principles, concepts, and techniques of marketing, advertising and salesmanship and the ability to transform these requirements into a working, viable program; editing web pages and creating links and using social networking technology; design, establish, and operate in the operation of state-of-the-art personal computer (PC) equipment; assist in preparation of radio, television, slide show, speech materials or other methods of communication; organizing and communicating ideas and thoughts effectively through written correspondence and oral presentation; analyze a variety of research reports, studies, fact sheets, and other documents and translate. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Interpersonal Skills Knowledge Management Organizational Awareness Veteran and Customer Focus 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; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: Work is primarily sedentary, but may require periods of standing during presentations, briefings, speeches, health fair activities, etc., although some slight physical effort may be required. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at Education Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related. NOTE: Equivalent combinations of education and experience are qualifying for all grade levels for which both education and experience are acceptable. Additional Information The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
Created: 2024-09-20