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Public Affairs Specialist

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers | Pittsburgh, PA

Posted Date 1/22/2025
Description About the Position: Serves as a Public Affairs specialist, responsible for researching, writing, and disseminating information of interest. Develops communication products/content for internal and external audiences, supporting the District, Public Affairs missions, and Product Delivery Team goals during routine and crisis operations. Advises staff on public information and relations, ensuring guidance is based on sound public relations theory and compliance with laws, policies, and regulations.Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected. See Proof of Eligibility for an extensive list of document requirements for all employment authorities.

  • Current Department of Army Civilian Employees
  • Current Department of Defense (DOD) Civilian Employee (non-Army)
  • Domestic Defense Industrial Base/Major Range and Test Facilities Base Civilian Personnel Workforce
  • Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan
  • Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act
  • Military Spouses, under Executive Order (E.O.) 13473
  • Non-Appropriated Fund Instrumentality (NAFI)
  • Non-Department of Defense (DoD) Transfer
  • People with Disabilities, Schedule A
  • Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Reserve (MR) and National Guard (NG) Technician Eligible
  • Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Spouse Preference (MSP) Eligible
  • Priority Placement Program, DoD MR and NG Preference Eligible Tech Receiving Disability Retirement
  • Priority Placement Program, DoD Retained Grade Preference Eligible
  • Reinstatement
  • Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) of 1998


In order to qualify, you must meet the Education and/or Specialized Experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).

Specialized Experience to qualify at the GS-07 level: One year of specialized experience which includes: Assisting with public information services, following journalistic guidelines to support communication for projects or programs; Supporting digital communication efforts by helping to monitor and report on web and social media sites; Assisting in the coordination of special events, activities, or programs under supervision; Writing simple press releases and articles while following basic journalistic standards, such as the Associated Press style guide; Using basic functions of Adobe Creative Suite software (e.g., Premiere, Photoshop, Illustrator) to assist in creating graphic, video, or photographic content. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-05).
OR
Education: One full year of graduate level education in Communications, Journalism, Marketing or Public Relations.
OR
Superior Academic Achievement: Successful completion of all the requirements for a bachelor's degree with Superior Academic Achievement. In order to be creditable under this provision, Superior Academic Achievement must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled, such as that identified in Education above. Superior Academic Achievement is based on: (1) Class Standing - Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses; OR (2) Grade-Point Average (G.P.A.) - Applicants must have a grade-point average of either (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on your official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.; OR (3) Honor Society Membership - Applicants may be considered eligible based on membership in one of the approved national scholastic honor societies listed by the Association of College Honor Societies (https://www.achsnatl.org/).
OR
Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) by 18. Add the two percentages.

--- continued in Education section ---Specialized Experience to qualify at the GS-09 level: One year of specialized experience which includes: Assisting with the development and coordination of public information services within journalistic guidelines to support projects and programs; Supporting the management, monitoring, and reporting of digital communications efforts, including web and social media platforms; Helping to plan and coordinate events, activities, and projects with guidance; Writing press releases and creating articles using basic journalistic standards, such as the Associated Press style guide; Utilizing Adobe Creative Suite software (e.g., Premiere, Photoshop, Illustrator) to create basic graphic, video, and photographic products. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-07).
OR
Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in Communications, Journalism, Marketing or Public Relations.
OR
Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by 18. Add the two percentages.

Specialized Experience to qualify at the GS-11 Level: One year of specialized experience which includes: Developing and coordinating public information services within journalistic guidelines and in support of projects, programs and initiatives; Managing, monitoring, analyzing and reporting on digital communications efforts to include Web and social media sites; Planning and coordinating special events, activities, programs and projects; Writing press releases and creating articles using Associate Press style guide and experience utilizing Adobe Creative Suite software, to include Premiere, Photoshop and Illustrator, to develop graphic, video and photographic products. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-09).
OR
Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in Communications, Journalism, Marketing or Public Relations.
OR
Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages.

You will be evaluated on the basis of your level of competency in the following areas:
  • Communications and Media
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Project Management
  • Public Affairs Policies and Procedures


Time in Grade Requirement:
Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent. Please validate it by uploading your latest SF-50

For the GS-07 level - must have 52 weeks of Federal service as (GS-05)
For the GS-09 level - must have 52 weeks of Federal service as (GS-07)
For the GS-11 level - must have 52 weeks of Federal service as (GS-09)

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.
Salary51,654.00 - 99,375.00 Annual

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