Communications Specialist

Full Job Description

The Communications Specialist position is aligned under the Community Care, Nursing Service.

The incumbent serves as the My HealtheVet (MHV) Change Agent Coordinator and Secure Messaging (SM) Liaison and Administrator to VISN and national MHV teams.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/18/2026.

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 and/or education 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: Understanding of clinical and marketing guidelines; communicating to various audience types (written and oral); preparing outreach and marketing materials/presentations; analyzing/evaluating data to affect program effectiveness; proposing, developing or implementing strategic plans; using web-based platforms to conduct meetings/training sessions.

OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a 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 OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level.

You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond two full years (36 semester hours).

NOTE: If using education combined with specialized experience to qualify, a copy of your transcript is required..

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Analysis and Problem Solving Customer Service Manages and Organizes Information Multimedia Technologies Oral Communication 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 https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Major Duties:

Major Duties include but are not limited to: Responsible for establishing and managing communications plans that identify target audiences, appropriate messages, activities, and resources needed for effective communication.

Responsible for supporting and guiding facility VHA public affairs officers and stakeholders about My HeatheVet.

Oversees MHV's online presence and web content and leads innovations to keep facilities MHV on the cutting-edge.

Establishes and manages the training plans and design and perform needs assessments within the project relative to functional and training needs and project effectiveness.

Formulates marketing strategy from research, reports, products and organizational data.

Designs, conducts and evaluates innovative means to advertise and market products of the MHV and Social Media Program. Represents the VAMC/HCS at forums, conferences and meetings.

Delivers presentations to all levels of the VAMC/HCS, service organizations, and Veterans, family members, and caregivers.

Develops multimedia campaign materials (e.g., printed articles, brochures, videos) to enlighten target population.

Researches and writes articles, news release and briefs for inclusions in publications and for release to other media.

Consults with representatives of academia and industry on marketing and advertising trends and application techniques.

Analyzes functional clinical and business pro to changes or impact to clinical guidelines in terms of policies, procedures, and user behaviors.

Proposes develops and implements strategic plans and objective for the enhancement, maintenance, and future advancement of operations for the MHV program.

Manages, administers, and provides leadership for the facility by creating facility deployment plans; developing budgets and spending plans, formulating contracts or grants; and planning scheduling and coordinating work operations to ensure the success of the MHV program.

Develops, implements, maintains, and documents MHV internal and control policies and procedures. Identifies problems and applies analytical techniques to resolve 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.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:30 am - 4:00pm Telework: Not eligible. Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Communications Specialist/PD403810 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized