Public Affairs Specialist

Full Job Description

The Public Affairs Specialist reports to the Connected Care Service line leadership and is the point of contact for My HealtheVet (MHV), secure messaging and other mobile applications at the Aleda E Lutz Veteran Affairs Medical Center.

The incumbent is responsible for supporting existing and future Veteran communication initiatives, local implementation, training, communications, outreach, and support efforts, and evaluates and reports on actions and activities.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/12/2026.

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-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. 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: GS:9: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

May include but not limited to: at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal Service that has equipped me with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of a Public Affairs Specialist, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position?

Assisting with Veteran outreach, communications, or education initiatives. Developing or supporting educational or informational materials.

Conducting presentations or training for Veterans, caregivers, or staff. Supporting digital platforms, online tools, or customer-facing systems.

OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience.

To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B.

or J.D., if related .

OR, GS-11: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

May include but not limited to: at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level in the Federal Service that has equipped me with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of a Public Affairs Specialist, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position?

Independently coordinating or leading Veteran-facing communication or outreach programs. Developing and executing communication strategies for digital health tools or services.

Writing and editing complex materials for diverse audiences, including Veterans and clinical staff. Analyzing participation trends, utilization data, or feedback to inform program improvements.

Serving as a liaison between local operations and regional or national program offices. or Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience.

To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have master's or equivalent graduate degree: 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 Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level.

You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond: Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements for the grade levels specified in the table, and may be computed by first determining the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determining the applicant's education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then adding the two percentages.

The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level.

Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grades GS-9 and GS-11.

(When crediting education that requires specific course work, prorate the number of hours of related courses required as a proportion of the total education to be used.) You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: 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, 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:

Duties include but are not limited to: The MHV Coordinator works with the Connected Care Service line leadership to lead facility's efforts to integrate current and future MHV Modalities with healthcare providers and patients and serves as liaison and administrator to VISN and National teams.

The MHV Coordinator leads the facility's efforts to integrate MHV and Secure Messaging (SM) among healthcare providers and patients.

Serves as the Secure Message Liaison and administrator with VISN and national MHV teams and coordinators to ensure correct, current, and accurate portrayal of information is provided to meet objectives.

Assists in formulating a marketing strategy from research, reports, products, and organizational data. Provides input on efforts to advertise and market products.

This includes direct communication with all levels of personnel internal and external to the VAMC/HCS.

Analyzes participation trends, customer markets, needs of the consumer, and advises the Connected Care leadership team on concerns and trends.

Recommends specific approaches for managing special issues and findings.

Under the supervision of the Connected Care leadership and with approval, 2 presents at VAMC/HCS forums, conferences, and meetings.

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

Presentations are designed to inform the audience about the MHV Program, products, capabilities, and health care issues.

Is responsible to keep Connected Care leadership abreast of existing and changes to training plans.

The incumbent works with MHV leadership to develop needs assessments within the project relative to functional and training needs and project effectiveness.

Works with EES to coordinate personnel and resources to develop educational and training programs/classes with the intent of increasing adoption of the various MHV modalities.

Analyzes functional clinical and business process changes or impact to clinical guidelines, terms of policies, procedures, and user behavior and reports findings to Connected Care leadership.

Based on the VISN and national program, and under the guidance of Connected Care leadership updates a facility-specific implementation plan that includes developing a mission/vision statement, establishing a local team, leading team efforts, identifying local providers as champions, and developing roles and responsibilities.

Helps to Establish, develop, and implement local MHV/MHV related goals and strategies to meet goals, identifies responsible parties.

Tracks progress, including monitoring goals/activity status, and reports status/progress to Connected Care leadership.

Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met.

Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

Work Schedule: Full-time, Monday- Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Public Affairs Specialist/PD920730 and PD920740 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized