Supervisory Writer-Editor

Full Job Description

This position is located in the Office of Inspector General (OIG), Headquarters, U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Washington, DC.

The incumbent serves as a Supervisory Writer-Editor in the Office of Strategic Communications.

This office is the primary point of contact for our writers to assist OIG personnel in a variety of published materials for the Administration, Congress, and the general public.

All documents including your writing sample must be received and eligibility requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.

Your resume must be well documented with the specialized experience, otherwise you may be deemed ineligible.

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet the SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE qualifications for the grade(s) at which you are requesting consideration.

Applicants must meet qualifications and time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this vacancy announcement.

GS-14: Candidates must have least 1 (one) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-13 grade level in the Federal Government.

Non-governmental experience should be of similar complexity.

Specialized experience is defined as (obtained in either the public or private sectors): Advising staff and senior leadership on the production of a wide variety of written materials for an oversight agency, including audit reports, testimony, correspondence, speeches, talking points, and fact sheets.

Experience ensuring highly technical, complex, and/or sensitive documents pertaining to topics including government oversight, transportation, infrastructure, financial management, government grants and acquisitions, and cybersecurity are accurate, comprehensive, clear, concise, and consistent with Government Auditing Standards and agency policies, standards, and guidance.

Experience conducting editorial reviews to ensure consistency of mechanics and expression; logical organization, development and support of conclusions; internal consistency; readability; clarity; flow; appropriate tone; adequacy and appropriateness of graphics and tables; correctness of spelling, grammar and punctuation; and compliance with the Government Printing Office Style Manual, OIG style, and Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General.

Experience supervising staff, to include setting performance standards and monitoring and evaluating performance.

Experience coordinating and reaching consensus with a wide variety of cross-agency stakeholders including offices of budget, human resources, legal, training, government and public affairs, and senior leadership to complete complex communication projects.

Experience selecting and monitoring contractor performance on tasks related to document production, publication, and/or accessibility.

Experience developing and conducting specialized internal training related to writing and editing government reports.

Competencies: Your resume will be evaluated on the following competencies in addition to the specialized experience as stated above: Writing: Recognizes or uses correct English grammar, punctuation, and spelling; communicates information (for example, facts, ideas, or messages) in a succinct and organized manner; produces written information, which may include technical material that is appropriate for the intended audience.

Communication and Media: Knowledge of the production, communication and dissemination of information and ideas to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

Reasoning: Identifies rules, principles, or relationships that explain facts, data, or other information; analyzes information and makes correct inferences or draws accurate conclusions.

Oral Communication: Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.

Decision Making: Makes sound, well-informed, and objective decisions; perceives the impact and implications of decisions; commits to action, even in uncertain situations, to accomplish organizational goals; causes change.

Leadership: Influences, motivates, and challenges others; adapts leadership styles to a variety of situations. Major Duties:

The Supervisory Writer-Editor: Reviews, prepares and coordinates a wide variety of written materials, including reports, testimony, correspondence, as well as highly technical, complex, and/or sensitive materials related to programs and policies of the Department and/or the OIG.

Ensures documents are accurate, comprehensive, clear, concise, and consistent and reflect the intent of Government Auditing Standards and DOT and OIG policies, standards, and guidance.

Serves as a chief advisor to senior staff in headquarters and the field on how to clearly and succinctly present technically complex and/or sensitive information for targeted audiences.

Advises the Chief Communications Officer (CCO) and other senior staff about identified weaknesses in product development or processes and proposes solutions to address these weaknesses.

Remains apprised of policies, processes, and other information related to assigned projects and OIG's mission.

Ensures quality and timeliness of OIG products by demonstrating initiative, creativity, and flexibility in conducting work; anticipating and effectively addressing obstacles; and fostering teamwork, collaboration, coordination, and matrixing with a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders, including offices of budget, human resources, legal, government and public affairs, and senior leadership.

In consultation with the CCO and Communications Team, develops and revises, as needed, writing guidance and design templates for products.

In consultation with the CCO, develops and conducts training for OIG personnel on critical thinking, messaging, and writing.

Contributes significantly to the development of OIG's writing staff and junior Communications Team members in consultation with the CCO.

Serves as a direct supervisor for subordinate writing staff, including setting performance standards and monitoring and evaluating their performance.

In consultation with the CCO, selects and monitors performance of external contractors on tasks related to document production, publication, and accessibility, as needed.

In consultation with the CCO, makes recommendations regarding Communications Team resources and tasks to best address customers' needs.

In consultation with the CCO, monitors subordinate staff work as needed for timeliness, relevance, quality, and adherence to OIG standards.

Demonstrates effective leadership on assigned projects and within the Communications Team, including helping to resolve problems impacting group's overall goals; assisting in guiding work needed to meet changing requirements, resources, or priorities; and monitoring and enhancing processes and procedures to reflect evolving requirements, efficiencies, and constraints.