Summary
This position is located at the Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center - Walla Walla - WA (VAWW). This position is aligned with the Office of the Director - which is responsible for VAWW's overall operations. The primary purpose of this position is to support the mission - goals - and functions of the VAWW and the Office of the Director.
Qualifications
To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement - 06/02/2026. 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 within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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: GS-12 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include - but are not limited to: Knowledge of current issues-national - regional and local- affecting or having the potential to affect the DVA and VAWW; Skill in developing written materials and making oral presentations; Skill in assessing public reaction and identifying the extent of understanding achieved to evaluate effectiveness of information programs; Knowledge and skills sufficient to work with social media and VAWW websites. NOTE: 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. 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/.
Duties
- Develops - coordinates - and implements internal and external communication plans to support VAWW operations and strategic goals
- Serves as the primary spokesperson - responding to media inquiries and coordinating interviews - statements - and press releases with OPIA/OCA as required
- Manages emergency and crisis communications as the facility Public Information Officer (PIO) - including JIC activation - incident messaging - and issue briefs
- Writes - edits - and publishes news releases - feature articles - staff messages - and executive communications in print and digital formats
- Maintains and updates internal and external VAWW websites - ensuring accuracy - accessibility - and compliance with VA standards
- Creates - schedules - and monitors official social media content to meet VA mandated posting requirements and enhance digital engagement
- Coordinates congressional and White House inquiries - ensuring timely routing - tracking - documentation - and archiving of all correspondence
- Plans - coordinates - and promotes special events - Town Halls - outreach campaigns - and tele town halls - including promotional materials and logistics
- Develops and maintains relationships with VSOs - community partners - congressional offices - and internal leaders to support communication and outreach
- Produces graphic design products such as flyers - brochures - branding materials - and digital content consistent with VA branding standards
- Monitors news coverage and provides timely summaries to VISN - regional - and national PAO stakeholders
- Serves as facility expert on communication SOPs - including training staff on 10N Issue Brief and Notification SOP requirements
- Manages GovDelivery email communications - including content development - targeted outreach - and distribution to subscriber groups
- Ensures proper release forms and approvals for media interviews - photos - and public facing materials
- Performs additional public affairs duties including stakeholder engagement - project coordination - and support for national/VISN requests
- Work Schedule: Monday - Friday - 8:00am - 4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position
- Position Description/PD#: Public Affairs Specialist/PD807800 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized
- Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved
- Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.
