Communications Specialist

This Communications Specialist position is with Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (Department of Veterans Affairs) in Phoenix, AZ. This is a Detail Not to Exceed One Year, however, the detail may be made permanent without additional competition. This position is in the Human Resources Service Center (HRSC), Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO), Human Resources and Administration (HRA), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Key duties: • This is a Detail Not to Exceed One Year, however, the detail may be made permanent without additional competition. The Communication Specialist serves as an expert making sound decisions, while performing a variety of senior level communications assignment and projects. The position provides advisory services on communications initiatives, best practices, and policy development for a variety of communications services within the organization. Duties include: Addresses a variety of special, highly sensitive, and confidential communication issues. Completes various communications projects and implements an integrated communications strategy in support of VA's mission and strategic goals. Develops and implements the overall strategy, activities, policies and procedures necessary to achieve VA's objectives. Provides authoritative advice and guidance to the HRSC Executive Assistant and Human Resource Officer regarding communications outreach and process improvement efforts. Serves as an advisor to the Executive Assistant and Human Resources Officer on all matters concerning communication's operational philosophy and outreach efforts agency wide Serves as a spokesperson for HRSC and conducts meetings designed to solicit input on HRSC's communications program issues. Develops agency wide communication plans which includes, the purpose, strategy, audience, goals, risks, statement/response, top line messaging, action plan, timelines and frequency asked questions. Serves as technical authority to create, assess, plan, develop, coordinate, and disseminate information to audiences. Develops messages and materials that are based on communications and marketing strategy, audience research, and concept. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: May be available at Manager's discretion. Telework: May be authorized in accordance with agency policy. Return to Office (RTO): RTO mandates are in affect and selectees will be required to report to in person work unless they have an approved exemption already in place. Virtual: This position may be authorized for Virtual Work. Virtual Work eligibility is for current VA employees that are already subject to the return to in person work mandate in their current position. Definition of Virtual Work: Employee works outside of original hiring duty station at a VA owned or leased space. Position Description/PD#: PD004210 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Qualifications: To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/29/2026. 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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. 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 some former Federal employees applying for reinstatement, as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. See the Required Document section below for more information regarding the SF-50s needed to verify time-in-grade. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Manage internal and external communications programs and projects, provides authoritative communications guidance, expertise, and recommendations concerning complex, sensitive, and high-impact communication matters. Develop, implement, monitor, and evaluate comprehensive communication strategies, plans, policies, and outreach initiatives aligned with organizational mission, objectives, audiences, risks, and emerging communication requirements. Prepare, review, and edit executive-level communication products, including information papers, briefings, guidance documents, publications, correspondence, presentations, and other materials to ensure information is clear, accurate, and appropriate for the intended audience. 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: Resume must include job title and employer name, number of hours worked per week, start and end dates (including month and year), list of duties and responsibilities for each position held. In addition, if the experience was a federal position, you must list series and grade for each position held. Failure to include this information may result in an ineligible rating. A full year of work is considered to be 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. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be found well qualified, applicants must meet the following qualifications: Serving as a senior communications specialist providing authoritative advisory services and expert consultation to executive leadership on strategic communications planning, sensitive and controversial issues, and stakeholder engagement, while developing and executing agency-wide communication strategies and serving as spokesperson and technical authority for the organization. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. Local Commuting Area: The local commuting area for this position is defined as a radius of 50 miles from Washington, DC. This includes all locations that fall within a 50-mile driving distance from 810 Vermont Ave NW, Washington, DC 20420. The local commuting area may also be authorized as being within 50 miles of available VA office space. View the full announcement and apply on USAJOBS.gov.