Public Affairs Specialist

This full-time permanent position is located in Gateway Arch National Park. For information on the duties or location of this position contact Jeremy_Sweat@nps.gov or 314-655-1610.

Overview

• Accepting applications

• Open & closing dates

  09/20/2024 to 09/30/2024

• Salary

  $89,054 – $115,766 per year

  
  
• Pay scale & grade
  

  GS 12

• Location

  1 vacancy in the following location:

  
  
• Remote job
  

  No

• Telework eligible

  Yes-as determined by the agency policy.

  
  
• Travel Required

  Occasional travel – You may be expected to travel for this position.

• Relocation expenses reimbursed

  Yes-You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.

  
  
• Appointment type
  

  Permanent

• Work schedule
  

  Full-time

• Service
  

  Competitive

• Promotion potential
  

  None

• Job family (Series)
• Supervisory status
  

  No

• Security clearance
• Drug test
  

  No

• Position sensitivity and risk
• Trust determination process
• Financial disclosure
  

  No

• Bargaining unit status
• Announcement number

  MW-JEFF-24-12554692-ST

  
  
• Control number
  

  810649900

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

Videos

Duties

Serves as Public Affairs Specialist and Partnership Coordinator to the Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent of Gateway Arch National Park (JEFF). Serves as the Park’s liaison and primary spokesperson with community leaders, the news media, Federal, state, and local officials, partners, and special interest groups essential to maintain or establish productive external relationships. Explains NPS policies and stewardship responsibilities and highlights the opportunities park and community programs make available to people in greater St. Louis Metro, MO. When requested by the Superintendent, incumbent coordinates many operational matters and complex special projects that cross Divisional lines. In the absence of the superintendent and deputy, assumes additional responsibilities and authority while representing the Superintendent’s office to outside interests. Serves as a liaison between the park and its partners including non-profit and public agency partners, and elected officials, to inform and cultivate collaborative programming and projects, and to initiate and manage agreements and financial assistance mechanisms to achieve shared program objectives.

Physical Demands: Work is mainly sedentary in an office setting but involves some hiking to inspect facilities or escort visitors and media to areas of interest, which may expose the employee to hot, humid, or inclement weather and require movement over rough or uneven terrain. Incumbent is sometimes required to do extensive travel by vehicle or air. Must be able to travel on short notice to represent the National Park Service and the Superintendent.

Work Environment: The work environment involves everyday risks typical of office settings and vehicles such as planes, trains, buses, or automobiles and requires normal safety precautions. The regular work area is adequately lighted, heated/cooled, and ventilated. The incumbent will be required to work outside in all weather conditions to address emerging issues, support news gathering activities, and to support special events. In addition, the incumbent may be called to work unscheduled hours at all times of the day or night and may be expected to support events that occur on holidays and weekends.

Area Information
There is no government housing available.
The Gateway Arch National Park is located in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, on the banks of the Mississippi River. The park memorializes the city’s role in westward expansion through the 630 foot Gateway Arch and underground Museum at the Gateway Arch. The Old Courthouse commemorates the site where the slave Dred Scott began his freedom suit, ultimately leading to the divisive U. S. Supreme Court decision that polarized the nation and became a leading cause of the Civil War. “Whether you’re single or have a family, a sports fan or connoisseur of the arts, a fitness fanatic or a film aficionado, St. Louis has something for you.” – St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association . A sports lover’s paradise, fans are kept on the edge of their seats all year by a host of professional teams. With remarkable low cost of living for all the comforts and attractions it affords, St. Louis has a small-town feel, yet offers all the amenities you’d expect in a major metropolitan area, including top-notch health care and education resources. The City of St. Louis is relatively small, but the surrounding metropolitan area with nearly two million residents in both Missouri and Illinois offers many suburban and rural counties for easy commutes. Cultural institutions abound; in Forest Park alone, you’ll find the Zoo, Art Museum, History Museum, Science Center, the Municipal Opera and more. There are over 100 parks and some 200 miles of cycling, running and walking trails. Visit the website: for more information.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. Citizenship required.
• Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
• Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males
• Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
• You may be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties. Prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year thereafter (or more frequently if management determines such need exists), you will be required to sign an affidavit certifying to your possession of a valid State issued driver’s license that is current and has not been revoked, suspended, canceled, or otherwise disqualified in any way to prohibit your operation of a motor vehicle. You will also submit a photocopy of your valid State issued driver’s license prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year, or more frequently if management determines such need exists. Lastly, you may be required to submit (within a State sealed envelope or submitted directly by the State authorities), and at your own expense, all certified driving records from all States that discloses all valid driver’s licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you. Please indicate in your application whether you possess a valid State driver’s license.
• You will be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
• You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
• If you are a new employee or supervisor in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
• You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 5 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.
• You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-09/30/2024-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 for each federal position listed as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of qualifying experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience . For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either “full-time” (or “40 hours a week”) or “part-time” with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience.

For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected.

To qualify for this position at the GS-12 grade level, you must possess the following minimum qualification by close of the announcement:
EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience must include all the following activities: (1) Creates communication products to meet agency communication goals; (2) Ensures all content meets policy compliance and 508 accessibility standards; (3) Develops messages, information, and materials for an agency’s internal and public website and social media platforms; (4) Distills technical or scientific content for non-technical audiences; and (5) Organizes and coordinates information for senior staff and subject matter experts. You must include hours per week worked on your resume.

Volunteer Experience: 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; religious; 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.

Education

There is no substitution of education for experience at the grade level(s) of this announcement.

Additional information

A selectee receiving a first appointment to the Federal Government (Civil Service) is entitled only to the lowest step of the grade for which selected The display of a salary range on this vacancy shall not be construed as granting an entitlement to a higher rate of pay.
This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

Current surplus and current or former displaced Federal individuals who have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for special priority selection. Well qualified means that the applicant meets the following: OPM qualification standards for the position; all selective placement factors, where applicable; special qualifying conditions that OPM has approved for the position, where applicable; is physically qualified with reasonable accommodation, where appropriate to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry; and is rated by the organization at least at the well qualified level on all competencies. Federal employees seeking CTAP/ICTAP eligibility must submit proof that they meet the requirements of 5 CFR 330.605(2) for CTAP and 5 CFR 330.704 for ICTAP. This includes a copy of the agency notice, a copy of their most recent Performance Rating, and a copy of their most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location. Please annotate your application to reflect that you are applying as a CTAP/ICTAP eligible. If you are selected for Federal employment, you will be required to fill out a Declaration of Federal Employment, OF-306, prior to being appointed to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation. Failing to answer all questions truthfully and completely or providing false statements on your application may be grounds for not hiring you, or for firing you after you begin work. Also, you may be punished by fine or imprisonment (U.S. Code, Title 18, section 1001).

• Benefits
  

  A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. .

  
  
  

  Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the additional assessments required for this position. A review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses provided in the Assessment Questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation, you will be rated ‘ineligible’, ‘not qualified’, or your score will be adjusted accordingly. If a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications or experience, you can lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully; errors or omissions can affect your rating.

Candidates who apply under Competitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are highly qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Best qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.

Candidates who apply under Noncompetitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are minimally qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.
You will be evaluated on the following competencies:

• Communications and Media
• Interpersonal Skills
• Oral Communication
• Partnering
• Planning and Evaluating
• Reasoning
• Writing

In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires successful completion of additional assessments, including a panel resume review . These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job.

Please submit 1) a copy of your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation and 2) a list of any awards (e.g. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increase, etc.) you received in the last 5 years. Any performance appraisal/evaluation and award documentation you provide will be forwarded to the selecting official. The selecting official will review this documentation and give it due weight consideration during the overall selection process.

If you do not have your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation, please submit a statement as to why it is not available. Please indicate if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level.

• Benefits
  

  A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. .

  
  
  

  Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

• Required Documents

  As a new or existing federal employee, you and your family may have access to a range of benefits. Your benefits depend on the type of position you have – whether you’re a permanent, part-time, temporary or an intermittent employee. You may be eligible for the following benefits, however, check with your agency to make sure you’re eligible under their policies.

  
  
  

  The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 09/30/2024.

  1. Resume which includes a list of all significant jobs held and duties performed, with dates specified in month and year format, and indicate hours worked per week . If military or civilian, please include your rank and/or grade. Your resume must clearly show how long your have held each grade in a federal position.
  2. Complete All Required Assessments.
  3. Merit Promotion Eligibility Documentation such as:
     • Federal employees or former federal employees must submit a copy of their latest or last SF-50 “Notification of Personnel Action” reflecting career or career-conditional status in the competitive service, shows position title, series, grade and an additional SF-50 showing highest permanent grade ever held, if not reflected on your latest SF-50. Examples of acceptable SF-50s include: Promotion, Within Rate Increases (WRI/WGI), or Appointment SF-50s. Do not submit an Award SF-50.
     • Any individual who is currently holding, or has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet time-in-grade requirements (must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent in the Federal service); with few exceptions as outlined in 5 CFR 300.603(b). Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal civilian employees applying for reinstatement who have had a break in service of less than one year, as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointments. Time-in-grade does not apply to new excepted service appointments and must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Time in grade will be determined by reviewing your resume and required SF-50s. If the SF-50 showing highest permanent grade ever held has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess the one-year time-in-grade, as required by this announcement. In this instance, your resume must clearly show that you held that grade for one-year.
     • Performance Appraisals and Awards:
       • All applicants must submit their most recent performance appraisal showing the official rating of record and signed by a supervisor. If submitting a performance appraisal not dated within the last 18 months, a statement as to why the most recent is not being submitted. If no performance appraisal is available, applicants must submit a statement as to why it is not available (including if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level). Your last performance appraisal plan for your last position must reflect a rating of Fully Successful or equivalent.
       
       
     • Other Supporting Documents, if applicable, such as:
       • (e.g. DD-214, SF-15, VA Letter as appropriate)
       • Documentation for the eligibility, You must submit ALL Appointment SF-50s , Termination SF-50s AND performance appraisals for each period of temporary/term employment that qualifies for LMWFA. Performance documentation can be obtained by contacting the supervisors for the positions you served in during your 24 months. If they did not complete performance appraisals ask them to provide a statement of performance for each period of service. The statement must specify the dates for each employment period and your level of performance consistent with your SF_50s.
       
       
     
     
  4. Documentation for consideration if you are a displaced Federal employee within the local commuting area. You must include: 1) Proof you are a displaced Federal employee, e.g., RIF Separation Notice, Notice of Proposed Removal, etc; 2) SF-50s (Notifications of Personnel Action) showing career/conditional tenure competitive status, promotion potential and duty location; and 3) your most recent performance appraisal. To exercise selection priority, displaced or surplus Federal employees must be rated well-qualified or above 85 on the rating criteria for this position.
  5. Noncompetitive or Special Hiring Authority. Applicants who are eligible to be considered based on a Noncompetitive or Special Hiring Authority (i.e. Schedule A, VRA, Peace Corps, AmeriCorp Vista, former PLC member, certain Military Spouses, 30% or More Disabled Veterans, Pathways Interns who have met the eligibility requirements for noncompetitive conversion, etc.) must submit appropriate documentation to verify your eligibility.
  6. Failure to submit any of the above-mentioned required documents will result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.
  
  

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