Public Affairs Specialist, GS-1035
Definitions:
UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION: A year of undergraduate education is 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours or the equivalent of college study. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent was a prerequisite.
GRADUATE EDUCATION: In the absence of specific graduate program information, a year of graduate education is 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours of graduate level college course work, or the number of credit hours the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full time study. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university.
For GS-07:
Applicants must meet one of the following to qualify for the GS-07 level:
One full year of graduate level education.
**OR Superior Academic Achievement based on undergraduate study. (CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON SUPERIOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT).
**OR A combination of post-high school education and experience that together meet the qualification requirements for this position. (CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON COMBINING EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE).
**OR One year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-05. Examples include: writing routine news articles on non-controversial subjects; conducting tours and or briefings visitors in agency activities.
For GS-09:
Applicants must meet one of the following to qualify for the GS-09 level:
Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education (36 semester hours or 54 quarter hours or the equivalent) leading to a master's or equivalent graduate degree or LL.B. or J.D. in a field of study which provided the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of the position.
**OR One year of appropriate specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 level in the Federal service that is in or related to public affairs and that equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. Examples of such experience could include writing news releases on routine matters; providing information to the public on agency programs; assisting higher level specialists with the preparation of news releases, fact sheets, and brochures; assisting with the organization and support of special events. These work experiences would have involved following established methods and procedures, or detailed instructions; using some judgment in applying analytical techniques, and would have required a good general working knowledge of communication and public relations principles and methods.
**OR A combination of successfully completed progressive graduate level education as described above that is beyond the first year of graduate study and specialized experience, as described above. (CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS ON HOW TO COMBINE GRADUATE EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE)
For GS-11:
Applicants must meet one of the following to qualify for the GS-11 level:
Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education (54 semester hours or 81 quarter hours or the equivalent) leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or LL.M., in a field of study which provided the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of the position.
**OR One year of appropriate specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the Federal service that is in or related to public affairs and that equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. Examples of such experience could include independent responsibility to analyze, select and prepare information materials; responding to media questions on standard organizational policies. These work experiences would have required the individual to select and make minor adaptations to procedures and accepted practices and handle unexpected conditions arising in the normal course of the work. At this level, Public Affairs Specialists have a sound working knowledge of communication and public relations principles and methods and the ability to independently perform moderately difficult and responsible public affairs work.
**OR A combination of successfully completed graduate level education as described above that is beyond the second year of progressive graduate study and specialized experience, as described above. (CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS ON HOW TO COMBINE GRADUATE EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE)
For GS-12:
Applicants must have one year of appropriate specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level in the Federal service that is in or related to public affairs and that equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. Examples of such experience could include planning or evaluating public affairs programs and projects; initiating public awareness activities; developing proactive outreach/marketing strategies; developing & presenting informational material to achieve understanding of various points of view or concepts from publics with varying levels of understanding and different interests. These work experiences typically involved conventional methods & techniques though they required going beyond clear precedents, and required adapting methods to the problems at hand and interpreting findings in terms of their significance. At this level, Public Affairs Specialists have a very good knowledge of the principles and methods used in conducting a public affairs program and their application, and the ability to independently perform public affairs work of considerable difficulty.