Local Hire (Media Relations Specialist) - Federal Emergency Management Agency

Summary The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has an immediate need to employ temporary local hires to assist with disaster response and recovery efforts in Knoxville, Tennessee. Local hire employees are typically local residents who aid in the recovery of their community and help their fellow citizens in the recovery process. A local hire's term of employment is 120 days. Local Hire appointments may be extended, in 120-day increments, based on the needs of the disaster. Responsibilities What will I do in this position if hired? In this Local Hire (Media Relations Specialist) position, you will work in the cadre to assist local communities in recovery efforts and serve as a spokesperson to deliver disaster information to media outlets. Typical assignments include: Creating media lists and facilitating contact with media representatives. Delivering disaster information including: press releases, fact sheets, background papers, and public service announcements. Serving as a FEMA spokesperson for field radio, TV, and print interviews. Responding to media inquiries and reporting potential media issues including inaccuracy, rumor control, and trending topics. What else do I need to know? This announcement is for a position as a FEMA Local Hire. Local Hire employees help FEMA respond to, recover from and mitigate hazards by performing a variety of emergency management functions which are not limited to disaster survivor assistance, conducting and verifying damage assessments, and providing administrative, financial and logistical support. Local Hires are Temporary Positions. The Local Hire Program is an appointment type granted under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Section 306 (b), which authorizes FEMA to appoint such temporary employees as necessary to accomplish work authorized under the Act. Appointments under this authority within FEMA are made to the excepted service and are nonpermanent in nature. A local hire's term of employment is 120 days. Local Hire appointments may be extended, in 120-day increments, based on the needs of the disaster. FEMA is committed to ensuring that its workforce reflect the diversity of the nation. At FEMA, our workforce includes the many identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, ages, cultures, and beliefs of the people it serves. To learn about the ongoing diversity and inclusion efforts, reasonable accommodation process, and the FEMA Core Values, please visit www.fema.gov. Requirements Conditions of Employment To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo, successfully pass, and maintain a background investigation for Public Trust as a condition of placement into this position. This may include a credit check after initial job qualifications are determined, a review of financial issues, such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs (please visit: Mythbuster on Federal Hiring Policies for additional information). For more information on background investigations for Federal jobs please visit OPM Investigations. Please ensure you meet the qualification requirements described below. Key Requirements: You must be a U.S. citizen to be considered for this position. You must successfully pass a background investigation. Selective service registration is required for males born after 12/31/59. Please review the Additional Information section for additional key requirements. All candidates must be a high school graduate or possess a GED. Minimum age of eighteen years of age is required. Qualifications To qualify for this Local Hire (Media Relations Specialist) position, you must possess experience: Serving as a spokesperson on behalf of an organization to provide information to media outlets; and Researching public information sources to identify concerns or trends; including social media and news sources. Please read the following important information to ensure we have everything we need to consider your application: Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position. Please limit your resume to five pages. If more than five pages are submitted, only the first five pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility and qualifications. Your resume serves as the basis for experience related qualification determinations, and you must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable), as it relates to this job opportunity. Please use your own words, be clear, and specific when describing your work history. We cannot make assumptions regarding your experience. Are you qualifying based on your work experience? Qualifications are based on your ability to demonstrate in your resume that you possess one year of the specialized experience for this announcement at a comparable scope and responsibility. To ensure all of the essential information is in your resume, we encourage you to use the USAJOBS online Resume Builder. If you choose to use your own resume, it must contain the following information organized by experience/position: (1) job title, (2) name of employer, (3) start and end dates of each period of employment (from MM/DD/YY to MM/DD/YY), (4) detailed description of duties performed, accomplishments, and related skills, and (5) hours worked per week (part-time employment will be prorated in crediting experience). Federal experience/positions must also include the occupational series, grade level, and dates in which you held each grade level. Are you a current or former FEMA Reservist/Disaster Assistance Employee (DAE)? To accurately credit your experience from intermittent positions and Reservist Deployments, you must list the dates (from MM/DD/YY to MM/DD/YY) of deployments that are relevant to your qualifying experience, along with the job title and specific duties you were responsible for during each deployment. Determining length of General or Specialized Experience is dependent on the above information. Failure to provide the above information in your resume may result in your application being found "not qualified." 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 provides valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. For additional information on crediting experience and/or education, please reference the OPM General Schedule Qualification Standards Education No Educational Substitution: There is no educational substitution for this position, and you must meet the qualifications listed in the "requirements" section of this announcement. Additional Information Local hire positions are temporary, intermittent (as-needed) positions. Generally, local hires will work a full-time schedule. If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment. The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Homeland Security and its Components from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to FEMA-Misconduct@fema.dhs.gov. DHS uses E-verify, an internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities. Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions. During the application process you will have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. Travel may be required, based upon agency needs. Travel expectations can vary and will be discussed with candidates during the selection process. Lodging and travel from your residence of record to your duty station in Knoxville, TN will not be reimbursed. Local Hire employees are eligible for the following benefits: Health insurance for individual or family coverage. Employer contribution is 75% of premium. NOTE: Local Hire employees are eligible for enrollment for health insurance coverage as of the official hire date/employment date with FEMA. Dental and Vision Insurance Flexible Spending Accounts Ability to earn 4 hours of paid Sick Leave per pay period Holiday pay Worker's Compensation