The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is urgently hiring temporary Public Affairs Specialists to support disaster recovery for the 2025 hurricane season. You will help survivors and businesses to understand SBA's disaster loan programs by sharing information through press releases, interviews, social media, and outreach; responding to inquiries; and partnering with community leaders, officials, and media to ensure SBA delivers timely, accurate information that helps communities recover.
Generally, time in Non-Pay status is not creditable towards the specialized experience requirement listed below. You must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement. You may qualify based on experience, education or a combination of both. Experience: To receive credit, you must indicate the month and year as well as the average hours worked per week for each employer or that experience will not be credited for meeting the specialized experience requirement. GS-11: To qualify you must have at least 1 full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the GS-09 level in the Federal service that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skill, and ability to perform successfully in this position. This experience may have been gained in a Non-Federal service position. In addition, this Specialized Experience must demonstrate the following: Managing and/or creating engaging content across various digital communication platforms (such as social media, websites, newsletters, press releases) for an organization; AND Preparing, disseminating, and coordinating new releases and articles at local events (such as press conferences, town hall meetings, or meetings with other targeted audiences); AND Serving as a spokesperson by making public appearances, preparing presentations, and/or talking points or speeches, etc.; AND Engaging with audiences (such as the public, private-sector, partner organizations, and community groups) to ensure accurate, consistent, and effective communication. OR
As a Public Affairs Specialist at the GS-1035-11, some of your typical work assignments may include: Participates in the coordination of social media campaigns and strategies for driving engagement and building brand awareness. Participates in creating correspondence for ODR&R/Center management addressed to public officials and private organizations about individual loan cases or the disaster program. Monitors newspaper, radio, television and internet coverage of the disaster program and provides supplemental information to correct any irregular or inaccurate media information. Uses advanced computer skills, including skill in using automated functions such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access databases and desktop publishing to serve as a disaster program information link providing explanations and written materials as necessary. Serves as a spokesperson for ODR&R by making public appearances, preparing presentations, talking points or speeches as necessary to convey information about the disaster program, objectives and ongoing activities. IMPORTANT NOTES: Resumes will be reviewed for qualifications and qualified eligible applicants will be referred to hiring officials on a weekly or earlier basis as needed in response to disaster activity. This is a temporary appointment in the Excepted service with an intermittent (on call) work schedule. This means that employees are in a pay and duty status only when activated to respond to workload needs, especially in response to heightened disaster activity. When no longer needed, employees return to a non-pay status until the next event necessitates additional staff. However, depending on the workload and/or level of disaster activity, your work schedule may be changed to full-time. Subsequently, if the workload decreases, your work schedule may be changed back to intermittent. If required to travel to a disaster site, you may encounter hazardous working and/or living conditions, for example, no water or electricity and/or minimal lodging facilities. Additional selections may be made from this announcement if identical vacancies occur within 180 days from the closing date.