This position serves as a public affairs specialist in the Small Business Administration (SBA), Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience (ODR&R) Field Operations Center - East (FOC-E) and Field Operations Center - West (FOC-W). The primary function is to provide information to ODR&R's internal and external customers and appropriate government offices at the Federal, State and local levels concerning the SBA Disaster Assistance Program.
Learn more about this agency
U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.
Federal employees whose job, agency or department was eliminated and are eligible for priority over other applicants.
This is a Time Limited TERM appointment. The appointment does not confer competitive status, reinstatement rights, or eligibility for non-competitive conversion to a permanent job to the individual(s) selected. You will be given an initial appointment of 13 months, but not more than 4 years. If all other conditions of employment are met, this appointment may be extended, up to a total of four (4) years in increments determined by SBA.
As a/an Public Affairs Specialist at theGS- 1035-9, some of your typical work assignments may include:
- Plans, organizes, and prepares material (e.g., press releases, photographs, flyers, and formal/informal presentations).
- Prepares and disseminates news releases and articles for the print media, selecting photographs to accompany the written material.
- Assists the Lead and Senior Public Affairs Specialists in communicating with program managers to determine media, governmental and public information needs of the disaster program.
- Assists senior Public Affairs Specialists and Field Operations Specialists in preparing for media coverage of local events.
- You must be a U.S. Citizen
- You must successfully complete a background investigation.
- 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.
- Mandatory Overtime: In order to respond quickly and efficiently to disaster survivors, substantial compensated overtime hours may be required while on assignment (up to seven days a week and ten to fourteen hours a day).
GS-09: One year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service, obtained in either the private or public sector:
- Assisting with the preparation, coordination, and dissemination of press releases, news articles, fact sheets, presentations, and other outreach materials for media, government stakeholders, and the public; AND
- Assisting with monitoring media coverage, providing supplemental information to correct inaccuracies, maintaining media and stakeholder contact lists, documenting disaster activities (including photography and reference files), and supporting spokesperson or public speaking activities; AND
- Assisting in responding to inquiries, preparing draft correspondence about program information or individual cases, keeping abreast of relevant policies and legislative changes, and supporting timely communication with congressional offices and other government officials during disaster declarations.
OR
Education: If qualifying based on education, you must submit transcripts by the closing date of this announcement, or you will not be found eligible.
2 academic years of progressively higher-level graduate education.
OR
Master's degree (or equivalent graduate degree such as LL.B. or J.D. as specified in qualification standards or individual occupational requirements) directly related to the position. Examples of related degrees include public affairs, Communications, public administration and other related fields. Education must be in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of the position.
OR
A combination of education and experience. For example, 1 full year (18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours) of graduate-level education (i.e. 50% of education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e. 50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the position.
These qualifications must be clearly referenced in your resume.
Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on OPM's Qualifications web site:
General Schedule Qualification Standards
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.
Generally, time in
Non-Pay status as a federal employee is not creditable towards the specialized experience requirement listed above.
All qualification requirements must be met by 11:59 pm (Eastern Time) on 08/12/2026.
APPLICANTS PLEASE NOTE: Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications (particularly positions with a positive education requirement.) Therefore, applicants must report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Verify School accreditation. All education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency accordingly.
If you are selected for this position and qualified based on education (i.e. basic education requirement and/or substitution of education), you will be required to provide an OFFICIAL transcript prior to your first day on duty.
*** If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. *** For further information, click on: Foreign Education.
This is a no-bargaining unit position.
This is not a (drug) testing designated position.
Reasonable Accommodation Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments
Career and InterAgency Career Transition Assistance Programs: Are programs that applies to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed.
Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) is a program that helps "surplus" or "displaced" federal employees improve their chances of finding a new job in their current agency (intra-agency, i.e. SBA employees only).
Inter-Agency Career Transition Assistance (ICTAP) is a program that helps "surplus" or "displaced" federal employees improve their chances of finding a new job at another agency (inter-agency; i.e. not applying to their current or former agency).
You are eligible for CTAP/ICTAP if:
1. You are a current federal employee who meets the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee meaning you have received official notice that your job is no longer needed or that you will lose your job by Reduction-in-Force (RIF).
2. Your agency, or the agency to which you are applying, is accepting applications from within or outside of the permanent workforce.
3. The position to which you are applying MUST BE in the Local Commuting Area of the position of record from which you are being displaced.
4. You meet the qualifications and other requirements of the job for which you are applying. This includes being rated as well-qualified for the position (score of 85 or better based on your responses to the competencies and associated questions listed within the assessment).
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
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. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Review our benefits
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.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Applicants meeting basic eligibility requirements will be further evaluated based on additional assessments. One of these assessment is USA Hire. Based on your application and your responses to the application questionnaire, you may be presented with instructions on how to access the USA Hire system to complete the online assessments. The online assessments must be completed within 48 hours following the close of this announcement. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation for the assessment should you have a disability covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Your USA Hire assessment results will be kept on record for one year and used toward future positions for which you might apply that require the same assessments.
The assessments relate to the following Competencies required to do the work of this position:
- Attention to Detail
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Customer Service
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Flexibility
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Integrity/Honesty
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Interpersonal Skills
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Learning
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Reading Comprehension
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Reasoning
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Self-Management
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Stress Tolerance
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Teamwork
In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. One of the required assessments for this position is an online assessment that measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
Your application will be evaluated under the Category Rating method based on your assessments. You will receive a score based on the responses to the assessment questions. If, after reviewing your resume and or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience your score can and will be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities. If you meet basic requirements for the position, your application will be evaluated and placed into one of three categories:
1. Best-Qualified: highly proficient with an overall comprehensive level of knowledge, skills and abilities related to the job based on a complete review of experience, education, and training as described in an applicant's responses to the assessment questions and resume.
2. Well-Qualified: competent in the position with an overall accomplished level of knowledge, skills, and abilities related to the job based on a complete review of experience, training, and education as applicable, as described in an applicant's responses to the assessment questions and resume.
3. Qualified: an overall basic level of knowledge, skills, and abilities related to the job based on a complete review of experience, education, and training, as described in an applicant's responses to the assessment questions and resume.
Candidates eligible for veterans' preference will be placed ahead of other candidates in the appropriate category for which they have been rated. Additionally, preference eligibles who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent and who meet Minimum Qualification Requirements will automatically be placed in the Best Qualified Category.
Failure to submit any of the required documents by the closing date/time of the vacancy will result in your removal from consideration for this position. Please review your application prior to final submission and ensure you have submitted all appropriate documents. Uploading documents to USAJOBs does NOT ensure inclusion with your application to our system. You must verify that the documents are in the system with your application prior to final submission.
1. Your Resume must not include photographs. Resume length may not exceed 2 pages and must contain the following information:
- Name, address, telephone number, email address;
- Job Title (if Federal Service, provide series and grade; if not in GS plan, provide GS equivalent grade);
- If qualifying based on related unpaid (e.g. volunteer service) experience, you must provide hours worked per week and beginning/ending dates (mm/dd/yyyy to mm/dd/yyyy);
- If other than full time you must provide hours worked per week.
- PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. You must address the specific specialized experience required for each grade level of this position on your resume or application or you will be rated "Ineligible" for that grade level.
- Should you submit multiple resumes, only the latest uploaded resume will be reviewed.
2. In addition to the online application (resume and responses to the occupational questionnaire), you are required to submit the following forms,
if applicable. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure all documents are legible:
- If you are using education as a substitution for experience (the announcement will state whether this is allowed), or if there is an educational requirement for this position, you must submit a copy of your transcripts (unofficial or official) that clearly describes your qualifying education. If selected, official transcripts will be required;
If you are claiming Veteran status, you must submit a copy of all required documents to support your claim (e.g.: DD-214 Member Copy 4 showing type of discharge/character of service; Current Active Duty members must submit a certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions dated within 120 days; SF-15 Form and related documentation; VA disability letter)- -see VetGuide;
- Veterans who are still in the service may be granted tentative preference on the basis of information contained in their applications, but they must produce a DD-214 (showing the character of service) or other proof of service to receive consideration for veterans' preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit FedsHireVets.gov.
- CTAP/ICTAP/RPL Applicants: Surplus or displaced employees eligible for CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP priority must provide proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination), SF-50 documenting separation (if applicable), your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330, and your most recent performance appraisal.
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions will affect your rating. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience your rating may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities.
Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows:
1. To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button.
2. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
3. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59PM (ET) on the announcement closing date.
4. After submitting an online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take additional online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system. This message will be delivered to you both on screen and via email notification.
5. If you are asked to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be presented with a unique URL to access the USA Hire system. Access to USA Hire is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Be sure to review all instructions prior to beginning your USA Hire Assessments. Click here for Computer System Requirements
6. Note, set aside at least 3 hours to take these assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue at a later time, you can re-use the URL sent to you via email and also found on the Additional Application Information page that can be located in the application record in your USAJOBS account.
To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account. There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Update Application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.
To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account at https://www.usajobs.gov/
All of your applications will appear on the Welcome page. The application record in your USAJOBS account provides an Additional Application Information page that provides information regarding the documentation you submitted and any correspondence we have sent related to this application. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/
Sebastian Risbeck
Address
Field Operations Center West - FOCW
6501 Sylvan Road
Citrus Heights, CA 95610
US
SUITABILITY, CLEARANCE & REQUIREMENTS: A background investigation may be required for all new hires. Appointment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for termination.
As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period (depending on type of appointment authority) during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:
- your performance and conduct;
- the needs and interests of the agency;
- whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
- whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
Upon completion of this period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
Consistent with work requirements and current SBA Policy, and all applicable provisions of the collective bargaining agreement with AFGE the SBA offers employees opportunities to perform work at an alternative location (e.g. home).
Telework may be available. For information on Telework visit: http://www.telework.gov/
Additional vacancies may be filled from this vacancy announcement if additional vacancies occur within 180 days of the date the certificates were issued.
Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. For additional information visit www.sss.gov.
SBA 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 responsibilites.
Accepting applications
Location
Many vacancies in the following locations:
No matching locations found.
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$61,722 - $80,243 per year
The salary listed above is from the Rest of U.S. Pay Scale. Your actual salary will be based on your official duty station.
Pay scale & grade
GS 9
Learn more about pay scale and grade
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Intermittent
Travel Required
76% or greater - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Occupations and job series
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
- Credentialing
- Suitability/Fitness
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
DE-26-FOCW/E-13013294
