This position is located at the William S. Middleton VA, Madison, WI, in Education Services. The Communications Specialist serves as the facility's integrated champion for both the VA's Online Personal Health Record (My HealtheVet, including Secure Messaging) and the facility's broader Patient/Veteran Health Education and Outreach programs.

Qualifications:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/02/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement :

Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.

Note:

Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

Specialized Experience:

You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Knowledge and understanding of the full range of principles, concepts, and techniques of marketing, advertising and salesmanship, and the ability to transform these requirements into a working, viable program; Skill in editing web pages and creating links and using social networking technology; Knowledge of and skill in automated data processing applications (e.g., desktop publishing, graphics) sufficient to be able to design, establish, and operate in the operation of state-of-the-art personal computer (PC) equipment; Skill in audio-visual techniques to assist in preparation of radio, television, slide show, speech materials, or other methods of communication; Skill in organizing and communicating ideas and thoughts effectively through written correspondence and oral presentation; Skill, knowledge, and ability to analyze a variety of research reports, studies, fact sheets, and other documents and translate from analytical to commonly understood language.

OR, Education:

Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or an LL.M. if related, that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. (Transcripts required)

OR, Combination:

Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience directly related to the work of the position as outlined above and graduate education beyond a master's or equivalent graduate degree to meet total qualification requirements for this grade level. (Transcripts required)

Preferred Experience:

Experience with patient education and adult learning principles Experience with conducting outreach and Veteran engagement For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/ .