Summary

This position is located within the U.S. Department of Education's office of Federal Student Aid, in the Office of Communications, Outreach and Engagement (OCOE). OCOE is tasked with developing, managing, and coordinating both internal and external communications-including publications, email and SMS/text campaigns, and social media and website content-for students, parents, borrowers, postsecondary schools, and higher education partners and stakeholders.

Duties

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APPLICATION LIMIT: This vacancy announcement is limited to the first 200 applications received and will close at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the day that we receive the 200th application, or at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the listed closing date, whichever occurs first.

We encourage you to read this entire vacancy announcement prior to submitting your application.

As a Writer Editor, GS-1802-12, you will be responsible for:
• Writes, updates, or reviews content for web or print to reflect changes in law or regulations or as a response to customer feedback, analytics data, writer recommendations, or other internal/external recommendations and creates content that adheres to the FSA Writing Style Guide, is written in plain language with the target audience in mind, and is factually correct.
• Conducts user research and reviews customer feedback, internal and external recommendations, website best practices and overall content strategy, and analytics data in order to inform content planning as well as to inform distribution and marketing strategies/recommendations.
• Manages development of assigned publications and other content, including planning/managing the release schedule for publications/resources and website content.
• Communicates with subject-matter experts, document design team, and translation team to ensure timely development of accurate and high-quality content.
• Prepares/compiles operational and other reports using information provided by systems, team members, and other data sources.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

Relocation will not be paid.
Males 18 and over must be registered with the Selective Service.
You may be subject to serve a one-year probationary period.
Must be a U.S. citizen.
Background Investigation is required.

You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement.

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. We will consider all qualifying experience, including any volunteer experience.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualification Requirements

You may meet the minimum qualifications for the GS-12, if you possess the specialize experience.

Specialized Experience for the GS-12

One year of experience in either federal or non-federal service that is equivalent to at least a GS-11 performing two (2) out of three (3) of the following duties or work assignments:

1. Experience in developing written materials for a variety of audiences, including the general public and professionals, in plain English.

2. Experience in writing and editing website content about complex programs, policies, and/or processes following best practices for writing for the web.

3. Experience in leading multi-step communication processes that include research, writing, review, editing, approval, and dissemination.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)

The quality of your experience will be measured by the extent to which you possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs). You do not need to provide separate narrative responses to these KSAs, as they will be measured by your responses to the occupational questionnaire (you may preview the occupational questionnaire by clicking the link at the end of the Evaluations section of this vacancy announcement).

1. Skill to write and edit informational material for internal and external audiences in plain language, using proper grammar, syntax, and sentence structure; and suggest changes to management.

2. Skill in applying customer experience and human-centered design principles in the development of communications that meet target audience needs.

3. Skill to independently manage projects and work efforts.

4. Skill to work as part of a collaborative team and/or lead teams.

Education

Education cannot be substituted for experience for this position and grade level.

Additional information

Veterans' Career Counseling: If you are a veteran interested in receiving tips on preparing a Federal resume and/or how to prepare for an interview, you may email sro_recruiting@ed.gov to schedule a session with a career counselor ("Veterans Counseling Session" should be placed in the subject line of the email).

Student Loan Default: If selected for this position, we will verify that you have not defaulted on any loan funded or guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Education. If you are found to be in default, we will contact you to make arrangements for repayment prior to making an official offer of employment.

Suitability and Investigation: If selected for this position, you will be required to complete the Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) to determine your suitability for federal employment and successfully complete a pre-appointment investigation/background check.

Essential/Non-Essential: This position may be considered essential for purposes of reporting to work during federal government closures.

Financial Disclosure: This position does not require financial disclosure.

Bargaining Unit: This position is included in the bargaining unit (American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 252).

Selections: Agencies have broad authority under law to hire from any appropriate source of eligibles and may fill a vacancy in the competitive service by any method authorized. We may make additional selections from this vacancy announcement within 90 days from the date the selection certificates are issued, should vacancies occur. We may also share selection certificates amongst program offices across the agency.

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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.

Benefits

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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.

As an ED employee, you will also benefit from our family-friendly work environment. As part of our commitment to maintain a work life balance, we offer excused leave for Parent/Teacher Conferences (3 hours); excused leave for annual health screenings (4 hours); and matching leave for community volunteer service. Other flexibilities that may be available to you include alternative work schedules. You may be eligible to receive a recruitment incentive for this position. To receive this incentive payment, you will be required to sign a service agreement obligating you to remain with the U.S. Department of Education for a specified period as agreed upon. You may be eligible to receive a relocation incentive for this position. To receive this incentive payment, you will be required to sign a service agreement obligating you to remain with the U.S. Department of Education for a specified period as agreed upon. You may be eligible to participate in the Student Loan Repayment Program as a recruitment incentive for this position. To receive student loan repayments, you will be required to sign a service agreement obligating you to remain with the U.S. Department of Education for a specified period as agreed upon.

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.

Federal Student Aid

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