Director of External Affairs (Public Affairs Specialist)

Director of External Affairs (Public Affairs Specialist)

Department: Department of the Interior

Location(s): Washington, District of Columbia, Herndon, Virginia

Salary Range: $169279 - $197200 Per Year

Job Summary: Consistently ranked as the best place to work in the Department of the Interior (DOI), and the top 10% of all agency subcomponents, the Office of Inspector General is an independent unit within DOI providing oversight to promote accountability, integrity, economy, efficiency, and effectiveness within the DOI. We offer exceptional work-life benefits, including flexible work schedules, ample training opportunities, and a comprehensive employee recognition program.

Major Duties:

• This position is with the Office of Inspector General, Office of Chief of Staff in Washington, District of Columbia. This office directly supports the Inspector General, the Deputy Inspector General, the Chief of Staff, and other senior OIG leadership on the full range of OIG activities, including legislative, strategic, and risk management matters. As the Director of External Affairs, you will be responsible for leading the OIG's overall strategy for external communications, including planning and executing Congressional and public affairs strategies representing OIG in high-level meetings with Congress, DOI leadership, and other external stakeholders, and maintaining cooperative relationships to advance OIG's mission. Major duties include: Oversee responses to congressional inquiries and monitor legislative developments; provide expert analysis and make recommendations to senior leadership. Address internal communications on an as-needed basis. Formulate and implement policy and procedures governing external communication strategies and address similar responsibilities regarding internal communications on an as-needed basis. Manage wide-ranging and influential audiences, including Congress, other Federal agencies, State and Local governments, media, as well as potentially foreign organizations, consumer and special interest groups, the public, professional associations, and academic institutions. Provide expert support and insight into congressional relations and requirements.

Qualifications: All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. We will only review your resume to determine whether minimum experience requirements have been met. Merit Promotion candidates (Federal employees) must meet time-in-grade requirements by the announcement closing date. Minimum Qualifications: To qualify for this position, you must have one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-14 grade level in the Federal service performing all of the following: Advising senior managers on organization-wide public affairs or communications strategies, Representing an organization in engagements with congressional members or staff on high visibility or high-impact issues, Collaborating and partnering with internal or external stakeholders to understand key issues, identify engagement opportunities and ensure consistent and aligned messaging, AND Developing and implementing strategic communications initiatives and creating deliverables tailored to specific target audiences. 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.

How to Apply: To apply for this job opportunity, you must submit a complete application package including a resume and an on-line application through the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) application system, USAJOBS. This information will be transferred to the DOI OIG's Automated Application System. You have until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to complete the following application process: To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application. Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process. You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account and all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For assistance with creating an USAJOBS account and for information on viewing your Application status, please visit: (https://help.usajobs.gov/get-started) AND (https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to). To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account (https://help.usajobs.gov/get-started). 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. You may update your application documents and some questions related to your personal information at any time during the announcement open period. However, you will not be able to make changes to questions related to assessing the minimum qualifications and competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics) mentioned in the "How You Will Be Evaluated" section above. To make an allowed update to your application, return to your USAJOBS account (https://help.usajobs.gov/get-started). 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.

Application Deadline: 2026-03-30