Public Affairs Specialist

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); Phoenix (AZ); On-site; USD 90,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) is seeking a Public Affairs Specialist to operate in the Office of Field Operations. The role emphasizes planning, organizing, and developing communications strategies and media plans to support field divisions and the ATF mission.

Qualified applicants will have specialized experience at the GS-13 level, including managing mass media dissemination, handling unscheduled media inquiries, press conferences, and providing training

Qualifications

• Specialized experience required at GS-13 level with at least one year at GS-12 or equivalent.
• Experience planning and developing information programs for mass media.
• Experience responding to media inquiries and conducting press conferences.

Responsibilities

• Plan, organize and develop communications strategies and media plans for mass media in support of the field division and ATF mission.
• Provide specialized training for division needs.
• Coordinate information dissemination and respond to inquiries related to ongoing investigations.

Skills

Media relations

Public affairs

Press conferences

Training programs

Job description

This position is located in any field division, Office of Field Operations (FO), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and is responsible for planning, organizing, and developing communications strategies and media plans for mass media in support of the field division and the ATF mission.

Minimum Qualifications

Specialized experience

Specialized experience is demonstrated experience, which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position. Experience must be in the normal line of progression or must be related to the work of the position advertised and must be reflected in resume.

To qualify for the Public Affairs Specialist position at the GS-13 grade level, candidates must meet the following specialized experience by the closing date of this announcement. Candidates must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-12) (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience must include all of the following.

• Planning, organizing and developing programs for and determining effective dissemination of information through appropriate mass communications media; AND
• Responding to unscheduled media inquiries concerning ongoing investigations, conducting press conferences, arranging interviews, resolving complaints in general; AND
• Providing specialized training for specific division needs.

Your resume must support your responses to the application questionnaire and the qualification requirements. Failure to do so may result in an ineligible rating. See the Required Documents section for important notes about what must be included in your resume.

After you submit this application, you will receive an e-mail informing you that a USA Hire assessment is required of you. You will have 48 hours from the closing date of this announcement (09/21/2026) to complete the assessment as this assessment is part of your application.