Assistant Public Affairs Specialist

Being Age 55 or Older is Good for The Environment! The Agricultural Conservation Experienced Services (ACES) Program offers unique opportunities in Scientific, Technical, and Agricultural support for individuals aged 55 and over to support the Department of Agriculture?s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) through a grant administered program awarded to National Experienced Workforce Solutions (NEW Solutions). This is a unique program where your talents, expertise, and experience will truly be valued. The ACES program provides an opportunity to work side-by-side with NRCS staff that are doing important work every day. Benefits: Paid Health Insurance Premium for positions budgeted at 60+ hours per pay period, Accrued Vacation and Sick Leave, Paid Federal Holidays, and optional Vision and Dental Insurance available for positions budgeted at 35+ hours per pay period. Positions listed here do not guarantee employment for any definite period. Enrollment in the Experienced Worker Programs administered by NEW Solutions is temporary. The enrollment relationship between NEW Solutions and the Enrollee is an "at-will" relationship. This means that an Enrollee is free to terminate enrollment at any time during the enrollment period, and NEW Solutions and the Agency have the right to terminate the relationship with the Enrollee. PLEASE NOTE: An ?ACES Enrollee? is not a federal employee, nor an employee of NEW Solutions. An ?ACES Enrollee? is a participant in a grant program established through a Cooperative Agreement funded by the USDA-NRCS and administered by NEW Solutions. This opportunity applies to applicants legally eligible to work in the United States.

Qualifications:

Minimum of 5 year(s) of experience in Writing, public affairs, or public relations. OR AA Degree in Agriculture, Communications, Public Affairs, English.

• Valid State Driver?s license.
• Experience required with Windows, MS Word
• Adobe InDesign, Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Drupal, MS SharePoint, PowerPoint

Duties:

This position serves as an Assistant Public Affairs Specialist on the assigned State Public Affairs Office (SPAO) staff, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The incumbent will serve as Public Affairs Specialist on the SPAO staff working closely with NRCS leadership, the state outreach coordinator, program managers, field office staff, conservation partners, local congressional representatives, and the public.

• Provide written and visual content for internal and external outreach. This includes press releases, email blasts, newsletters, brochures, blog articles, speeches, and social media posts. Will proofread and edit articles written by technical professionals according to the AP Stylebook, editing to ensure they are written in Plain Language for the appropriate audience. Content will be formatted in Microsoft Word, Drupal, Twitter, and Adobe InDesign.   40%
• Will write success stories and prepare for release to the media. A success story will include daytime travel within Illinois to a landowner's property where the landowner will be interviewed about conservation practices and have photographs taken.   25%
• Will assist the Outreach Coordinator and partner agencies with event outreach. This will include occasional daytime travel within Illinois and conducting face-to-face outreach by performing shifts at an informational table with seating available. Will coordinate with the State Public Affairs Specialist, Outreach Coordinator, partner agencies, and field staff to assist in planning of outreach events.   25%
• Will capture and edit photo and video material using the Adobe programs PhotoShop, Lightroom, and PremierePro for internal and external projects, including all phases of video production.   5%
• Will assist the State Public Affairs Specialist with backup administration of the Illinois NRCS Microsoft SharePoint page and the Illinois NRCS public webpage, using the Drupal content management system.   5%

• Annual information system security, anti-harassment, and civil rights training.
• Travel Requirements: Day trips that could last up to 8 hours. No over-night trips.