Supervisory Communication Specialist

Summary

Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Public Affairs, located in Washington, DC. Additional selections may be made to include other organizational divisions and/or units within the duty location(s) listed above.

Duties

The incumbent serves as the Deputy Director, overseeing the strategic direction and operational effectiveness of the division, ensuring alignment with CBP's overarching strategic objectives and national security priorities.This position starts at a salary of $143,913.00 (GS-14, Step 1) to $187,093.00 (GS-14, Step 10) Major duties include: Planning and directing division operations to ensure communication strategies align with CBP's national security priorities, including those related to the processing of any alien. Advising the Director on complex communication issues, represents the agency in high-level inter-agency forums, and exercises full authority over division operations in the Director's absence. Managing professional staff (GS-12 to GS-14), sets performance standards, provides regular feedback, and fosters a high-performance culture to ensure mission-critical outcomes. Overseeing resource allocation and leads communication responses to policy shifts or crises, such as those involving illegal immigration, to mitigate reputational risk and ensure accurate public messaging. GS Salary: Visit this link to view the locality pay tables by geographic area. If you do not see your geographic area listed, select the "Rest of United States" pay table. Some positions fall under a special pay rate depending on the series, grade level and location of the position. Please visit this link to view special pay rate charts.

Qualifications

Experience: You qualify for the GS- 14 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as: Planning, directing, and evaluating comprehensive communication and outreach programs that directly support agency-wide strategic objectives and national security priorities. Proven ability to lead the development of innovative communication strategies for highly sensitive, politically charged, or unprecedented issues, while establishing robust metrics to measure impact and effectiveness across the enterprise. Providing comprehensive leadership and operational oversight to a professional staff at the GS-12 through GS-14 levels. Proven ability to foster a high-performance culture by setting strategic vision, managing complex workload distribution, conducting rigorous performance evaluations, and identifying developmental needs to enhance workforce capability and readiness in high-stakes environments. Evaluating and addressing complex information flow issues, including the development of tailored communication paradigms for major policy shifts or crisis response. Proven ability to adapt communication strategies in real-time to meet substantial changes in national security landscapes, ensuring that all stakeholders-including Congress, the public, and international partners-are accurately and effectively informed. Representing the agency in high-level forums, meetings, and conferences, serving as a key advisor on communication methods and techniques. Proven experience identifying and implementing cutting-edge communication tools to enhance organizational transparency, mitigate reputational risks, and ensure a unified understanding of the agency's mission across diverse audiences NOTE: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible. Please see the "Required Documents" section below for additional resume requirements. 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. You must: Meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process; and Meet all applicable Time in Grade requirements (current federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent grade band in the federal service) by 10/07/2026. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office. Background Investigation: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency that requires all applicants to undergo a thorough background investigation prior to employment in order to promote the agency's core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity. During the screening and/or background investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any felony criminal convictions or current felony charges, the use of illegal drugs (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, methamphetamines, ecstasy), and the use of non-prescribed controlled substances including any experimentation, possession, sale, receipt, manufacture, cultivation, production, transfer, shipping, trafficking, or distribution of controlled substances. For additional information on the preemployment process, review the following link: Applicant Resources | CBP Careers Residency: There is a residency requirement for all applicants not currently employed by CBP. Individuals are required to have physically resided in the United States or its protectorates (as declared under international law) for at least three of the last five years. If you do not meet the residency requirement and you have been physically located in a foreign location for more than two of the last five years, you may request an exception to determine if you are eligible for a residency waiver by meeting one or more of the following conditions: Working for the U.S. Government as a federal civilian or as a member of the military A dependent who was authorized to accompany a federal civilian or member of the military who was working for the U.S. government Participation in a study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. affiliated college or university Working as a contractor, intern, consultant or volunteer supporting the U.S. government Probationary Period: All employees new to the federal government must serve a one year probationary period during the first year of his/her initial permanent federal appointment to determine fitness for continued employment. Current and former federal employees may be required to serve or complete a probationary period. Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not CTAP eligible. View information about CTAP eligibility on OPM's Career Transition Resources website. You must submit the supporting documents listed under the Required Documents section of this announcement. To be considered well qualified under CTAP, you must be rated at a minimum score of 85 for this position.

Education

Please see the Qualifications and Required Documents sections for more information if education is applicable to this position.