Discover more from Wine and Government Cheese
Putting this one up front because I missed it earlier:
Communications Specialist • Department of Energy • December 31, 2022
If you're looking to join a diverse and inclusive team of people committed to public service and who share your passion to deliver planet-changing solutions to the climate crisis-you've come to the right place. DOE's Clean Energy Corps is made up of the staff from more than a dozen offices across DOE-all working together to research, develop, demonstrate, and deploy solutions to the world's greatest challenge.
. . .
As a Communications Specialist you will:
Provide strategic advice to the Program Director and staff on communications strategy and managing the website, other online communications tools, press releases, print publications, and event planning and coordination.
Provide budget input to the supervisor for the assigned program/projects, and supplies justification as to the importance of efforts and the consequences of not providing the necessary funding. . . .
There are many openings and locations. Educational achievement can substitute for direct experience, but your résumé needs to show how your MA or PhD has equipped you to do the following sorts of things:
Establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with interested parties both internally and externally.
Developing and executing studies intended to establish public awareness trends and measure the effectiveness of communications activities.
Analyzing and extracting pertinent data from various sources within and outside the Department.
And the other duties described in the position, of course.
I’m not entirely certain how to read the final item on the questionnaire. It’s mostly a sorting tool, not a way to further explain your qualifications.
Historian • National Parks Service (Interior) • February 4, 2022
Reminder that, like librarian and economist, historian is a regular job in the federal government! And you can create a saved search for it!
The major duties of the Historian include, but are not limited to, the following:
Substantively reviews historic register nominations and determinations of eligibility (DOEs) for complex and/or controversial properties.
Supports preparation of reports and other analytical documents, often in response to internal and external inquiries of a politically sensitive nature, regarding historic register criteria, processes, and effects.
Develops and conducts training, and participates in conferences; develops articles, news briefs, and similar written materials for periodic publication, including newsletters and social media postings.
Supports development of historic register policy and procedures, including the dissemination of such through the preparation of bulletins, briefings, and studies.
To qualify, you need training in history (the simplest way is 18 credit hours in history) AND one year of:
experience [with the] following activities: Applies preservation principles, practices, methods, concepts, laws, and regulations sufficient to support the identification, evaluation, and documentation of potentially historic properties; prepares and evaluates documents sufficient to support management and development of historic properties; and serves as a preservation liaison among preservation partners, including Federal and state agencies, tribal governments, and state and local governments, to support preservation activities.
Questions? Questions! Reminder that the questionnaire can be the best place to start.
There are also several KSAs, which could be good for résumé language/framing.
Communications Analyst (Written) • Government Accountability Office • February 7, 2022 OR 100 applicants
This position is located in the Financial Management and Assurance team. As a Communication Analyst (Written) you will be responsible assist in the development and production of written products. The incumbents support teams and individuals by helping to analyze data and develop the message of products, as well as revising sections of drafts. This is an entry level position.
Technically, you can qualify with one year of graduate education - but you should think about how graduate education positions you with respect to specialized experience:
Specialized experience is defined as experience in which writing and editing are the focus of the job and in which the applicant demonstrates knowledge of the structure and tone of written products as well as experience improving clarity and grammatical accuracy, or identifying and addressing other issues that affect the content and quality of written products.
The questionnaire is helpful for résumé language and evaluating your eligibility.
Education Program Specialist • Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (DOE) • February 8, 2022
For once, they don’t have an application limit. The position is also advertised at multiple levels. As is often the case, you can technically qualify with a PhD or one full year of teaching experience. Grant management experience would also be helpful.
The incumbent is assigned to the Office for School Support and Accountability within the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), and is responsible for performing professional work for one or more grant programs, such as the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, directed towards improving American education. Program objectives are achieved through the management of grants and contracts, as well as through professional leadership and expertise.
Substantive requirements include two out of three:
1. Experience reviewing program guidance on formula or discretionary grant programs, and an awareness of analytical and evaluative methods and techniques in implementing new procedures and approaches, to identify areas where there may be issues and challenges with respect to discretionary grant programs.
2. Experience discerning grant program requirements and accountability and the interplay between Federal and State responsibilities.
3. Experience in the support and/or provision of technical support, on education projects; advising applicants on the requirements for submitting contract or grant proposals.
However, there are a lot of ways to qualify for this position - so please click through if you think it would be a good fit for you. The questionnaire can also help.
Archivist • Archives of American Art (Smithsonian) • February 10, 2022 OR 100 applicants
This could be a good posting for someone with research in Latino/a US history or material culture. The KSAs reflect the archival responsibilities, as well as the content expertise.
They’re looking for education and/or archival experience as a basic requirement.
Professional experience must have been in archival science, or in a directly related field of work such as history that involved the collection, appraisal, analysis, or synthesis of information having historical or archival values. The following are illustrative of kinds of experience that may be accepted as meeting the professional experience requirements: (1) experience as an archivist in Federal, state, religious institution, business, or other archives, or in manuscript depositories, and (2) experience of an archival nature that involved research in archival science, or in a directly related field such as history, government, economics, political science, international relations, or international law.
The position also has a specialized requirement:
For this position specialized experience is defined as applying national archival standards, methodology, and best practices to all the activities that comprise collections archival processing, including arrangement, description in electronic formats, and preservation of archival collections comprised of a variety of media formats typically found in contemporary archival collections.
You could substitute 2 years of grad education or an MA.
The questionnaire doesn’t provide much extra guidance.
Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process (Budget) • Library of Congress • February 24, 2022
That job title could be shorter.
BUT this position is just what some of the nerds on this list have been waiting for:
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) Government and Finance Division is seeking an Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process to work on congressional rules, practices, and precedents, particularly those related to the consideration of budget and appropriations legislation on the floor of the House and Senate, as well as organization and procedure of congressional committees and the role of congressional leadership. The ideal candidate will have knowledge of congressional budget and appropriations procedures.
The candidate should have experience in locating and interpreting factual information; conducting research; preparing objective, descriptive, background, and analytical reports; and participating in team research projects and seminars. The analyst is also expected to develop over time the skills necessary to provide legislative analysis and consultation on budget and appropriations procedures to congressional committees, Members, and staff at increasingly sophisticated levels. Strong writing, research, and presentation skills are essential.
This is also an entry-level position - it’s part of a graduate recruitment effort. So, if you’re going to graduate from a PhD program and have the knowledge and skills, give it a shot.
The questionnaire doesn't really add much to the ad, but it does give you a spot to inform the Library of Congress about a cheap and innovative solution to a problem (this newsletter).
Museum Curator • Smithsonian American Art Museum • March 10, 2022
Are you a specialist in Asian-American art? Check out this job!
You need a degree in museum work/related fields - or experience equivalent to that. The specialized requirement is “familiarity with Asian American art and history that deals with principles and methods of art historical research; art museum collections; art museum activities, and art museum procedures.”
If you don’t have direct experience there, they say you can substitute a related graduate degree. Make sure to explain how related that degree is - how it has provided you the experience they want. The KSAs can help:
Knowledge of Asian American art and history.
Ability to conduct art historical research.
Ability to assess collections, perform cataloging and work with museum collection database.
Knowledge of curatorial functions.
Skill in written and digital communication.
Skill in oral communication.
Skill in verbal communication.
The questionnaire will not - its function seems main administrative, not evaluative.