Visual Information Specialist - Temporary NTE 1 Year, May be extended up to 5 years -Department of the TreasuryInternal Revenue Service -Open & closing dates 04/23/2018to05/04/2018 -Salary $91,631 to $126,062 per year -Pay scale & grade GS 13 -Work schedule Full-Time - Full Time -Appointment type Permanent - Temporary NTE 1 year may be extended up to 5 years. Employee maintains current work status. -Locations 4 vacancies in the following locations: -Washington DC, DC1 vacancy -Atlanta, GA1 vacancy -Lanham, MD1 vacancy -Dallas, TX1 vacancy -Relocation expenses reimbursed No -Announcement number -Control number 497543900 -Duties -Summary WHAT DOES A VISUAL INFORMATION SPECIALIST (VIS) DO?The IRS Visual Information Specialist (VIS) is part of a diversified team of professional Graphic Designers tasked with the assembly of graphical images, typography, and text content in an effective way that is strategic, accessible and aesthetically satisfying. They are available to all IRS employees, to help design and develop their communications materials for a positive impact on IRS business objectives. They are trained to solve difficult business communication problems with strategic design solutions and to simplify complex information to achieve measurable results. WHAT IS THE WAGE & INVESTMENTDIVISION:The Wage & Investment Division (W&I) serves about 122 million taxpayers who file upwards of 94 million returns each year. Key W&I objectives are to provide high-quality taxpayer assistance, and to enable taxpayers to transact and communicate electronically to file their returns, make payments and receive assistance. W&I partners with private organizations to provide assistance to such disadvantaged groups as elderly and low-income taxpayers. One (1) Position may be filled in any of the four locations in W&I, Care, Media & Publications, Publishing, E-Pub and Composition organization located at, 1111 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington DC 20224; or 5000 Ellin Road, Lanham, MD 20706; or 4800 Buford Highway, Chamblee, GA 30341; or 4050 Alpha Road, Farmer Branch, TX 75244. -Responsibilities As a Visual Information Specialist you will: -Promote the increase of digital design strategies for new IRS communication products, providing expert technical and e-publishing design advice. -Lead, design, schedule, track and manage a collection of critical IRS products, projects and programs to meet each of their specific target goals and lead, train and develop others (such as new VISs) of these duties. -Lead and provide technical/art direction to IRS contractors in all phases of external design work performed. -Lead IRS Design Offices most critical/complex design projects, identifies and recommends program improvements and methods to enhance customer communication/service. -Lead, manage and provide expert technical and design guidance to IRS employees on the formatting and presentation of visual information to support IRS design policies, design standards, and procedures governing print and electronic publishing. -Research and recommend creative solutions to critical business problems identified in IRS Creative Design Briefs. -Research, develop and propose Design Office system enhancements, supporting IRS mission, values and policies. -Perform in-depth analyses and interpret the customers needs, to formulate strategicWHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OTHER IRS CAREERS?If you want to find out more about IRS careers, visit us on the web at -Travel Required Not required -Supervisory status No -Promotion Potential 13 -Requirements -Conditions of Employment -Please refer to "Conditions of Employment." -Click "Print Preview" to review the entire announcement before applying. -Must be a US Citizen or National -IRS employees on Career or Career Conditional Appointments - -Qualifications You must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement. BASIC REQUIREMENTS:You must have: A Bachelors degree from an accredited college or university in a related field of study such as visual communications commercial art, fine arts, art history, industrial design, architecture, drafting, interior design, or photography. Or Advanced training in a vocational school, technical institute, or art institute above the high school level in one of the fields listed above is creditable as general experience on a month-for-month basis. OR Experience that demonstrated the skills and creativity needed to use the tools or equipment associated with the Visual Communication. Unpaid experience that is pertinent should be credited based upon its relevance to the work of the Visual Information Specialist. To be qualifying, the work must have involved visual communication of information or the application of the principles of graphic design. In addition to the above, you must meet the requirements described below: GS-13 LEVEL:You must have 1 year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position includes: hands on expertise preforming these duties and leading or mentoring peers, junior designers and/or design assistants of various design processes that directly relate to graphic design and print/electronic publishing processes proficiently using graphical software applications (in both Macintosh and Windows environments) such as: Adobe Creative Suite (specifically InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator). Expertise applying design standards elements, including logotype, way-finding system, fonts, and color integrated into the designs of electronic and print products. Experience with having high-level responsibilities in design management programs, development and implementation of visual design standards, organizational/corporate identity systems, and coordinating those systems to improve performance processes. Experience with using standard graphic design industry tools (such as color swatch books, photo libraries, image scanners and photocopiers) to develop products. Experience overseeing all aspects of work given to outside design firms, including analyzes level of project complexity, budget and resource planning, scheduling, and art directing projects design direction, quality, to ensure work is completed according to contract specifications. Experience in overseeing and leading the design and development of organizational design standards, such as developing specific graphical elements, writing procedures, policies, and identifying appropriate typography, color pallet, and overall tone that reflects the organizations values and mission. Experience writing clear, concise and technically accurate information, timely and with the appropriate tone/style for the specific audience and subject matter of the business correspondence (such as writing narrative to explain and defend design proposals/formal presentations, business reports, operation reviews, vendor correspondence, statements of work, developing design briefs and responding to business correspondence inquires.) Other Specialized Experience includes experience defining project design, technical and production specifications, developing original concepts, taking into account demographics, target audience needs, quality, equality, security, and ethics by extracting information from a design brief to provide original design solutions, design configurations and product development. Examples of qualifying work experience include: Leading or mentoring peers, junior designers, strategic design processes, including planning, coordinating, leading creative brainstorming meetings and preparing and presenting formal design presentations to executives. Designing, developing and executing a wide collection of design products/projects simultaneously in English and other languages, such as meetings/events/conference materials, social media elements, tradeshow exhibits, forms, brochures, posters, websites, branding elements, single and multiple page print and digital publications, promotional displays, and packaging, signage systems for a diversified nationwide audience. -The experience may have been gained in the public sector, private sector orVolunteerService. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. -To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week, on your resume. In addition to the above requirements, you must meet the following, if applicable: You must have been at the GS-12 level for 52 weeks (time-in-grade requirement). -Security clearance -Required Documents A complete application includes 1. A resume, 2. Vacancy question responses, and 3. Submission of any required documents. Please note that if you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, you will not be considered for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible). All applicantsare required to submit a resume either by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one of their own choosing. (Cover lettersare optional). To receive full credit for relevant experience, please list the month/year and number of hours worked for experience listed on your resume. We suggest that you preview the online questions, as you may need to customize your resume to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions. Please viewResume Tips Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) DOCUMENTATION If you are a displaced or surplus Treasury employee, clickCTAPfor eligibility and a detailed list of required documents. IRS CTAP eligibles can apply for jobs within and outside the commuting area. IRS Reassignment Preference Program (RPP) You must meet the requirements in your RPP notice. Submit a copy of your RPP Notice along with a copy of your most recent annual performance appraisal. Your performance appraisal must have a fully successful or higher overall rating. PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL/AWARDS:Submit a copy of your most recent completed performance appraisal. IRS employees:If a revalidated appraisal is used for merit promotion, the supervisor must prepare a narrative for each critical job element that does not have a narrative describing the performance in the appraisal period covered by the rating. Note: If you are a manager or management official, your most recent annual performance appraisal must be used for the overall rating identified. EDUCATION DOCUMENTATION:If you are qualifying for this position by substituting education or training for experience, submit a copy of your transcripts or equivalent. If the position has specific education requirements and you are currently (or have previously been) in the Federal job series to be filled, there is no need to submit a transcript or equivalent at this time.An official transcript will be required if you are selected. A college or university degree generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools which meet these criteria, please refer toDepartment of Education Accreditation page. If you are qualifying based on foreign education, you must submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. Refer to theOPM instructions. -Benefits A career with the U.S. Government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding.Learn more about federal benefits. Review our benefits