Title 21 Vacancy Announcement

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER)

Office of Communication, Outreach, and Development (OCOD)

Division of Communication and Consumer Affairs (DCCA)

Communication Technology Branch (CTB)

Application Period: 1/24/24 – 2/22/24

Area of Consideration: Government-Wide

United States Citizenship is required. You must be a U.S. Citizen or U.S. National. Foreign nationals or legal 

permanent residents are not eligible for consideration.

Position: Technical Information Specialist Series: 1412

Location(s): White Oak Campus, Silver Spring, MD

Work Schedule: Full-time

Telework Eligible: Yes

Salary: Starting at:

$82,764(Band A) 

$99,200 (Band B)

Cures Band(s): Bands A/B Full Performance Band Level (FPBL):

Band A FPBL: Band B

Band B FPBL: Band B

Travel Requirements: 25% or less

Bargaining Unit: 3591

Note: Incentives may be authorized; however, this is contingent upon funds availability. If authorized, certain incentives will require you to sign a 

service agreement to remain in the Federal government for a period of up to 3 years. Note: This statement does not imply nor guarantee an 

incentive will be offered and paid. Incentives include the following: moving expenses, recruitment, or relocation incentive; student loan 

repayment, superior qualifications appointment, creditable service for annual leave for prior non-federal work experience or prior uniformed 

military service, etc.

This position is being filled under a stream-lined hiring authority, Title 21, Section 3072 of the 21st Century Cures Act. The 

candidate selected for this position will serve under a career or career-conditional appointment and be paid under the 

provisions of this authority.

Additional information on 21st Century Cures Act can be found here:

21st Century Cures Act Information

Introduction

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is the regulatory, scientific, public health and consumer protection agency 

responsible for ensuring all human and animal drugs, medical devices, cosmetics, foods, food additives, drugs and medicated 

feeds for food producing animals, tobacco and radiation emitting devices safe, and effective.

The Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) is a Center within FDA that regulates biological products for human 

use under applicable federal laws, including the Public Health Service Act and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. 

CBER’s mission is to protect and enhance the public health through the regulation of biological and related products including 

blood, vaccines, allergenics, tissues, and cellular and gene therapies. CBER protects and advances the public health by 

ensuring that biological products are safe, effective, and available to those who need them. CBER also provides the public 

with information to promote the safe and appropriate use of biological products.
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Duties/Responsibilities

The incumbent serves the Communication Technology Branch (CTB), Division of Communication and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) 

in the Office of Communication, Outreach, and Development (OCOD). The DCCA directs and implements Center consumer 

and professional informational activities. The Division identifies, plans, and develops informational and outreach programs as 

well as creates content development, design, policy, and management of Center's Internet and Intranet web sites. Web 

content specialists within CTB are responsible for maintaining and updating content on CBER’s public-facing web pages, as 

well as certain content on FDA.gov, and Center-specific content on insideFDA.

Specifically, the incumbent will:

 Serve as a web content manager liaison to FDA Web Communication efforts and CBER offices.

 Plan, oversee, implement and evaluates the content development and evaluation of CBER web products and 

services. This includes setting goals and objectives, assisting in formulating and implementing a strategic vision, 

conceiving policies and strategies and assisting in the operation of the Agency's web site.

 Identify user-centered design, information architecture, and communication issues on CBER component web sites

and works with content owners to improve the sites.

 Ensures documents are prepared or finalized in accordance with Section 508 compliance requirements.

 Prepare special and recurring reports as required.

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. Citizenship requirement or proof of being a U.S. National must be met by closing date.

• Employment is subject to the successful completion of a background investigation, verification of qualifications, 

completion of onboarding forms, submission of required documents, and any other job-related requirement before or 

after appointment.

• Applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

• Direct Deposit: You will be required to have all federal salary payments electronically deposited into a bank account with 

a financial institution of your choice.

• FDA participates in e-Verify: All new hires must complete the I-9 form; this information will be processed through eVerify to determine your employment eligibility. If a discrepancy arises, you must take affirmative steps to resolve the 

matter.

• Males born after December 31, 1959 must be registered with the Selective Service.

• One year supervisory probationary period may be required. 

• Financial Disclosure may be required.

• Ethics Clearance may be required. 

• Background Investigation/Security Clearance is required. All employees must pass a security investigation. Failing to pass 

the background check may be grounds for removal or legal action. If hired, you may be subject to additional 

investigations at a later time. 

Qualifications

To be placed into a Cures position, candidates must meet the following criteria:

1. Scientific, Technical, and Professional Fields

2. Qualified and Outstanding Candidates

a. Qualified applies to all candidates for Cures appointments. The FDA OTS will use the basic requirements 

defined in the OPM Qualification Standards as a baseline for comparing experience levels and other 

candidate attributes for relevant positions.

b. Outstanding candidates can be defined by existing outstanding work experience, outstanding performance 

rating, or both.

In order to qualify for this Title 21 Cures position, the candidate(s) must meet the following required qualifications. Please 

note: Additional education and experience listed that is not indicated as required is preferable and desired. Candidates who do 

not meet the “desired” criteria will not be excluded from consideration for this position.

Education Requirement

Candidates must possess the required individual occupational requirements to qualify for the appropriate series applicable to 
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the position. Please use the following link to determine the series for which you qualify: https://www.opm.gov/policy-dataoversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=List-by-Occupational-Series

Education Transcripts

SUBMITTING YOUR TRANSCRIPTS: Positions which are scientific or technical in nature often have very specific educational 

requirements. A transcript is required to verify educational achievement. Pay careful attention to the Qualifications and 

Education sections to identify vacancies where a transcript is required. Even if you hold a similar position or are a current FDA 

employee, you are not exempt from transcript requirements.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification 

requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in 

interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an 

accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For

more information about this requirement, please visit the U.S. Department of Education website for Foreign Education 

Evaluation.

Desired Professional Experience

 Experience using content management systems to update website content, including Drupal.

 Basic knowledge of HTML.

 Knowledge of Section 508 compliance and remediation.

 Familiarity with plain language, web content best practices, and use of editorial style guides.

 Demonstrated understanding of current social media best practices - Facebook, Twitter, and a willingness to explore 

emerging platforms.

 Experience with web analytics tools.

Security Clearance Requirements

Background Investigation/Security Clearance Requirements: Background Investigation/Security Clearance is required. All 

employees must pass a security investigation. Failing to pass the background check may be grounds for removal or legal 

action. If hired, you may be subject to additional investigations at a later time. 

Vaccination Requirements

To ensure compliance with an applicable preliminary nationwide injunction, which may be supplemented, modified, or 

vacated, depending on the course of ongoing litigation, the Federal Government will take no action to implement or enforce 

the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to Executive Order 14043 on Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 

Vaccination for Federal Employees. Therefore, to the extent a Federal job announcement includes the requirement that 

applicants must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 pursuant to Executive Order 14043, that requirement does not 

currently apply. Federal agencies may request information regarding the vaccination status of selected applicants for the 

purposes of implementing other workplace safety protocols, such as protocols related to masking, physical distancing, 

testing, travel, and quarantine.

Ethics Clearance Requirements

This position may require financial disclosure reporting and will be subject to FDA's prohibited financial interest regulation. If 

you are hired, you may be required to divest of certain financial interests. You are advised to seek additional information on 

this requirement from the hiring official before accepting any job offers. For more information please visit the FDA Ethics web 

page: https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/jobs-and-training-fda/ethics. 

Equal Employment Opportunity 

The United States Government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including 

pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic 

information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit 

factor. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) for federal employees & job applicants

Reasonable Accommodation

Federal agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. Applicants 

requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process should follow the instructions in the job 

opportunity announcement. For any part of the remaining hiring process, applicants should contact the hiring agency directly.
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Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. A reasonable 

accommodation is any change to a job, the work environment, or the way things are usually done that enables an individual 

with a disability to apply for a job, perform job duties or receive equal access to job benefits. Under the Rehabilitation Act of 

1973, federal agencies must provide reasonable accommodations when: An applicant with a disability needs an 

accommodation to have an equal opportunity to apply for a job. An employee with a disability needs an accommodation to 

perform the essential job duties or to gain access to the workplace. An employee with a disability needs an accommodation 

to receive equal access to benefits, such as details, training, and office-sponsored events. You can request a reasonable 

accommodation at any time during the application or hiring process or while on the job. Requests are considered on a caseby-case basis. Learn more about disability employment and reasonable accommodations or how to contact an agency.

E-Verify

The Food and Drug Administration participates in the USCIS Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification Program (E-Verify). 

E-Verify helps employers determine employment eligibility of new hires and the validity of their Social Security numbers.

How to Apply

Please submit electronic resume or curriculum vitae (please be sure to clearly define the number of years using month and 

year training completed, in addition to describing duties performed during that time period), copy of your unoffical 

transcripts (if applicable), SF-50 (if applicable), latest PMAP (if applicable), and letter of interest with “CURES 

CBER/OCOD/DCCA/CTB Technical Information Specialist” in the subject line to: CBERHumanCapital@fda.hhs.gov. 

Applications will be accepted through 2/22/24.

Announcement Contact

For questions regarding this Cures position, please contact: CBERHumanCapital@fda.hhs.gov

The Department of Health and Human Services is an equal opportunity employer with a smoke-free environment.

FDA is an equal opportunity employer.