Senior Strategist or Design Strategist; Program Manager

Client Partnership & Design Strategy Leadership

• →Serves as a trusted advisor to clients by framing complex challenges, identifying opportunities, and applying human-centered design approaches to inform strategic decision-making.
• →Partners directly with client stakeholders to understand organizational priorities, user needs, operational constraints, and desired outcomes.
• →Leads the development of design strategy approaches that align stakeholder needs, business objectives, and mission requirements.
• →Guides cross-functional teams through ambiguity, helping stakeholders build alignment and make informed decisions.
• →Identifies opportunities to create tangible business value and support long-term client success.
• →Provides guidance that helps clients make informed decisions and navigate organizational complexity.

Content Strategy, Storytelling & Execution

• →Translates complex ideas into compelling strategic narratives, executive-level presentations, communication strategies, and decision-support products.
• →Develops messaging frameworks that align leadership vision, organizational priorities, and stakeholder needs.
• →Define content structures, information hierarchies, and storytelling approaches that communicate complex concepts clearly and effectively.
• →Collaborates with creative teams to develop high-quality visual products that support strategic objectives and audience understanding.
• →Establishes quality standards for strategic deliverables and provides guidance to team members to ensure consistency and excellence.
• →Leads development of executive-ready materials that support decision-making, alignment, and organizational action.

Change Management & Organizational Transformation

• →Develops and implements change management strategies, including stakeholder engagement plans, communications strategies, change impact assessments, and adoption roadmaps.
• →Designs governance frameworks, operating models, and implementation approaches that support successful transformation efforts.
• →Facilitates cross-functional working sessions that drive alignment, accelerate decision-making, and address organizational resistance.
• →Establishes feedback mechanisms and performance measures that support continuous improvement and long-term success.
• →Monitors progress, evaluates outcomes, and refines approaches based on stakeholder feedback and organizational needs.

Research, Insight Development & Systems Thinking

• →Leads mixed-method research efforts, including stakeholder interviews, contextual inquiry, observations, journey mapping, ecosystem analysis, and systems mapping activities.
• →Synthesizes qualitative and quantitative findings into actionable insights, opportunity areas, strategic recommendations, and design directions.
• →Applies systems thinking to identify patterns, dependencies, root causes, and opportunities across complex organizational environments.
• →Translates technical, operational, and policy-focused challenges into human-centered insights and strategic considerations.
• →Guides research activities that inform organizational transformation, service design, experience design, and strategic planning efforts.

Workshop Facilitation & Stakeholder Alignment

• →Designs and facilitates workshops, design sprints, stakeholder engagements, and co-creation activities that advance strategic objectives and drive organizational alignment.
• →Develops facilitation approaches, agendas, exercises, and collaborative experiences that enable productive dialogue and structured problem-solving.
• →Synthesizes workshop outputs into actionable findings, recommendations, and implementation considerations.
• →Helps stakeholders navigate competing priorities, organizational complexity, and change initiatives through structured facilitation and engagement.
• →Guides teams in applying human-centered design methods throughout project lifecycles.

Team Development & Leadership

• →Mentors teammates through coaching, knowledge sharing, and constructive feedback.
• →Models LINK values and contributes to a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performing team culture.
• →Shares tools, approaches, and lessons learned that improve the quality and consistency of work across engagements.

Client & Program Leadership

• →Serve as the primary point of accountability for contract performance, client satisfaction, financial health, and delivery success.
• →Maintain strong client relationships and serve as a trusted advisor to client stakeholders.
• →Collaborate with clients to understand challenges, define priorities, manage expectations, and identify opportunities to create additional value.
• →Lead strategic planning activities and establish program priorities, objectives, and delivery approaches.
• →Identify opportunities to extend existing work and support business development efforts within client organizations.

Team Leadership & Coordination

• →Establish delivery priorities and provide direction to project teams in support of contract objectives.
• →Oversee onboarding, offboarding, and transition activities for project team members.
• →Provide coaching and feedback focused on delivery excellence, client satisfaction, and team effectiveness.
• →Coordinate with Competency Managers and contribute project performance observations and feedback to support employee development and performance management processes.

Delivery & Operational Excellence

• →Oversee program budgets, team utilization, schedules, staffing plans, risks, subcontractor performance, and deliverable quality.
• →Establish and maintain project management processes, Agile cadences, reporting mechanisms, and communication rhythms to ensure effective delegation of tasks, workload management, and on-time delivery.
• →Ensure successful execution of contractual requirements, deliverables, reporting obligations, and period of performance requirements.
• →Monitor program health and proactively identify risks, issues, and opportunities requiring leadership attention.
• →Coordinate invoicing, reporting, travel, security, and operational activities necessary to support successful contract execution.
• →Document and share lessons learned, best practices, and operational improvements that strengthen delivery effectiveness.

• Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Communication, English, Business, or a related field
• 10+ years of experience in strategic communication, public affairs, program management, or strategy development
• 7+ years program/project management experience including familiarity with Agile methodologies and project delivery best practices
• Excellent organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, maintaining a strong focus on accuracy and attention to detail
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate in a clear, approachable, and knowledgeable manner
• Government contracting experience
• PMP certification preferred
• Security clearance as required by contracts
• Experience with human-centered design and design thinking principles
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously

• Occasional onsite presence may be required for client meetings, presentations, or working sessions. This could include local or national travel, depending on the locations of the employee and client.
• Full time, 40 hours per week
• Some travel required to attend relevant events and conferences, and participate in LINK team events