Communications Lead, Department of Education

Description Manhattan Strategy Group (MSG), a rapidly growing management and social sciences consulting firm based in Bethesda, MD, is seeking a communications expert with strong project management skills for a newly awarded contract to support the U.S. Department of Education. MSG provides consulting services across the federal government in the areas of 1) Research & Evaluation, 2) Marketing & Communications, 3) Information Technology, 4) Training & Technical Assistance, and 5) Program Management. Our federal clients include the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, Treasury, and the National Science Foundation. We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced professional to join our team as the Communications Lead to support a contract focused on education statistics. The successful candidate will play a crucial role in supporting and enhancing the execution of a large-scale complex project intended to increase awareness of education data. As Task Lead, you will work closely with the Project Director, Deputy Project Director, Project Manager, and cross-functional teams to ensure deliverables are on time, within scope, and in compliance with contractual requirements. The successful candidate will possess strong technical skills in education data along with expertise in plain language writing for a variety of audiences using different communications platforms. Job Responsibilities/Duties: Lead the planning, development, delivery, and evaluation of client projects and task areas, such as content creation, stakeholder outreach, digital and social media, crisis communications, presentations, branding, reporting, public relations, and others. Plan, develop, edit, and review content (e.g., messaging and visual elements) for materials, reports, and publications (e.g., brochures, fact sheets, blogs, infographics, presentations, and videos). Deliver excellent client service, including attending promptly to requests, providing regular updates and progress reports, providing input on solutions for issues that may arise, and ensuring all work performed is strategic, creative, accurate, and error-free. Demonstrate strategic thinking and planning, including anticipating future trends and needs, seeing the big picture, articulating a clear path forward, and creating plans that work. Ensure adherence to usability, accessibility, branding, style guide, and technical standards, as well as federal plain language guidelines. Maintain timely and thorough understanding and awareness of key issues relating to the education landscape and ensure transfer of that knowledge to clients and staff. Manage day-to-day communications effectively with clients and staff. Provide guidance and support to staff and foster a collaborative and high-performance work environment. Qualifications: Minimum 8 years of experience in strategic communications with a focus on technical and plain language writing for different target audiences on multiple platforms. Bachelor's degree in communications, social sciences, marketing, journalism, or related field. A master's degree is a plus. Understanding of education trends. Outstanding oral, writing, editing, and interpersonal skills. Excellent attention to detail and strong organizational skills with problem-solving, decision-making, and multi-tasking abilities. Demonstrated ability to think creatively and critically to advance client projects and develop strong, trusted relationships with clients. Proven ability to meet tight deadlines, work in a fast-paced environment, and see a project through to completion. Proficiency in Microsoft Suite, wire services, media monitoring software, and other public relations tools. Demonstrated success with social media tools such as X, Threads, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, and others. Ability to travel for work and obtain security clearances, as required. EEO STATEMENT Manhattan Strategy Group is an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected status. J-18808-Ljbffr