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Director, Strategy; Competency Manager

United States

Who We Are: LINK is a fast-growing Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB) that leverages human-centered design to support strategy, innovation, communication, change, and branding within the federal government and adjacent industry partners. At LINK, we partner with engineers, futurists, and thought leaders to untangle complexity, discover opportunity, and communicate clearly with visual stories. 

Let us be your partners in change.

About the Opportunity:

As the Director, Strategy; Competency Manager, you will lead and inspire a high-performing team of Strategists to deliver innovative, human-centered solutions across a diverse client portfolio. 

As the Strategy Competency Manager, you will lead and inspire a high-performing team of Strategists to deliver innovative, human-centered solutions across a diverse client portfolio. You will help steer the vision for the strategy competency by shaping frameworks, tools, and thought leadership, while supporting recruitment efforts to build a values-driven, high-performing team.

In your role as Competency Manager, you will coach, mentor, and manage Strategists—fostering a collaborative culture and developing talent that excels at crafting compelling narratives and translating strategic insights into impactful design solutions aligned with client goals. While your client engagement will be primarily indirect, you will play a critical role in supporting teams as they identify challenges and deliver strategic outcomes.

Qualifications: 

  • 15+ years of professional experience in strategic communications, program management, consulting, or a related field, with demonstrated success leading, managing, and developing high-performing teams.
  • Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Communication, English, or a related field
  • Proven people-management experience, including performance management, coaching, employee relations, and supporting professional growth and development.
  • Demonstrated experience operating within program-managed, contract-driven environments, supporting compliance, delivery rigor, and operational accountability across complex client engagements.
  • Demonstrated ability to build inclusive, collaborative team cultures aligned with organizational values and growth objectives.
  • Demonstrated success recruiting, hiring, and retaining top-tier, diverse talent while delivering a high-quality, inclusive candidate experience.
  • Experience with workforce planning, staffing models, and anticipating future talent needs in alignment with business strategy.
  • Strong consulting and client engagement experience, with the ability to navigate ambiguity and provide strategic guidance that brings clarity to goals, requirements, and outcomes—particularly in complex or high-visibility engagements.
  • Strong creative design and execution skills to achieve customer objectives through design
  • Interest in visual storytelling, including data visualization and conceptualizing abstract ideas
  • Proven ability to develop tools, frameworks, and best practices that drive quality, consistency, and operational excellence across programs and projects.
  • Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate in a clear, approachable, and knowledgeable manner

Responsibilities:

Team Leadership & Development

  • Lead and develop a high-performing strategy team.
  • Manage employee relations and address workplace concerns in a fair and consistent manner.
  • Oversee performance management, including goal setting, constructive feedback, coaching, and performance evaluations.
  • Support professional development and growth opportunities for your team.
  • Foster a collaborative, inclusive culture aligned with LINK’s values and growth goals.
  • Help facilitate onboarding for new team members, with a focus on aligning them to established competency frameworks and ensuring a smooth integration into project teams and workflows.
  • Set clear goals and expectations; support team member’s development based on individual strengths.
  • Manage successful implementation of and ROI on our Learning and Development program for all strategists.

Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning

  • Recruit top-tier, diverse talent while ensuring a high-quality, inclusive candidate experience.
  • Design and implement effective staffing models and workforce planning strategies aligned with business needs.
  • Define talent profiles and establish clear, documented career pathways to support employee development and growth.
  • Anticipate future talent needs and proactively build a strong, strategic hiring pipeline.
  • Contribute to the refinement of hiring processes to support scalability and organizational effectiveness.
  • Cultivate and maintain strong internal and external partnerships to identify talent opportunities and support business objectives.

Competency Management

  • Identify skill gaps across the competency and implement learning opportunities such as training, mentorship, and stretch assignments.
  • Stay current on tools, frameworks, and methodologies to upskill the team.
  • Promote knowledge sharing and collective team growth.
  • Lean into new challenges where LINK does not have a depth of experience to help build out internal capabilities, skills, personnel, etc.

Client Engagement & Program Management

  • Provide strategic support to project teams on an ad hoc basis.
  • Guide best practices in consulting, program management, and client engagement.
  • Help develop tools and frameworks to ensure quality, consistency, and operational excellence across projects.
  • Support new business opportunities by helping teams navigate complex client needs and high-visibility projects.
  • Navigate ambiguity comfortably and lead teams to clarity around requirements.

Work Schedule:

  • Full time, 40 hours per week
  • Some travel required to attend relevant events and conferences, and participate in LINK team events

Salary: We're committed to offering competitive compensation. While the salary range for this position is $135,591-$195,118, your final offer may be adjusted based on factors like experience and location.

Benefits:

  • $100 monthly internet/cell phone stipend
  • LINK sponsored healthcare benefits including medical, dental, vision
  • Company-paid Short Term Disability Insurance
  • 401K with employer contribution of up to 4%
  • 11 Federal Holidays per year 
  • 15 days of Paid Time Off (PTO) per year 
  • Paid Holiday Time Off (Christmas Eve through the New Year) 
  • Annual bonus plan participation
  • Annual profit sharing participation
  • $2,000 Learning and Development program reimbursement
  • Technology package that includes a LINK-owned MacBook Pro, monitor, mouse and keyboard

EOE

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