Senior Strategist or Design Strategist; Program Manager

Location: We are actively hiring in the Washington D.C. area. 

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.

Position Summary 

The Senior Design Strategist/Strategist serves as a trusted advisor to clients, partnering directly with senior leaders, engineers, and cross-functional teams to solve complex organizational and business challenges through strategic thinking, human-centered design, systems thinking, research, and consulting expertise.

This role leads significant portions of client engagements, translating organizational priorities, stakeholder perspectives, and research-driven insights into actionable strategies, strategic frameworks, compelling narratives, workshop outcomes, executive-level recommendations, and visual deliverables that help organizations align stakeholders, navigate complexity, and drive meaningful, measurable change. Through a combination of facilitation, structured problem solving, synthesis, storytelling, design leadership, and effective communication, the Senior Design Strategist/Strategist transforms ambiguity into clarity and develops strategies and experiences that advance client objectives.

The Senior Design Strategist/Strategist works across functions to shape strategic direction, guide the development of high-quality deliverables, and elevate the quality, rigor, and effectiveness of client engagements. In addition to client delivery responsibilities, this role contributes to the growth of the company's strategy practice through mentorship, knowledge sharing, performance feedback, participation in hiring and onboarding activities, and by strengthening strategic and design capabilities across the team.

The Program Manager (PM) is accountable for the overall success of assigned contracts and client engagements. The PM oversees program delivery, client relationships, financial performance, staffing coordination, risk management, and contract execution to ensure successful outcomes for both clients and LINK. Acting as a trusted advisor and consultant, the PM works closely with clients, project teams, and internal stakeholders to establish strategic direction, create business value, and deliver impactful solutions.

Key Responsibilities

Senior Strategist/Design Strategist responsibilities include:

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.

Program Manager responsibilities include:

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.

Required Qualifications

• 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

Work Schedule:

• 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

Salary: We're committed to offering competitive compensation. While the salary range for this position is $112,000-$151,000, 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