Strategic Outreach and Communications Specialist

Cayuse Holdings•Washington, DC

12d•$38 - $63•Onsite

About The Position

The Strategic Outreach and Communications Specialist support the design, implementation, and execution of outreach and communication initiatives for internal and external stakeholders. The position plays a critical role in advancing organizational objectives by coordinating strategic messaging, ensuring consistent branding, and driving engagement across a wide spectrum of audiences, including public and private sectors, think tanks, and client stakeholders. This position aligns with Cayuse’s core values of Innovation, Excellence, Collaboration, Adaptability, and Integrity by fostering technical solutions that meet customer needs, promoting teamwork, and prioritizing quality in deliverables.

Requirements

Have experience with US foreign affairs/policy, especially related to foreign assistance.
Have familiarity with the Department of State policies, procedures and mission.
Have experience in public communications and/outreach activities.
Secret Clerance is required.
Must be able to pass a background check. May require additional background checks as required by projects and/or clients at any time during employment.
Exceptional interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate in a clear, professional, and articulate manner.
Excellent organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills with high-level attention to detail.
Proven ability to multitask and prioritize in a fast past environment with changing priorities; adaptable to change and a quick learner.
Must be self-motivated and able to work well independently as well as on a multi-functional team.
Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information appropriately
Proficient in MS Office, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Excel.

Responsibilities

Support the development of outreach efforts from an internal and external perspective.
Assist in identifying current gaps and proposing a scalable system for internal and external outreach. Surge on communications content needs for key target audiences in the think tank, university, and validator spaces.
Advise on, design, and help implement F’s strategic communications strategies.
Work across audiences (private sector, think tanks, public, Congress, etc.); track tasks and maintain core docs in knowledge-management systems.
Lead events for the F Under Secretariat bureaus and offices
Plan and execute events for F bureaus and offices with a focus on delivering clear, timely, and logistics. Field requests across the F family related outreach programming and maintain a proactive posture.
Convey consistent branding and guidance across bureaus.
Apply current Department branding standards to all events and products. Serve as a go-to resource for branding consistency during planning.
Support packages for an NGO/think tank/university/validator audience.
Maintain and update expert communications packages to ensure message consistency across State, interagency, media, Congress, academia, civil society, and private sector.
Coordinate cross-Department messaging on policy priority areas.
Curate and manage a living database of think tanks, university, and validator contacts, available for both internal briefings and external engagement.
Maintain a forward-looking outreach and events calendar
Track anticipated events and messaging opportunities.
Plan ahead to position events and outreach assets for agile messaging.
Advise on communications products from a strategic perspective.
Review all events through an outreach lens to ensure strategic clarity, alignment, and relevance bureau and office equities.
Monitor and report on outreach and event performance
Evaluate engagement with content and offer actionable insights on audience reach, effectiveness, and opportunities for improvement.
Strengthen cross-bureau information flow and coordination
Build internal relationships to promote proactive sharing of updates and alignment on communications.
Remain adaptable to evolving priorities and legislative needs
Source, draft, edit, and review public affairs materials (speeches, talking points, press releases, media notes, social, web, marketing, other messaging) on a variety of foreign assistance topics.
Other Duties as Assigned
Performs other duties in support of program team activities, as needed.
Assists with administrative support of Front Office on temporary basis, as needed.