Strategist; Team Lead at LINK in Washington, DC

Location: We are actively hiring in the Washington DC 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.

About the Opportunity:

The Strategist; Team Lead oversees a cross-functional team of strategists, design strategists, and designers to ensure the delivery of high-quality, on-time products that meet program objectives. This role partners directly with clients to understand their unique challenges, then guides the team in co-creating strategic, impactful, and innovative solutions. All efforts are aligned to the program’s scope of work and are coordinated closely with the Program Manager to support program goals, priorities and requirements.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience
• 10+ years of experience in strategic communications, public affairs, change management, or consulting
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Experience in applying Human Centered Design principles and visual storytelling through various media
• Experience leading teams to produce design and data driven work
• Experience creating summaries/insight reports to capture findings
• Experience in planning, facilitating, and summarizing strategic efforts
• Strong organization and time management skills
• Security clearance as required by contracts
• Government contracting experience specifically within the DOD/DOW

Responsibilities:

Strategist responsibilities include:

Client Partnership & Strategic Advisory

• Partner directly with clients to define missions, visions, strategic goals, and measurable KPIs/OKRs aligned to enterprise priorities.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leaders by framing complex challenges, conducting current-state assessments, and translating ambiguity into actionable roadmaps.
• Lead strategic planning efforts, including facilitation of executive workshops, scenario planning, and initiative prioritization.
• Conduct primary and secondary research, stakeholder interviews, and benchmarking to inform data-driven recommendations.
• Identify opportunities to create tangible business value and convert emerging needs into expanded engagements.
• Oversee multiple client engagements, ensuring strategic alignment, clarity of scope, and measurable impact across projects.

Communication Strategy, Storytelling & Execution

• Translate complex ideas into compelling strategic narratives, executive-level presentations, and integrated communication strategies.
• Develop messaging frameworks that align leadership vision with enterprise-wide execution.
• Design content structures, hierarchies, and visual concepts (e.g., content maps, wireframes) in collaboration with creative teams to clearly communicate complex information.
• Elevate content quality and thought leadership standards across deliverables.
• Manage cross-functional project teams, ensuring timely delivery, operational discipline, and financial accountability.

Change Management & Organizational Transformation

• Develop and implement change management strategies, including stakeholder engagement plans, change impact assessments, and adoption roadmaps.
• Design governance frameworks and operating models that sustain transformation outcomes.
• Facilitate cross-functional working sessions to drive alignment, manage resistance, and accelerate decision-making.
• Establish feedback loops and performance tracking mechanisms to monitor progress and refine strategy iteratively.

Team Lead responsibilities include:

Project Leadership and Client Delivery

• Lead project execution across multiple workstreams, ensuring milestones, timelines, and deliverables are met.
• Directly engage with clients to understand challenges, co-create solutions, and translate ideas into campaigns, strategies, and visual stories.
• Design and facilitate workshops, meetings, and research activities to gather content and co-create solutions with clients.
• Support Agile operations, including planning sessions, stand-ups, retrospectives, and sprint tracking.
• Ensure high-quality project outputs, including infographics, charts, diagrams, presentations, and other visual products.
• Partner with the Program Manager to identify strategic opportunities, flag risks, and track Period of Performance deadlines.
• Manage brand consistency across all deliverables.

Team Leadership & Operations

• Provide day-to-day supervision, mentoring, and coaching to project teams, including designers, strategists, and information designers.
• Oversee team onboarding, integration, workload allocation, and resource coordination.
• Communicate assignments, time commitments, and priorities based on project scope and budget.
• Delegate work effectively, ensuring products align with program objectives.
• Lead team meetings and check-ins, track progress, and escalate risks to the Deputy Program Manager or Program Manager as needed.
• Coordinate travel and logistical planning in partnership with the PM.

Process, Quality & Deliverables Management

• Implement project-specific processes, delivery methodologies, and process improvements to enhance efficiency and quality.
• Apply human-centered design, design thinking, and consulting principles throughout research, synthesis, and execution.
• Monitor deliverable quality through structured review and feedback loops.
• Document lessons learned and best practices to support organizational knowledge sharing.
• Ensure timely delivery of all project outputs in accordance with client contracts and Period of Performance requirements.

Key Relationships

• Organizational Reporting: Reports to Competency Manager for administrative, HR, and career development matters
• Program Manager: Directly reports to PM who provides day-to-day supervision
• Key Collaborations: Competency Managers, Business Development Lead, Deputy Program Manager, Program Manager
• External: Government clients and stakeholders

Work Schedule:

• Hybrid, 2–3 days a week working onsite with the 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 $86,000-$116,000, 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