Career Center

The Head of Strategic Communications (Research Communications Analyst) for the National Security Research Division (NSRD) is a part of the Research Communications Group in the Office of External Affairs (OEA), which helps raise the profile and impact of RAND's research and analysis. NSRD’s Lead Research Communications Analyst (RCA) is a strategic communications expert who will partner directly with division leaders and OEA colleagues to coordinate internal and external outreach to help achieve NSRD’s impact and business goals.

This communications leader will provide counsel to the division leadership team at the intersection of NSRD’s research agenda, operations, and strategic goals. The role involves developing and managing processes to help NSRD maintain agile communications workflows supporting internal and external communications, helping to manage external client communications and relationships, and collaborating with partners in other divisions, and RAND Corp. leadership.

As a key member of the division’s leadership team, this role’s responsibilities include:

• Providing strategic and tactical communications counsel to division leadership by maintaining awareness of relevant matters, e.g., division research projects and agendas, external events, the work of other RAND divisions, and RAND corporate priorities.

• Tracking the policy impact of NSRD research

• Advising division and center leadership on external and internal communications relevant to client/sponsor and staff meetings, executive communications, division reviews, board reports, digital and social media, classified products, business planning, and other communications

• Collaborating with internal RAND partners including those within OEA on the publication process and outreach.

• Overseeing development of a range of division-level products, including communications to RAND leadership and the Board of Trustees, contractual deliverables, internal briefings and communications to staff, briefings and communications to external sponsors and policy stakeholders, and other products. As needed, delegating and overseeing execution of products by other RCAs to ensure successful completion.

About RCAs: RCAs apply critical thinking and analytical skills to help researchers and RAND leaders present complex ideas and materials via clear, crisp, and compelling communications. These positions utilize excellent audience analysis, writing, editing, visual, and other skills to shape prose, speech, and images into polished presentations or documents that help inform policy and decisionmaking. 

About NSRD: To learn more about NSRD, please visit https://www.rand.org/nsrd.html

Qualifications

Required attributes for this position:

• Ability to develop organizational systems that support the division’s business and policy-impact goals through strategic communications, as well ability to manage and execute supporting tactics in close consultation with division leadership

• Superior writing and editing skills displayed across varied forms, media, and formats, especially in public policy or related work, and ability to discern and write in the voice of division leadership

• A firm grasp of the challenges and opportunities of communicating in the various channels available today, including Web-based, interactive, and social media, as well as traditional formats

• Demonstrated skill in analyzing challenging or complex situations, often under tight deadlines, to develop and execute communications plans with a range of tactics

• A great ear and eye in creating, editing, or improving briefings and visual materials (charts, graphs, PowerPoint presentations, informational graphics) and the ability to distill complex research into short, compelling narratives

• Demonstrated advanced knowledge with tools in the Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel and PowerPoint) or their equivalents.

• Excellent project management skills and the ability to navigate organizational complexities to ensure projects meet agreed-upon deadlines at high levels of quality

• The ability to formulate plans and strategies for an intranet site, including working knowledge of information architecture and content strategy

• Flexibility, ingenuity, creativity, and a willingness to learn and adapt to rapidly changing circumstances

• Capacity to exercise editorial judgment, self-direction, and independence on multiple projects; also, the ability to work well with and within teams

Education Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required in English, communications, public policy, or another field with a strong communications component. An advanced degree is preferred.

Experience

Minimum of 9 years of related experience is required. Previous experience and/or familiarity with the Department of Defense and/or Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) is preferred.

Work Samples

Candidates must submit two examples of their written work that reflect either their strategic communications capabilities, or their ability to create products that support a communication strategy.

For each of the two examples, candidates should submit a version that reflects solely their own work product (e.g., a draft version of the example), plus a finished version of the example that can reflect intellectual contributions from others (e.g., a final, edited product).

Security Clearance 

The ability to obtain and maintain a United States government security clearance, is required for this position, which requires U.S. citizenship.  Candidates with an active security clearance are preferred.

Location 

This position will be located at one of RAND's offices, Washington, DC, Pittsburgh, Santa Monica, or Boston, and will include the flexibility of a hybrid environment.

Equal Opportunity Employer: race/color/religion/sex/sexual orientation/gender identity/national origin/disability/vet