Strategic Communications Specialist

Systems Planning and Analysis, Inc. (SPA) delivers high-impact, technical solutions to complex national security issues. With over 50 years of business expertise and consistent growth, we are known for continuous innovation for our government customers, in both the US and abroad. Our exceptionally talented team is highly collaborative in spirit and practice, producing Results that Matter. Come work with the best! We offer opportunity, unique challenges, and clear-sighted commitment to the mission. SPA: Objective. Responsive. Trusted.

The Joint, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Interagency Division provides expert support services to a range of customers spanning across the Department of Defense, Federal Civilian, and international markets. JOID provides a diverse portfolio of analytical and programmatic capabilities to help our customers make informed decisions on their most challenging issues.

SPA provides critical decision support to enabling and executing a strategy of technological superiority and enabling the delivery and sustainment of secure, resilient, and preeminent capabilities to the warfighter quickly and cost effectively. Our team of experienced military, technical, and operations research analysts is skilled in evaluating military problems, identifying the driving factors, devising innovative approaches, collecting applicable data, developing necessary software tools, and performing thorough and timely assessments to inform technology and acquisition governance decisions to ensure U.S. military forces retain military superiority in the future.

We have an immediate need for a Strategic Communications Specialist to provide onsite support out of Arlington, VA.

The candidate will support the development and management of new programs in the DARPA Biological Technologies Office in strategic communication. Will engage with the research and development community to organize meetings, develop briefings to technical and non-technical audiences, and interact with multiple internal and external personnel with excellent communication, project management, and organizational skills on a daily basis. Will directly support the Program Manager in the Biological Technologies Office (BTO) Front Office and provide strategic communications, content development, and social media strategy for administrative staff, and ensure comprehensive and seamless technical and administrative support to BTO leadership.

Required:

• Bachelor's degree and 5+ years of experience in causal modeling or other fields of data science.
• Active TS/SCI clearance.
• Experience in U.S. foreign policy, messaging campaigns, and data-driven program evaluation.
• Experience in statistics or another core quantitative method, and be capable of reviewing and assessing proposed concepts for scientific and technical merit.
• Strong technical writing skills, ability to communicate complex scientific ideas to broad audiences, digest basic and applied research across areas of data science, computational social science, behavioral economics, sociology/anthropology, communication theory, and marketing, and demonstrate a willingness to explore the scientific literature for emerging technologies and innovations.
• Outstanding organization, communication, coordination, and time management skills.
• Able to work within a multi-disciplinary team and handle a wide variety of tasks, including briefing support, program management, and general administrative actions.
• Able to work fully onsite based on client needs.