Communications Specialist

Job Summary:
This position is located in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL). The position serves as a Public Diplomacy (PD) Officer for SRREJ, which engages in diverse responsibilities and handles complex issues. The PD Officer supports the SRREJ’s mission to advance the rights of members of marginalized racial and ethnic communities, including indigenous communities, and to combat racism, discrimination, and xenophobia through U.S. foreign affairs work by communicating this critical work throughout the Department, interagency, and to the general public. The PD Officer reports to the SRREJ Senior Advisor.

Responsibilites:

• Assist with the SRREJ PD and press portfolio and serve as a representative of the Senior Advisor and/or SRREJ in communicating to internal and external audiences the efforts and accomplishments of the SRREJ team.
• Provide support for certain aspects of the SRREJ portfolio, including the implementation of Executive Order 14091 Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities.
• Maintain an understanding of the major issues, current and long-term, which are being pursued by the office and possesses an ability to translate these complex issues into widely understood, plain language.
• Maintain liaison with relevant offices in DRL and other bureaus, including DRL/PPD, GPA and other press and PD offices, to ensure input and feedback are incorporated for the work related to the SRREJ portfolio tasked by S/ES, the Assistant Secretary, Deputy Assistant Secretaries, or Senior Advisors.
• Draft social media content, scenarios, building blocks, talking points, remarks, meeting notes and summaries, correspondence, and other communications in support of senior USG principals engaging on racial equity and justice issues.

Qualifications:

• Three or more years of experience working in the Department of State, preferably communications-related and/or human rights issues.
• Familiarity with the Department of State organizational structure, processes, and norms.
• Social media content development and platform management experience.
• Bachelor’s degree with coursework in communications or a related field.
• Ability to work under pressure with short deadlines.
• Strong writing and organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to distill complicated technical and policy issues.
• Ability to determine priorities without frequent guidance and to quickly learn and navigate complex organizational structures.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively with a wide variety of stakeholders, including policymakers, representatives of other governments, state and local officials, business executives, and non-governmental organization representatives.
• Ability to communicate clearly, succinctly, and persuasively and draft high-quality written materials in a large range of formats and under tight deadlines.
• Ability to quickly learn the organizational structure of the SRREJ team and other relevant Department offices and USG agencies.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a suitable security clearance and DoS badge.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: Up to $105,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Referral program
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Monday to Friday

Security clearance:

• Secret (Required)

Ability to Relocate:

• Washington, DC: Relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Washington, DC