Public Affairs Program Specialist – (contingent 034)

SPS - Systems Products Solutions, Inc.; Huntsville (AL); On-site; USD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

SPS - Systems Products Solutions, Inc. is seeking a Public Affairs Program Specialist to develop and implement strategic messaging and outreach to Congressional and industry stakeholders. The ideal candidate will have a Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field and at least five years of experience in legislative or government affairs.

This role requires strong project management and relationship-building skills, as well as proficiency in Microsoft Office and familiarity with legislative tracking software. A Top Secret clearance is also required.

Qualifications

• Minimum five (5) years of work experience in State or Federal legislative office, government affairs or corporate affairs offices.
• Must be proficient in Microsoft Office, especially Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Experience acting as a legislative and political subject matter expert.

Responsibilities

• Assist in the development of strategic messaging for outreach to Congress and industry stakeholders.
• Manage resources on public policy-related initiatives.
• Deliver results in developing legislative advocacy programs.
• Oversee administrative congressional actions within the organization.
• Track and monitor relevant Congressional hearings for analysis and impact.

Skills

Project Management

Relationship Building

Organizational Skills

Coalition-Building Skills

Communications

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Public Policy, Public Administration, Political Science, Communications, Business or related field

Tools

Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

Legislative Tracking Software

Job description

Job Title

Public Affairs Program Specialist – (contingent 034)

Description

Assist in the development of strategic messaging and narrative that will inform internal and external outreach, including Congressional and industry stakeholders. A Top Secret clearance is required.

Responsibilities

• Experience in project management, relationship building, organizational, and coalition-building skills, including demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects concurrently.
• Experience managing resources on legislative or public policy-related initiatives. Eagerness to understand and explain complex technical concepts and their policy implications.
• A track record of delivering results in developing and implementing legislative advocacy programs.
• Familiarity with proprietary legislative tracking software is also desired.
• Must be able to manage and track administrative congressional actions within organization, by overseeing the submission, review, and approval process of taskers, ensuring they are properly routed, documented, and completed in a timely manner; often utilizing specialized software systems to maintain accurate records and provide timely updates to senior leadership.
• Assist in the development of strategic messaging and narrative that will inform internal and external outreach, to include to Congressional and industry stakeholders.
• Develop an annual strategy for improving and maintaining strong relationships with Congress, and for resolving issues in a legal and ethical manner; includes objectives, messaging, tools/tactics and proposed visits/Soldier Touch Points of Congressional interest.
• Maintain an active list of all members and staffers who have equities in CPE IEW&S portfolio.
• Assess congressional actions, report conclusions, and make recommendations to the Director of Strategic Communications on issues.
• Support – through the Director of Strategic Communications – the development of responses to Congressional reports and requests for information.
• Track mark and budget trends across multiple years for historical perspective; coordinate through Director of Strategic Communications to support the development of impact statements and issue papers.
• Coordinate event planning and logistics for all high visibility Congressional Member and Professional Staff Member visits by scheduling coordination and prep meetings, creating agendas, arranging transportation, providing meal plans, and administrative and protocol support, provide audio visual support, print briefing packages
• Monitor and track all relevant Congressional hearings and provide analysis and assessment of impacts to the portfolio, including recommendations for engagements.
• Develop and support Congressional engagement training, in coordination with Strategic Communications Directorate, for CPE and PM leadership.
• Develop, manage and execute an industry engagement strategy, to include tracking impacts of budget on relevant vendors within the portfolio, one‑on‑one vendor meetings in coordination with the Chief of Engineering, and industry engagements during external events such as conferences.
• Develop and create strategic briefings for members of Congress, Congressional staff, and senior leaders.
• Monitor and track relevant high visibility Army Senior Leader speaking engagements inside the Beltway for strategic messaging and alignment.
• Research, identify, and propose strategic speaking engagements associated with Think Tanks; to include supporting the planning and execution.
• Support the planning and execution of all state and local government distinguished visitors engagements in support of the mission.

Education / Experience

• Bachelors Degree - Public Policy, Public Administration, Political Science, Communications, Business or related field with a minimum five (5) years of work experience in State or Federal legislative office, government affairs or corporate affairs offices.
• Substitutions: Military experience supporting legislative affairs work.
• Experience acting as a legislative and political subject matter expert.
• Must be proficient in Microsoft Office, especially Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.