Associate Director, Strategy; Deputy Competency Manager

Responsibilities

• Talent Management & Employee Development
• Directly manage assigned employees within the competency.
• Conduct performance management activities, including coaching, feedback, development planning, performance reviews, and promotion recommendations.
• Support employee engagement, retention, career growth, and professional development.
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive culture aligned with LINK's values.
• Support onboarding and integration of new employees into the competency and broader organization.
• Address employee concerns, performance issues, and challenging personnel situations, escalating issues as appropriate.
• Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning
• Participate in recruiting activities, including interviewing, candidate evaluation, selection, and onboarding.
• Provide input on hiring needs, workforce planning, and capability gaps within the competency.
• Support development of talent pipelines and recruiting efforts aligned with competency growth needs.
• Build and maintain relationships with prospective talent and external communities that strengthen the competency talent pipeline.
• Contribute to role requirements, capability needs, and hiring criteria for competency-related positions.
• Competency Health & Growth
• Partner with the Competency Manager to maintain and improve competency standards, tools, frameworks, methodologies, and best practices.
• Contribute to competency development initiatives, including learning opportunities, mentorship, knowledge sharing, and capability-building efforts.
• Identify employee trends, development needs, and capability gaps within the competency and provide recommendations for improvement.
• Monitor emerging client needs, industry trends, and capability gaps and share insights with the Competency Manager.
• Support implementation of investments in hiring, development, tools, and capability-building initiatives that strengthen the competency.
• Leadership Partnership & Operations
• Partner with Project Team Leadership to support employee development, staffing discussions, and project success.
• Provide support to project teams on an ad hoc basis.
• Collaborate with the Competency Manager on employee concerns, competency priorities, and organizational needs.
• Escalate employee issues, risks, trends, and recommendations to the Competency Manager as appropriate.
• Represent the competency in meetings, discussions, and initiatives as delegated.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Communication, English, Business, Public Policy, or a related field.
• 12+ years of experience in strategic communications, consulting, organizational transformation, program management, strategy, or a related field.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance.
• Demonstrated people management experience, including performance management, coaching, employee relations, conflict resolution, and employee development.
• Experience recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and developing high-performing teams while fostering an inclusive and collaborative culture.
• Strong expertise in strategic planning, organizational transformation, communication strategy, stakeholder engagement, and executive advisory services.
• Demonstrated ability to navigate ambiguity, frame complex challenges, and develop actionable strategies that drive organizational outcomes.
• Proven ability to translate complex information into clear recommendations, compelling narratives, and executive-level decision-support products.
• Demonstrated experience applying strategic methodologies, frameworks, and best practices to improve organizational effectiveness and client outcomes.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor and develop strategists by providing technical guidance, constructive feedback, and coaching that strengthens strategic thinking and client delivery.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to build trusted relationships across clients, senior leaders, and cross-functional teams.
• Demonstrated ability to independently lead complex engagements while balancing multiple priorities, maintaining high-quality client service, and influencing executive decision-making.
• Approaches work with optimism, curiosity, sound judgment, and a collaborative mindset.

Pay & Benefits

Salary: We’re committed to providing competitive compensation, including locality adjustments based on the area. The base salary range for this position is $121,000 - $174,000. Your final offer will reflect your experience, qualifications, and geographic 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

EEO