Independent Contractor Integrated Strategic Communication Jobs in Reston, VA

N4 Solutions, LLC offers our public and private sector clients the collective intellectual knowledge, expertise, and experience of our company and associates to help our customers evaluate, collaborate, innovate, and create business, technology, and scientific solutions that enable them to accomplish their mission and achieve organizational objectives. With the growth of the company, we are seeking a highly motivated, organized, and people-focused communications professional to join our team on a part-time basis. The successful candidate will work in a high-paced and rewarding work environment.
JOB DESCRIPTION/DUTIES:
The Strategic Communication Specialist will provide senior-level strategic communications, marketing, digital outreach, stakeholder engagement, and content development support for Federal research and technology programs. The position will develop and execute integrated communications and outreach strategies that promote agency initiatives, strengthen brand awareness, expand readership and stakeholder engagement, and translate complex technical or policy information into accessible, compelling content for diverse audiences. The role combines strategic planning with hands-on content creation, digital marketing, campaign management, market research, analytics, and event outreach support.
Strategic Communications Planning & Campaign Management
•Develop, implement, and evaluate comprehensive strategic communications, marketing, and outreach plans supporting agency programs, initiatives, publications, and campaigns.
•Develop communication objectives, key messages, tactics, audience-engagement approaches, schedules, and performance measures.
•Manage multiple simultaneous communications and outreach initiatives across digital, print, social media, email, web, and event channels.
•Tailor messages, content, and communication approaches for distinct stakeholder groups and audience demographics.
•Recommend communication strategies, creative approaches, emerging practices, and communication methods that improve awareness and engagement.
•Coordinate implementation of communications plans with program leadership, technical subject matter experts, writers, editors, designers, web personnel, and other stakeholders.
•Monitor campaign implementation and recommend adjustments to improve communications effectiveness and audience response.
Stakeholder Outreach & Engagement
•Identify, analyze, and engage priority stakeholder groups to support agency communication and outreach objectives.
•Develop and maintain stakeholder engagement strategies and supporting outreach plans.
•Build and maintain relationships with external and internal stakeholders, including government organizations, industry partners, professional associations, researchers, businesses, and other communities of interest.
•Develop targeted communications and engagement activities that strengthen stakeholder awareness, participation, and support.
•Support internal communications and employee-engagement activities designed to improve awareness, alignment, and participation in agency initiatives.
•Coordinate stakeholder communications, outreach activities, and follow-up actions to ensure effective and timely engagement.
Digital Marketing, Social Media & Content Development
•Develop high-quality content for social media, websites, electronic newsletters, digital campaigns, marketing materials, and other communications channels.
•Write, edit, and refine communication products to ensure messages are accurate, engaging, audience appropriate, and consistent with agency branding and communication objectives.
•Develop and manage social media campaigns designed to increase awareness, engagement, readership, and subscriptions.
•Support development of web and electronic newsletter content and associated graphics.
•Coordinate with graphic designers, multimedia personnel, writers, editors, and web specialists to ensure cohesive integration of written and visual communications.
•Maintain a consistent and professional agency and publication presence across digital platforms.
•Support development of branded communication and marketing collateral for campaigns, publications, and outreach initiatives.
Magazine Marketing, Audience Development & Brand Support
•Lead or support marketing activities designed to expand readership and subscriptions for agency publications.
•Develop quarterly and recurring promotional campaigns supporting magazine issues, articles, special features, and related communications products.
•Coordinate with authors, editors, designers, and communications personnel to develop strategies for promoting publication content.
•Provide branding support and ensure communications products reflect established agency and publication brand requirements.
•Develop creative approaches to increase readership, subscriptions, web traffic, and stakeholder engagement.
•Support development and implementation of marketing and promotional materials for both digital and print distribution.
•Assist in strengthening and maintaining a cohesive brand presence across communications products and channels.
Market Research, Analytics & Performance Measurement
•Conduct market research, audience analysis, reader surveys, and stakeholder research to inform communications and outreach strategies.
•Analyze campaign, social media, web, email, readership, subscription, and other communication performance information.
•Establish and monitor performance measures and metrics to assess the effectiveness of communication and outreach activities.
•Interpret campaign results, audience behavior, survey results, and other data to identify trends and opportunities for improvement.
•Prepare reports, summaries, presentations, and recommendations based on communications and marketing analytics.
•Use data-informed insights to refine outreach strategies, improve audience targeting, and maximize campaign effectiveness.
Event, Conference & Outreach Support
•Provide communications, marketing, and outreach support for conferences, tradeshows, meetings, webinars, and other internal and external events.
•Develop event-specific messaging, promotional strategies, marketing collateral, digital content, and attendee-engagement approaches.
•Support event staffing and stakeholder-engagement activities as required.
•Coordinate with authors, speakers, technical staff, and program representatives to identify opportunities to feature agency research, publications, and initiatives.
•Develop innovative approaches to increase awareness, engagement, readership, subscriptions, or participation associated with outreach events.
•Support post-event communications and evaluation activities as needed.
Technical Translation & Communications Support
•Translate complex highway, transportation, scientific, technical, engineering, or policy information into clear and compelling communications for technical and nontechnical audiences.
•Collaborate with researchers, engineers, program managers, and subject matter experts to understand technical information and develop appropriate communications approaches.
•Synthesize technical material into web content, social media posts, newsletters, presentations, marketing materials, fact sheets, and other public-facing products.
•Maintain technical accuracy while adapting tone, terminology, and level of detail for different audiences and communication channels.
•Support development of strategic messaging and briefing materials for leadership and program stakeholders.
EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE/EXPERTISE REQUIREMENT:
•Bachelor's or Master's degree in Communications, Marketing, Public Relations, Journalism, or a closely related field.
•Minimum of 6-10 years of progressively responsible professional experience in strategic communications, digital marketing, public affairs, outreach, or a related discipline.
•Demonstrated experience developing and implementing integrated strategic communications, marketing, and stakeholder outreach plans.
•Demonstrated expertise developing social media or digital campaigns that increase engagement, subscriptions, readership, awareness, or other measurable outcomes.
•Experience developing communications for diverse audiences using multiple communication channels.
•Strong writing, editing, messaging, storytelling, and content-development skills.
•Demonstrated ability to translate complex technical, scientific, engineering, or policy information into understandable and compelling communications.
•Experience conducting market research, audience analysis, surveys, or communications performance assessments.
•Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret communication metrics, campaign results, survey data, and other performance information.
•Experience managing multiple communications projects, campaigns, and deliverables concurrently.
•Strong project management, organizational, interpersonal, oral communication, and written communication skills.
•Ability to collaborate effectively with leadership, subject matter experts, communications professionals, creative teams, and external stakeholders.
•Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
•Demonstrated proficiency with Microsoft Office or comparable productivity and presentation applications.
•Ability to meet customer site and program requirements.
•U.S. Citizenship is required
PREFERRED EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE/EXPERTISE:
•Experience supporting FHWA, the U.S. Department of Transportation, or another Federal agency.
•Experience working within a Federal communications, public affairs, research, science, engineering, or technology environment.
•Experience with transportation research, particularly highway or surface transportation programs, which FHWA identifies as highly preferred.
•Demonstrated experience increasing readership, subscriptions, stakeholder engagement, or digital audience growth for a publication, program, or organization.
•Experience developing communications and marketing strategies for technical or research publications.
•Experience coordinating quarterly or recurring publication marketing campaigns.
•Experience with social media strategy, digital marketing, electronic newsletters, website content, and multi-channel campaign management.
•Experience developing branded marketing and communications materials.
•Experience supporting conferences, tradeshows, webinars, and stakeholder outreach events.
•Experience developing communication performance measures, analytics reports, and recommendations for continuous improvement.
•Experience coordinating communications activities across multidisciplinary teams of writers, editors, designers, multimedia specialists, web personnel, and technical subject matter experts.
LOCATION:
Must be in local commuting distance to the DMV area, telework eligible.
The N4 Solutions Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy is to provide a fair and equal employment opportunity for all employees and job applicants regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability. N4 Solutions hires and promotes individuals solely on the basis of their qualifications and achievements for the job to be filled.