Strategist

Job Title: Strategist

• Job Title: Strategist
• Clearance: DoD Secret or higher

Position Overview

Serve as a Strategist that will lead workstreams and help drive the human-centered design, research, and execution efforts in our Hana Defense Solutions (HDS) business unit under the Native Hawaiian nonprofit corporation, The Hana Group. From strategic vision to tactical implementation, we deliver adaptable, mission-centered, solutions that help government and defense clients achieve lasting impact. Our team supports the mission-critical efforts of the Department of War (DoW) and federal clients utilizing human-centered design, technology and co-development. As a Strategist, you must have the skills, passion, and motivation for solving wicked and complex problems that the DoW faces by getting to the root cause. You will work closely with senior leadership, stakeholders, and cross-functional team members. Your key roles will be driving research, design frameworks, processes, and communications on different initiatives across several multi-functional teams.

Primary Responsibilities

• Develop products within client workstreams that meet DoW standards and security requirements using human-centered design methods
• Support the development and execution of strategic plans, frameworks, and recommendations that align with client and mission objectives
• Conduct qualitative and quantitative research to understand operational challenges, identify opportunities, and inform decision-making
• Work closely with Hana SMEs and clients SME to ingest information of a technical nature for use on client products
• Synthesize complex data and insights into clear narratives, reports, and visual frameworks for leadership and client stakeholders using human-centered
• Contribute to the design and facilitation of workshops, design sprints, and strategic planning sessions
• Collaborate cross-functionally with various team members including account leaders, designers, developers and other necessary colleagues
• Regularly attend in-person customer meetings on a weekly or bi-weekly basis as required
• Assist in maintaining design systems, style guides and design standards
• Document lessons learned, frameworks, and methodologies for reuse and knowledge sharing within the organization
• Assist in preparing client briefs, progress reports, and leadership summaries
• Track action items, milestones, and dependencies to ensure timeline completion and escalation when needed

What Sets You Apart

• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate and engage a variety of stakeholders at different levels
• Experience supporting strategic planning initiatives within the government or defense space
• Understanding of Adobe Creative Suite and other design tools
• Values-driven leader with integrity and a strong moral compass
• Ability to think strategically while executing tactically and comfort in switching between high-level plans and hands-on delivery
• Ability to work across cross-functional teams
• Knowledge of government contracting, performance management, and budget execution
• Familiarity with tools like Jira, Confluence and Figma
• Strong grasp of what to deliver to a client, and when to do so. We don't take orders for products; we generate what the client needs to meet the goal.

Requirements

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Strategy, Business, Communications, or related field
• Preferable 6+ years' experience working on DoW contracts in problem solving and strategy roles
• Familiarity with DoW operations, regulation and structure
• Proven ability to analyze complex problems and present structured, evidence-based recommendations
• Experience with human-centered design methods and frameworks
• Adaptable to client work environments - possess the ability to 'read the room' and adjust for results
• Ability to support the full project lifecycle, from the beginning to implementation and adoption
• Must be a U.S. citizen and possess a DoD Secret, or higher, security clearance

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience on small, high-accountability teams
• Exposure to change management fundamentals (e.g., stakeholder engagement plans, change impact assessments, adoption roadmaps)
• Experience with visual storytelling or content mapping (e.g., wireframes, content hierarchies) in partnership with a design team
• Experience planning or supporting the facilitation of workshops and working sessions
• Familiarity with Agile approaches (stand-ups, sprint planning, retrospectives)

Benefits

• Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for qualified Health, Dependent Care, and Transportation expenses
• Hana-owned MacBook Pro
• Flexible PTO
• Paid Federal Holidays
• Short term disability insurance
• 401k

Work Schedule

• Full time, 40 hours per week
• Remote with periodic on-site presence at client locations in DC Metro as needed (2-3 days/week for some positions)

HTS is an EOE/M/F/D/V/H