Communications Lead / Project Manager (Contract)

Job Title:  Communications Lead / Project Manager
Location: Merrillville, IN (Some onsite presence required for key events)
Consultant Location: Chicago, IL or Northwest Indiana preferred; open to consultants in other locations willing to travel occasionally
Rate: Up to $80–$85/hour
Contract Length:  6/15 through 12/31/26
Extension: Strong possibility of extension
Employment Type: W-2 Only
Work Authorization: U.S. Citizens Only | No visa sponsorship available

Position Overview

We are seeking a highly organized and proactive Communications Lead to support a high-visibility Site Selection Initiative and partner closely with the public affairs team in developing and executing strategic communications and stakeholder engagement efforts.

This role will focus on planning, organizing, and driving communication activities related to community and stakeholder outreach, including neighborhood open forums, materials development, and engagement with public officials, planning bodies, key influencers, and local community members. The Communications Lead will help bring structure and momentum to a complex, evolving initiative by translating leadership direction and stakeholder relationships into a clear engagement plan and actionable communication outcomes.

The ideal candidate is a strong driver who can bring order to ambiguity, manage multiple moving pieces, and keep communication efforts organized and progressing toward defined goals. This person should be comfortable working in a fast-paced environment, coordinating events and materials, and supporting sensitive or high-visibility stakeholder conversations with professionalism and sound judgment.

Key Responsibilities

Communications Strategy & Planning

• Lead communication planning and execution in support of the Site Selection Initiative.
• Develop and maintain detailed communication work plans, timelines, deliverables, and stakeholder engagement schedules.
• Help organize communication activities, priorities, and follow-up actions to ensure leadership and public affairs teams are aligned and moving toward clear outcomes.
• Translate evolving stakeholder conversations into practical communication strategies and next steps.

Stakeholder & Community Engagement Support

• Plan and coordinate neighborhood open forums and related engagement activities.
• Support outreach and engagement efforts involving county commissioners, planning councils, community leaders, key influencers, and neighborhood stakeholders.
• Help prepare leadership and public affairs representatives for stakeholder meetings, public discussions, and community forums.
• Track engagement activities, stakeholder concerns, messaging needs, and action items to ensure continuity and follow-through.
• Support the overall communication approach for sensitive, visible, and community-facing interactions.

Messaging & Materials Development

• Develop, coordinate, and refine communication materials to support forums, stakeholder meetings, and engagement discussions.
• Prepare presentation materials, talking points, briefing documents, FAQs, summaries, and other communication tools needed to support outreach efforts.
• Ensure messaging is clear, consistent, audience-appropriate, and aligned with initiative goals.
• Work with internal teams to gather input, validate content, and keep materials current as conversations evolve.

Work Planning & Execution

• Serve as a driver of communication activities by bringing strong organization, follow-up, and accountability to the work.
• Coordinate across leadership, public affairs, and other internal stakeholders to keep communication workstreams moving forward.
• Identify gaps in planning, materials, and follow-through, and proactively recommend solutions.
• Help move stakeholder engagement from relationship-based conversations to more structured and outcome-oriented communication efforts.
• Manage multiple priorities and shifting timelines with minimal oversight.

Event & Onsite Support

• Provide onsite support for key events, public forums, and important stakeholder meetings as needed.
• Coordinate logistics, materials, and event support to ensure meetings and forums are well organized and professionally executed.
• Support occasional travel requirements tied to key initiative milestones or engagement events.

Day-to-Day Responsibilities

• Meet with public affairs and leadership stakeholders to align on outreach priorities, communication needs, and next steps.
• Build and manage communication work plans and stakeholder engagement trackers.
• Coordinate neighborhood open forums and support preparation for public-facing events.
• Draft and refine talking points, briefing materials, presentations, and outreach content.
• Track stakeholder interactions, concerns, action items, and messaging updates.
• Follow up with internal teams to gather information and keep deliverables moving.
• Support onsite events and key meetings when required.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in communications, public affairs, stakeholder engagement, community relations, or strategic communications .
• Proven experience supporting high-visibility initiatives involving external stakeholders, community engagement, or public-facing communications.
• Strong work planning, organization, and project coordination skills.
• Demonstrated ability to drive work forward, create structure, and move initiatives toward clear outcomes.
• Experience planning and coordinating forums, stakeholder meetings, public events, or community engagement activities.
• Strong writing and editing skills, with experience creating communication materials such as talking points, presentations, FAQs, summaries, and briefing documents.
• Excellent interpersonal and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to work effectively with senior leaders and support communication efforts in politically or publicly sensitive environments.
• Strong judgment, professionalism, and adaptability in evolving situations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting site selection , infrastructure , utility , economic development , or community-facing capital projects is strongly preferred.
• Experience working with public affairs teams, government stakeholders, planning councils, or community leaders is a plus.
• Familiarity with public meeting coordination, stakeholder mapping, and local engagement strategy development is preferred.
• Experience working in regulated, complex, or highly visible organizational environments is a plus.
• Local familiarity with Northwest Indiana or the broader Chicago / Indiana region is beneficial.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Public Relations, Public Affairs, Journalism, Marketing, Political Science, Business , or a related field preferred.

Core Competencies

• Strategic Communications
• Public Affairs Support
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Community Relations
• Event & Forum Coordination
• Executive Support Materials
• Work Planning & Organization
• Messaging Development
• Relationship Management
• Cross-Functional Coordination

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is a polished, organized, and action-oriented communications professional who knows how to bring structure to complex stakeholder engagement efforts. They are comfortable supporting leadership in visible and evolving situations, coordinating forums and materials, and ensuring communication activities are not only well planned but also executed effectively. This person is a strong driver, highly organized, and able to turn relationships and conversations into an actionable engagement strategy.