Outreach and Industry Support SME

Overview

Headquarters United States Air Force, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration.

Responsibilities

As an outreach and industry support SME, plans and prepares strategic communications and associated communications media related to defense space acquisition policies, priorities, and congressional matters (as requested) across the space enterprise. Researches, analyzes, writes, edits, and evaluates senior executive communications to provide products in alignment with public communication engagements. Prepares presentations and speeches for the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (ASAF) for Space Acquisition and Integration and the Military Deputy for engagements with senior Department of Defense (DoD) executives, senior US Space Force (USSF) leadership, corporate chief executive officers, space, industry, government and academic professionals. Serves as the primary interface with Air Force General Counsel (SAF/GC) and Air Force Public Affairs (SAF/PA). Assists in industry engagement lead with research, escorting industrial base company executives to meet with senior leaders as needed, and assisting in preparation for conferences and industry engagements.

Responsibilities

• Provides support and expertise to the ASAF and Military Deputy in planning and preparing senior strategic communications opportunities, associated communications media, and industry engagements related to defense space policies, priorities, and congressional matters across the Space Acquisition enterprise.
• Conducts research and analysis to write, edit, and qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate executive communications to ensure products are in alignment with Department of the Air Force priorities, goals, initiatives and messaging.
• Delivers senior executive expertise to ensure that complex, potentially controversial, and politically sensitive issues are appropriately articulated to multiple, pre-determined audiences, and amplified via appropriate communications channels.
• Creates time sensitive deliverables that are strategic, well-researched, tailored to the audience and rapidly adapted to meeting changing environments and goals.
• Conducts research, analysis, and interviews to write and edit a variety of materials such as speeches; interviews; conference presentations; executive summaries; reports; articles and op-eds for publication in professional magazines, journals, and other media outlets; newsletters; news releases; notes and other correspondence.
• Drafts, writes, reviews, press statements, media query responses, news releases and appropriate materials for senior executives.
• Translates ideas, objectives, position, and management philosophy into messaging that relates to Space Acquisition, the speaker and intended audience.
• Identifies senior engagement opportunities (meetings, conferences, interviews, social activities, etc.) and develops a communications calendar with milestones as requested.
• Collaborates with public affairs, legislative affairs, and other organizations to shape and deliver clear and concise messages across the full spectrum of audiences and media.
• Authors presentations and speeches by distilling the facts and providing words that allow the speaker to be effective, persuasive, and motivational.
• Provides material which may include structure, talking points, content, and messaging for a given audience and platform within established timelines. Additionally, provides senior principals with important logistics information for strategic communications engagements.
• Provides support to special projects and assignments, such as preparing congressional testimony, on a wide variety of issues with audiences at the highest level of the nation's civilian and military leadership, as requested.
• Provides short notice, quick-reaction analyses of critical issues in the context of Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Staff, Joint Staff, HQ USSF, Major Air Command (MAJCOM), allied, and commercial activities. Support OSD taskers, as needed.
• Monitors on-going studies, analyses, and developmental work relevant to space systems through daily media reviews and notifications to the space acquisition community.
• Prepares industry engagement read-aheads, escorting industry leaders, supporting conferences and conducting industrial base research, as needed.

Skills Required

Skills Required:

• Active Top-Secret clearance with SCI eligibility required.
• 25-30 years of relevant work experience in a similar discipline such as Analysis, Policy, Planning, Program Management, Space, Acquisitions, or Communications fields related to Defense Space.
• Experience in a similar role and excellent research and analytical skills with 3-4 years of speech writing experience and strong public speaking skills.
• Senior staff, writing, editing and decision-making skills with strict attention to detail.
• Ability to reach across organizations both internally and externally to obtain critical information and then translate that information into useful sound bites for senior principals.
• Working familiarity with typical HQ staff packages and documentation to include Electronic Staff Summary Sheets (eSSS), "buckslips", memoranda, and official letter correspondence.
• Working familiarity with standard HQ task and correspondence coordination tools to include Enterprise Task Management System (ETMS-2).
• Proficiency with using Microsoft Office and other standard computer applications.
• Demonstrated understanding of public speaking and ability to analyze the voice and tone of the speaker to meet their speaking style and brand identity.
• Public relations, media relations, crisis management, internal communications, strategic communication plans, and social media experience preferably.
• Demonstrated knowledge and familiarity with the Air Force and USSF in the areas of acquisition, architecture, requirements, strategy, programs, and/or operations.
• Demonstrated initiative and ability to plan, work, and deliver independently.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively and professionally interact with staff members and executive leadership via both verbal and written means.
• Demonstrated experience working successfully with senior executives at multiple organizational levels in government, academia, and industry. Experience working with Air Force, allied, civil, and commercial space capability developers and operators is preferrable.
• Demonstrated HQ level staff or staff support experience. Ability to work collaboratively with personnel at all levels of the organization.
• Experience fostering stable and productive working relationships that communicate expectations and promote cooperation.
• Ability to rapidly adjust to changing work environments while maintaining high levels of performance and support.

Desired Skills:

• Familiarity with Defense Space and National Security Space in the areas of policy, strategy, requirements, capabilities, architectures, programs, acquisition, and operations.
• Familiarity with civil, commercial and international space capabilities.
• Experience with AFSPC, SMC, NRO, NASA, NOAA.

Education:

• Master's Degree or Equivalent, plus 15 - 20 yrs applicable experience in an Engineering, Scientific, Analysis, Policy, Communications, or Planning field related to Defense Space.

Education

Bachelor's degree required, preferably in math, engineering, business, or the sciences.