Senior Congressional Engagement Specialist

Job Title: Senior Congressional Engagement Specialist

Company: BLN24

About Us: We find strength in teamwork-a better you is a better us

BLN24 is an award-winning Management Consulting Firm that supports the U.S. Federal Government in successfully achieving their mission and goals. Our service and solutions delivery start with understanding each client’s end-state, and then seamlessly integrating within each Agency’s organization to improve and enhance strategic and technical operations and deployments.

Position Overview:

BLN24 is seeking a highly skilled Senior Congressional Engagement Specialist to support the Defense Health Agency (DHA) Research & Development (R&D) and Medical Research and Development Command (MRDC) Headquarters. This role serves as a key advisor and coordinator for congressional communications and engagement activities, ensuring accurate, timely, and effective communication between DHA R&D leadership and congressional stakeholders.

The Senior Congressional Engagement Specialist will develop, coordinate, and facilitate congressional engagement efforts, prepare communication products for executive review, and support responses to congressional inquiries. The ideal candidate possesses exceptional written and verbal communication skills, deep knowledge of congressional affairs and government communications, and the ability to manage sensitive information in a dynamic federal environment.

Key Responsibilities:

Congressional Engagement Support

• Execute congressional communications and engagement activities in support of DHA R&D-MRDC Headquarters and the Public Affairs Office.
• Prepare, coordinate, and disseminate congressional communications materials for review and approval by appropriate Government leadership.
• Coordinate and facilitate congressional engagements, including preparation of background materials, talking points, informational content, and engagement summaries.
• Assist in developing timely and accurate responses to congressional inquiries.
• Document engagement outcomes and maintain records of congressional communications activities for DHA R&D-MRDC Headquarters leadership review and approval.

Legislative Situational Awareness

• Develop and maintain executive-level communication strategies to keep DHA R&D-MRDC Headquarters informed of relevant legislative activity.
• Prepare concise summaries of published legislative actions, hearings, proposed bills, enacted laws, markups, policy changes, and congressional activities impacting DHA R&D-MRDC interests.
• Develop targeted legislative alerts for urgent or high-impact legislative developments.
• Prepare weekly legislative newsletters highlighting key legislative trends, updates, and upcoming congressional events.
• Maintain legislative tracking reports on priority legislation and congressional inquiries.
• Manage or support content updates on internal communication platforms, including the CACO SharePoint site, to provide leadership with real-time access to legislative updates and resources.
• Provide written updates and briefings to leadership no less than bi-weekly, or as directed by the Contracting Officer’s Representative.
• Prepare high quality written products for congressional engagement activities, including information papers, white papers, executive summaries, briefing materials, and talking points for senior leadership.
• Ensure all written products are accurate, professionally formatted, error-free, and compliant with DHA R&D-MRDC editorial standards prior to submission or dissemination.
• Write in an executive leader style appropriate for senior Government audiences, congressional stakeholders, and decision-makers.

Coordination with Legislative Liaisons

• Coordinate communications activities with Army legislative liaisons and the DHA legislative affairs office to support accurate communication of DHA R&D-MRDC equities.
• Prepare messaging materials for approval and transmission to support testimony, hearings, legislative engagements, and higher-echelon communications.
• Draft and coordinate the exchange of information between legislative liaisons, PAO leadership, and other stakeholders.
• Disseminate approved talking points, fact sheets, background materials, and other relevant content to support leadership preparation for congressional engagements.
• Communicate testimony schedules and relevant background materials in an executive-level format.

PAO Messaging Coordination

• Coordinate with the Public Affairs Office to ensure all congressional-facing communications are consistent, accurate, and aligned with approved organizational messaging.
• Support communications related to congressional affairs, biomedical research programs and capabilities, organizational priorities, and strategic initiatives.
• Draft and coordinate congressional-facing materials that reflect approved DHA R&D-MRDC messaging.

Congressional Special Interest Communications

• Monitor and compile published information on congressional member interests, committee priorities, and appropriations language relevant to DHA R&D-MRDC biomedical research programs.
• Synopsize and disseminate published communication materials, including summaries, reports, and informational updates.
• Keep DHA R&D-MRDC leadership and stakeholders informed of congressional special interests and their potential impact on military medical research priorities, programs, funding, and organizational objectives.

Required Qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience developing executive-level communications, strategic messaging, and congressional or legislative communications materials.
• Experience supporting communications in a defense, federal health, military medical, biomedical research, or related federal environment.
• Working knowledge of legislative affairs, congressional engagement processes, and federal coordination protocols.
• Ability to synthesize legislative developments and complex program information into concise, actionable written products for senior leaders.
• Strong writing, editing, research, coordination, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Ability to prepare polished, error-free deliverables under short deadlines.
• Experience coordinating across public affairs, legislative affairs, senior leadership, and technical subject matter experts.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting DHA, DoD, Army, military medical research, or federal health programs.
• Familiarity with congressional testimony preparation, legislative tracking, appropriations language, and committee activities.
• Experience managing SharePoint or similar internal communication portals.
• Familiarity with biomedical research, military medical research, or science communication.

Deliverables Supported:

• This position supports legislative summaries, targeted legislative alerts, weekly legislative newsletters, legislative tracking reports, internal communication portal content, information papers, white papers, executive summaries, briefing materials, and senior leadership talking points.

What BLN24 brings to the Game:

BLN24 benefits are game changing. We like our team to play hard and that means they need to be taken care of — physically, financially, and emotionally. We make sure to keep them in the game by giving them access to generous medical, dental, and vision plans.

• You can join one of the fastest growing companies headquartered in the Washington DC Metro Area. We give you the opportunity to work in different sectors, so you have the chance at variety while maintaining stability.
• Flexibility at BLN24 allows each individual the opportunity to balance quality work and their personal lives. Depending on projects, we allow remote working opportunities so you can always be in the game no matter where you call home.

BLN24 is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe people are our strength and understand diverse talents are key to our success. We are an equal opportunity employer and place a high value on diversity and inclusion at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of any protected attribute, including race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital or veteran status, pregnancy or disability, or any other basis protected under applicable law. In accordance with applicable law, we make reasonable accommodations for applicants' and employees' religious practices and beliefs, as well as any mental health or physical disability needs.