Public Diplomacy and Technical Specialist

Competitive Innovations, LLC (CI) is seeking a Public Diplomacy and Technical Specialist to support the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Office of Policy Planning and Public Diplomacy (DRL/PPD). The position supports public diplomacy and communications infrastructure, strategies, content, and events for DRL. This position will support the Public Diplomacy Advisor, and through them to the Office Director. This is a full-time position located in Washington, D.C.

Responsibilities:

Support activities related to the Bureau’s content on State.gov, including posting of the Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, documents, fact sheets, thematic campaigns, and DRL landing page content. Ensure 508 compliance for all State.gov postings.

Assist with managing DRL’s institutional and principal digital media properties, including Facebook, Twitter, and other online engagement tools. Coordinate social media and public diplomacy content including text, graphics, and videos to complement the Bureau’s media content and engagement and assist the press team in overall messaging strategies.

Help design DRL outreach programs and major initiatives, such as the rollout of the Department’s annual Human Rights Report and other public events and public diplomacy campaigns.

Research and understand key human rights policy issues and create programs to forward U.S. goals related to those issues. Coordinate digital and in-person engagements spotlighting individuals and institutions who are engaging in human rights work around the world. Develop and manage digital interactive dialogues – including all technological aspects – with U.S. government officials, experts, and activists on social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Pitch, produce, and review content for DRL’s website, ShareAmerica articles, and DipNote blogs.

Draft public diplomacy proposals, including campaigns and video scripts, on cross-cutting DRL issues, including Human Rights Day and International Day of Democracy, and create SOPs as necessary for annual events and strategic processes to be hosted on SharePoint.

Strategically analyze audiences and the success of digital engagements in order to advise the office of messaging strategies that could achieve greater impact as part of participating in both short and long-term strategic communications planning.

Serve as a liaison to internal bureau offices and advise them on public diplomacy opportunities and tools. Maintain effective relationships with and serve as liaison to the International Visitor's Leadership Program.

Communicate verbally and in writing to provide briefings, status reviews, and resource requirements to Department principals.

Partner with U.S. embassies overseas to engage digitally with foreign audiences who participate in human rights-related and embassy-associated groups at post while DRL principals are on travel or via digital interactive outreach.

Essential functions of this position include: (as applicable)

Minimum Qualifications:

Active Secret Security Clearance

Bachelor’s degree in relevant field

Extensive technical knowledge of platforms and best practices for maintaining online presences—including internet websites and social media.

Ability to graphically design original artwork, images, infographics, and videos for posting online.

Knowledge of 508 accessibility regulations and policies; the ability to ensure 508 compliance of materials posted to the internet; and the ability to educate partners about 508 accessibility requirements.

Quantitative analysis skills to conduct audience segmentation and assess messaging effectiveness.

Knowledge and experience in optical character recognition to convert PDFs to editable and usable Word documents.

Knowledge of video and audio recording and editing platforms and techniques.

Experience with these software products: Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access); Microsoft Outlook; Adobe Products (PhotoShop, InDesign, Illustrator, Acrobat Pro, Dreamweaver, Premiere Pro); HootSuite; Gsuite (Google Docs, Gmail); Slack; Canva; Moovly; and digital conferencing (Zoom4Government, Teams, Webex).

Experience with U.S. foreign affairs/policy, especially pertaining to democracy promotion and human rights protection.

Detailed knowledge of the Department of State policies and procedures.

Knowledge of communications and public relations theories and best practices.

Qualified candidates that are HUBZone residents, preferred (check your status here: