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Ascension is seeking a Project Manager to support a potential strategic communications capability enhancement effort for a federal defense client. This role is intended for a highly organized, client-facing project professional who can manage scope, schedule, cost, deliverables, communications, stakeholder coordination, risks, and compliance while supporting a broader transformation from reactive public affairs support to proactive, data-driven strategic communications.

The ideal candidate will understand how to manage consulting projects that involve communications workflows, digital tools, performance measurement, training, change management, and stakeholder engagement. This person should be comfortable working with communications teams, technical tool implementers, analysts, trainers, and government leaders to keep project activities organized, documented, and moving toward measurable outcomes.

This position is important because the client’s stated challenge is not just a lack of tools; it is a multi-part capability gap involving manual workflows, limited performance measurement, content and tool limitations, and skills gaps in data analytics, AI integration, and strategic campaign management.

Summary of Contractor Role

The Project Manager will help Ascension plan, coordinate, and manage work associated with modernizing strategic communications capabilities. The effort may include implementing an integrated communications management tool, supporting analytics and reporting, coordinating social media/content innovation support, and managing a structured skills development program for government communications staff.

The successful candidate will help translate project goals into organized tasks, schedules, trackers, meeting cadences, risk logs, action items, deliverable calendars, and status reports. The Project Manager will ensure that project activities remain aligned with client expectations, required deliverables, communications priorities, and contract requirements.

This role requires a detail-oriented, organized planner who can operate in a changing environment, anticipate risks, coordinate multiple stakeholders, and communicate clearly with both technical and non-technical audiences. The candidate should be self-driven, responsive, and comfortable supporting workstreams involving communications strategy, digital platforms, dashboards, training, workflow improvement, and organizational change.

The Government’s requirement emphasizes the need for a centralized platform for content creation, multi-channel distribution, editorial calendaring, and project management; analytics that connect communications activity to business outcomes; content creation and social media monitoring tools; and a structured hands-on training curriculum.

Expected Day-to-Day Activities

• Manage project scope, schedule, cost, deliverables, risks, issues, and action items.
• Develop and maintain project plans, schedules, workstream trackers, meeting agendas, decision logs, and status reports.
• Coordinate with Ascension leadership, government stakeholders, communications staff, analysts, trainers, and technical team members.
• Track progress across strategic communications, analytics, workflow, content, and training workstreams.
• Facilitate project meetings, capture meeting notes, document decisions, and follow up on assigned actions.
• Support implementation planning for integrated communications management tools, editorial calendars, project management workflows, and reporting dashboards.
• Monitor project risks, dependencies, and schedule concerns and recommend mitigation strategies.
• Prepare client-ready briefings, progress updates, project summaries, and executive-level materials.
• Support development and review of communications process documentation, standard operating procedures, training plans, and implementation artifacts.
• Coordinate deliverable reviews to ensure quality, accuracy, timeliness, and alignment with government expectations.
• Help ensure that project activities support sustainable knowledge transfer and in-house capability building.
• Maintain organized project documentation in Microsoft 365, SharePoint, Teams, or other approved collaboration environments.
• Support compliance with applicable federal, DoD/DoW, DFAS, Section 508, records management, and information security expectations as directed by the client.