Ascension is seeking an accomplished Media & Communications Training / Educational Engagement Specialist to support on-call strategic communications assignments for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission’s Montgomery Planning Department.

We are seeking a practitioner who combines strategic communications expertise, instructional design, facilitation, media training, executive coaching, and educational-program delivery. The ideal candidate understands how to turn complex information into engaging, practical learning experiences that help staff communicate clearly, confidently, accurately, and accessibly with the public, media, elected officials, community stakeholders, and other audiences.

This individual should be equally comfortable developing a communications-training curriculum, coaching a spokesperson through a difficult interview, facilitating a small-group workshop, reviewing recorded practice sessions, creating practical job aids, and helping coordinate an educational engagement program.

The role is important to Montgomery Planning’s broader objective of communicating complex planning and land-use matters through clear, accessible, transparent, and meaningful communications while expanding participation in the planning process.

The successful candidate will be a polished communicator and credible facilitator who can work with limited supervision, manage competing priorities, provide candid but constructive feedback, adapt quickly to changing client needs, and build trust with staff and senior leaders.

Contractor Role Summary

The Media & Communications Training / Educational Engagement Specialist will support two closely related service areas:

Media & Communications Training

• Spokesperson development
• Media interview preparation
• Presentation skills development
• Workshops and small-group instruction
• One-on-one communications coaching
• Recorded practice sessions and performance feedback
• Job aids, templates, and quick-reference resources
• Refresher training and training-calendar management

Educational Engagement Programs

• Educational content development
• Program and event logistics
• Participant communications
• Program promotion and outreach support
• Learning-material development
• Facilitation and delivery support

The Specialist will work collaboratively with Montgomery Planning communications professionals, subject matter experts, project teams, and Ascension leadership to identify learning needs and translate those needs into practical training interventions.

The Specialist must be capable of working in an environment where task requirements may evolve quickly. The individual must know how to identify the underlying communication challenge, recommend an appropriate learning or coaching intervention, prepare the necessary materials, deliver the session effectively, gather feedback, and recommend improvements.

When supporting spokesperson or media-interview preparation, the Specialist is expected to create realistic scenarios, conduct mock interviews or recorded practice sessions, evaluate performance, and coach participants on message discipline, delivery, bridging techniques, difficult questions, presentation presence, and audience awareness.

Position Responsibilities and Anticipated Activities

The successful candidate will:

• ASSESS staff, audience, and organizational communications-training needs and translate findings into appropriate learning objectives and training plans.
• DESIGN structured curricula for spokesperson preparation, media interviews, public presentations, executive communications, and related communications competencies.
• DEVELOP facilitator guides, participant guides, presentation decks, exercises, scenarios, worksheets, templates, job aids, checklists, and quick-reference materials.
• FACILITATE instructor-led, virtual, hybrid, small-group, and workshop-based learning sessions.
• COACH individual staff members, subject matter experts, managers, executives, and designated spokespersons to improve communication effectiveness.
• CONDUCT mock interviews, presentation rehearsals, and recorded practice sessions.
• REVIEW recorded practice sessions and provide specific, actionable feedback on message clarity, delivery, body language, pacing, audience engagement, difficult-question handling, and overall effectiveness.
• PREPARE realistic interview questions, scenarios, talking points, Q&A materials, message maps, and practice exercises.
• ADAPT curricula and coaching methods for different experience levels, job functions, audiences, and communications situations.
• CREATE accessible, plain-language educational and training materials consistent with established Montgomery Planning branding and communications standards.
• MAINTAIN reusable curricula, job aids, training templates, lesson materials, and other learning assets.
• COORDINATE training schedules, session logistics, participant communications, materials, technology requirements, and follow-up activities.
• SUPPORT development and maintenance of training calendars based on staff needs and priorities.
• DELIVER refresher sessions to reinforce skills and address changing communications needs.
• DEVELOP content for educational engagement programs designed for residents, stakeholders, employees, community partners, or other identified audiences.
• COORDINATE educational-program logistics, including schedules, speakers, materials, participant communications, and supporting resources.
• SUPPORT promotion and outreach activities associated with educational engagement programs.
• COLLABORATE with communications strategists, public-relations specialists, designers, researchers, technical staff, and client subject matter experts.
• EVALUATE participant feedback, surveys, knowledge checks, and other indicators to determine training effectiveness.
• RECOMMEND improvements to curricula, materials, facilitation methods, coaching approaches, and educational-program delivery.
• DOCUMENT training activities, participant feedback, lessons learned, recommendations, and required client deliverables.
• MANAGE multiple assignments and deadlines while maintaining quality and responsiveness in an on-call environment.
• PROTECT confidential or sensitive client information and follow all applicable client cybersecurity and information-handling requirements.

Core Competencies

The ideal candidate demonstrates:

Executive Presence — Communicates confidently and credibly with professionals at all organizational levels.

Coaching Ability — Provides specific, constructive, and actionable feedback while maintaining participant confidence and trust.

Communication Judgment — Recognizes how audience, context, sensitivity, and delivery affect whether a message will be understood and accepted.

Instructional Design — Translates learning needs into organized, practical, and measurable training experiences.

Facilitation — Creates productive learning environments that encourage participation, discussion, practice, and application.

Adaptability — Responds effectively when priorities, audiences, timelines, or client needs change.

Organization — Manages schedules, materials, participants, deliverables, and follow-up activities reliably.

Initiative — Anticipates problems and develops solutions without waiting for detailed direction.

Discretion — Handles sensitive information and performance feedback appropriately.

Attention to Detail — Produces polished, accurate, audience-ready materials.

Collaboration — Works seamlessly with communications, research, program-management, creative, and technical professionals.

Tools and Processes

The Specialist should be comfortable working with tools and methods that may include:

• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Teams
• Microsoft SharePoint
• Microsoft Forms
• Adobe Acrobat
• Adobe Creative Cloud or comparable design/content tools
• Virtual meeting and recording platforms
• Survey and participant-feedback platforms
• Video recording/playback tools
• Training calendars and project trackers
• Adult-learning methodologies
• Instructional-design frameworks
• Scenario-based learning
• Role-playing and mock-interview exercises
• Coaching and structured feedback techniques
• Training evaluation and continuous-improvement processes
• Plain-language and accessible-content practices