Protect our Homeland, Ascend with Us!

Ascension LLC is seeking a highly organized, detail-oriented Stakeholder Engagement & Communications / Quality Assurance Lead to support the City of Gaithersburg Mayor and City Council by ensuring that legislative research, analytical products, and briefings are clearly communicated, professionally presented, and rigorously quality-checked.

This dual-role position is critical to the success of the Council Legislative Services effort. The individual in this role serves as the final gatekeeper for quality, clarity, and consistency across all written and presentation materials delivered to the Mayor, City Council, and City stakeholders. The role also ensures that stakeholder-facing communications are accurate, accessible, and aligned with the City’s transparency and governance standards.

The ideal candidate brings a blend of stakeholder engagement, strategic communications, and quality assurance experience, with the ability to operate independently in a fast-paced, politically sensitive environment. This role is especially well-suited for a professional who thrives in an advisory capacity, anticipates issues before they surface, and understands how to translate complex policy and financial analysis into clear, decision-ready materials.

Summary of the Contractor Role

The Stakeholder Engagement & Communications / QA Lead supports Ascension’s Project Manager and analytical staff by overseeing communications development, stakeholder coordination, and quality assurance for all Council-facing deliverables. While the solicitation does not prescribe detailed communications or QA processes, the City’s expectations for accuracy, neutrality, and professionalism require disciplined execution in these areas.

The individual in this role is expected to be self-directed, highly responsive, and meticulous, with the ability to manage multiple concurrent requests that fluctuate with Council schedules and legislative priorities. The role requires strong editorial judgment, political awareness, and the ability to identify inconsistencies, risks, or gaps in analytical narratives before materials are released.

This position solves for three critical needs:

1. Ensuring that all deliverables are accurate, complete, and internally consistent
2. Supporting clear and effective communication with internal and external stakeholders
3. Protecting the City and Ascension through structured quality control and documentation discipline

The role relies heavily on Microsoft 365 tools (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Teams, SharePoint) and established review workflows to manage versions, comments, and approvals.

Position Day-to-Day Activities

The Stakeholder Engagement & Communications / QA Lead will:

• Review all draft reports, memoranda, presentations, and briefing materials for accuracy, clarity, completeness, and consistency
• Edit and proofread Council-facing documents to ensure professional tone, neutral language, and accessibility for non-technical audiences
• Verify that data references, assumptions, and citations align with analytical inputs and approved methodologies
• Coordinate stakeholder communications related to meetings, briefings, and information requests, in collaboration with the Project Manager
• Prepare stakeholder-ready communication products such as one-pagers, talking points, executive summaries, and presentation decks
• Track and manage comments, revisions, and version control across deliverables using SharePoint and Teams
• Support preparation for Mayor and City Council meetings by ensuring materials are finalized, formatted, and delivered on schedule
• Document quality assurance checks and maintain review logs to support transparency and auditability
• Identify and flag potential risks, ambiguities, or inconsistencies in analytical narratives prior to submission
• Assist with post-meeting summaries, action item tracking, and follow-up communications as needed