Careers

Ascension is seeking an experienced Training & Transition Lead to plan, design, and execute user training and operational transition activities for a municipal website replacement initiative. This role is critical to ensuring City staff are confident, capable, and self-sufficient in managing the new website and content management system (CMS) at project closeout.

The ideal candidate brings demonstrated experience leading training and transition efforts for government or public-sector digital platforms, with a strong understanding of adult learning principles, change enablement, and technology adoption. This individual will play a pivotal role in translating a newly delivered website into a sustainable, day-to-day operational asset for City staff.

This position is well-suited for candidates with expertise in CMS training, knowledge transfer, and operational readiness who thrive in environments that require clarity, empathy, and structured communication. The role directly supports the project’s success by minimizing post-launch disruption, reducing reliance on vendors, and enabling long-term ownership by City stakeholders.

Summary of the Contractor Role

The Training & Transition Lead is responsible for designing and delivering a comprehensive training and transition program that prepares City staff to effectively manage, update, and govern the new website following launch. This includes CMS user training, administrator training, documentation development, and structured handoff from the implementation team to City ownership.

The ideal candidate is a highly organized, detail-oriented planner with the ability to anticipate user needs, translate technical concepts into clear guidance, and tailor training to multiple audiences with varying levels of technical proficiency. This role requires a self-driven professional who can operate with minimal supervision, manage competing priorities, and proactively identify transition risks before they impact adoption.

The Training & Transition Lead is expected to solve challenges related to user readiness, institutional knowledge transfer, and operational continuity. The role supports City staff by providing practical tools, job aids, and repeatable processes that enable them to confidently maintain content quality, accessibility compliance, and system integrity post-launch.

Tools and processes commonly leveraged include CMS training environments, Microsoft Teams or Zoom for virtual training delivery, learning documentation tools (Word, PowerPoint, SharePoint), screen recording software, and structured transition checklists.

Position Day-to-Day Activities

The Training & Transition Lead will:

• Assess City staff roles, responsibilities, and training needs related to website content and administration
• Develop a role-based training plan for CMS users, editors, and administrators
• Design and deliver live and recorded CMS training sessions tailored to non-technical users
• Create clear, accessible training materials including user guides, job aids, and quick-reference documentation
• Coordinate training schedules and logistics with the Project Manager and City stakeholders
• Facilitate knowledge transfer sessions between the development team and City technical staff
• Document standard operating procedures for content updates, workflows, and governance processes
• Support transition planning to ensure smooth handoff at project closeout
• Validate user readiness through training feedback, Q&A sessions, and follow-up support
• Provide post-launch transition support during the stabilization period, as needed
• Ensure training materials and workflows align with accessibility and usability best practices

Protect our Land, Ascend with Us!

Ascension LLC is seeking an experienced Content Strategist / Information Architecture Lead to guide the organization, structure, and optimization of content for a municipal website redesign initiative. This role is critical to ensuring the City’s new website is intuitive, user-centered, accessible, and aligned with best practices for public-sector digital services.

The ideal candidate brings demonstrated experience designing information architectures for government or higher-education websites and excels at translating complex service information into clear, task-oriented structures that meet resident needs. This individual will serve as the primary authority on site structure, navigation, content hierarchy, and content governance recommendations, working closely with City stakeholders, UX designers, and technical leads.

This role is well-suited for a professional who combines content strategy expertise, information architecture discipline, and strong facilitation skills, and who is comfortable operating independently while collaborating in a cross-functional, remote project environment.

Summary of the Contractor Role

The Content Strategist / Information Architecture Lead is responsible for shaping the overall content framework and navigational structure of the City’s redesigned website. While the City will provide final content for pages, this role ensures that content is logically organized, consolidated where appropriate, and aligned with user journeys, accessibility standards, and municipal best practices.

The contractor will evaluate the City’s existing content inventory, recommend content consolidation and retirement strategies, and design a streamlined site architecture that supports residents, businesses, and internal stakeholders. The role also supports multilingual content considerations, accessible content workflows, and SEO-informed structuring.

The ideal candidate is analytical, methodical, and user-focused, with the ability to balance stakeholder preferences with usability and compliance requirements. They are expected to solve challenges related to content sprawl, inconsistent navigation, and service discoverability, and to provide clear documentation that enables long-term content governance by City staff.

Tools and processes commonly used in this role include:

• Content inventories and audits
• Sitemap and taxonomy development
• User journey mapping and task-based navigation models
• Card sorting and IA validation techniques
• WCAG-informed content structuring practices
• Collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and cloud-based documentation platforms

Position Responsibilities and Anticipated Activities

• Lead analysis of the City’s existing website content inventory to assess relevance, redundancy, and usability
• Develop a user-centered information architecture aligned to resident tasks and City service delivery
• Design and document site maps, navigation models, and content hierarchies
• Recommend content consolidation, retirement, and reorganization strategies
• Collaborate with UX, accessibility, and technical team members to ensure IA alignment with design and CMS capabilities
• Advise on multilingual content structure and translation workflow considerations
• Ensure content structure supports WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards
• Support SEO-informed content organization and page structuring
• Facilitate virtual working sessions with City stakeholders to validate IA decisions
• Produce clear IA documentation and guidance to support long-term content governance

Protect our Land, Ascend with Us!

Ascension LLC is seeking an Accessibility & QA Lead to serve as the authoritative expert responsible for ensuring that the City of Lancaster’s new public-facing website meets or exceeds WCAG accessibility standards and delivers a high-quality, defect-free user experience across devices, browsers, and assistive technologies.

This role is critical to the success of the overall website replacement effort. The Accessibility & QA Lead acts as both a compliance guardian and quality advocate, embedding accessibility and quality assurance practices throughout design, development, content migration, and pre-launch validation phases.

The ideal candidate is a detail-oriented accessibility professional with deep knowledge of WCAG success criteria, Section 508 alignment, and hands-on experience testing modern CMS-based websites. This individual must be confident advising designers, developers, and content contributors while independently identifying issues, recommending solutions, and validating fixes in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

This role is well-suited for a professional who values public-sector mission impact and understands the importance of equitable access to digital government services.

Summary of the Contractor Role

The Accessibility & QA Lead is responsible for planning, executing, and governing accessibility compliance and quality assurance activities for the City’s new website. The role ensures that accessibility is not treated as a final checklist item, but rather as an integrated, continuous practice across the project lifecycle.

The candidate will evaluate designs, templates, components, and content against WCAG criteria, conduct both automated and manual accessibility testing, and lead remediation validation prior to launch. In parallel, the role oversees functional QA testing to confirm that the website performs reliably across supported browsers, devices, and user scenarios.

The successful candidate brings a strong sense of ownership, the ability to work with minimal supervision, and the judgment to prioritize issues based on user impact and compliance risk. They will help the City reduce long-term accessibility risk by recommending sustainable workflows, tooling, and governance practices that City staff can maintain post-launch.

Tools and processes commonly used in this role include accessibility testing platforms, browser-based developer tools, screen readers, structured defect tracking systems, and collaborative review workflows.

Position Day-to-Day Activities

The Accessibility & QA Lead will:

• Define and maintain the accessibility and QA strategy aligned to WCAG 2.1 AA and Section 508 standards
• Review UX/UI designs, wireframes, and prototypes for accessibility risks prior to development
• Conduct automated accessibility scans using industry-standard tools
• Perform manual accessibility testing using screen readers, keyboard-only navigation, and assistive technologies
• Validate color contrast, heading structure, form labeling, focus order, and ARIA usage
• Test multilingual functionality to ensure accessibility is preserved across translated content
• Execute cross-browser and cross-device QA testing to validate functionality and responsiveness
• Document accessibility and QA defects with clear reproduction steps and remediation guidance
• Collaborate with developers and designers to resolve accessibility and functional issues efficiently
• Re-test and validate fixes to confirm compliance and quality closure
• Support CMS workflow testing to ensure accessible content authoring practices
• Contribute to accessibility documentation and training materials for City staff
• Support pre-launch and post-launch validation efforts to ensure ongoing compliance readiness

Protect our Land, Ascend with Us!

Ascension is seeking an experienced Solutions Architect / Technical Lead to serve as the senior technical authority for a municipal website replacement initiative. This role is critical to ensuring the City’s new website is secure, accessible, scalable, and aligned with best practices for public-sector digital services.

The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in modern web architectures, content management systems, accessibility compliance, and third-party integrations, combined with the ability to translate business and user needs into clear technical solutions. This individual will guide platform selection, define the technical architecture, oversee implementation decisions, and ensure quality and compliance throughout the project lifecycle.

This role is essential to achieving the City’s goals of launching a modern, multilingual, WCAG-compliant website that is intuitive for residents, maintainable by City staff, and capable of supporting future growth and integrations.

Summary of the Contractor Role

The Solutions Architect / Technical Lead is responsible for designing and governing the overall technical solution for the City of Lancaster’s website replacement. The role requires a hands-on yet strategic technologist who can balance architectural rigor with pragmatic delivery.

The ideal candidate is a detail-oriented and analytical problem solver who thrives in environments where requirements evolve and stakeholder input is iterative. They are self-directed, comfortable working with minimal supervision, and skilled at anticipating risks before they become issues. This role is expected to resolve complex technical decisions related to CMS selection, multilingual support, accessibility, integrations, analytics, and security while supporting the broader project team.

The candidate will work closely with Ascension’s Project Manager, UX designers, developers, and City stakeholders to ensure the technical solution fully supports user experience goals, content workflows, and long-term maintainability.

Key tools and processes include modern CMS platforms (open source or proprietary), cloud-based collaboration tools, accessibility testing utilities, version control, analytics platforms, and structured technical documentation practices.

Position Day-to-Day Activities (Expected / Anticipated)

• Define and document the overall website technical architecture and solution design
• Evaluate and recommend the most appropriate CMS platform based on City needs, security, scalability, and usability
• Lead technical decision-making related to hosting compatibility, performance, and maintainability
• Establish standards for code quality, accessibility compliance (WCAG 2.1 AA), and security best practices
• Oversee implementation of multilingual functionality and translation workflows
• Design and guide integrations with third-party platforms such as Everbridge, CivicClerk, Mailchimp, and SeeClickFix
• Support setup and migration of analytics and SEO tools, including Google Analytics
• Review technical deliverables for quality, compliance, and alignment with approved architecture
• Collaborate with UX and content teams to ensure technical feasibility of design concepts
• Identify technical risks and develop mitigation strategies early in the project lifecycle
• Support CMS user training planning and development of technical documentation
• Participate in technical discussions with City stakeholders and respond to technical questions
• Provide guidance during testing, launch readiness, and post-launch stabilization

Protect our Land, Ascend with Us!

Ascension LLC is seeking an experienced Contract Project Manager to lead and coordinate a municipal website replacement initiative for a city government client. This role is critical to ensuring the successful planning, execution, and delivery of a modern, accessible, multilingual municipal website that meets stakeholder expectations, accessibility standards, and project timeline goals.

The ideal candidate is a disciplined, detail-oriented project leader with demonstrated experience managing website development projects for government or public-sector organizations. This individual will serve as the primary point of coordination between the client, Ascension leadership, designers, developers, and content stakeholders. The Project Manager plays a central role in aligning technical execution with business goals, maintaining schedule and budget discipline, managing risk, and ensuring high-quality deliverables through launch and post-launch transition.

This position is well-suited for candidates with strong project management fundamentals, stakeholder engagement skills, and familiarity with CMS-based website implementations (WordPress, Drupal, or comparable platforms), particularly in environments requiring accessibility compliance and cross-departmental coordination.

Summary of the Contractor Role

The Contract Project Manager is responsible for end-to-end project oversight of a municipal website replacement effort, from kickoff through launch and closeout. This includes managing scope, schedule, communications, risk, and quality across all phases of the project lifecycle.

The successful candidate will bring a structured yet flexible management approach, capable of operating effectively in a largely remote, collaborative environment with multiple stakeholders and competing priorities. The Project Manager is expected to anticipate issues, proactively resolve risks, and keep both Ascension leadership and the client informed of progress, dependencies, and decisions.

This role requires an individual who is self-driven, highly organized, and comfortable working with minimal supervision, while maintaining strong accountability for outcomes. Familiarity with tools such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, cloud-based project management platforms, and document collaboration environments is essential.

Position Day-to-Day Activities (Expected / Anticipated)

The Contract Project Manager will:

• Lead project kickoff activities, including scope confirmation, stakeholder alignment, and communications planning
• Develop, maintain, and manage the integrated project schedule aligned to client milestones and launch goals
• Coordinate day-to-day activities across designers, developers, accessibility specialists, and client stakeholders
• Facilitate regular status meetings, working sessions, and stakeholder briefings
• Track project risks, issues, dependencies, and mitigation strategies
• Manage scope control and change requests, ensuring alignment with contract requirements and timeline
• Oversee quality assurance checkpoints, including accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA) and usability validation
• Ensure alignment with CMS selection, configuration, and content migration activities
• Coordinate integration planning for third-party tools such as Everbridge, CivicClerk, Mailchimp, and SeeClickFix
• Monitor progress against budget, schedule, and performance expectations
• Prepare and deliver clear project status reports and decision-ready briefings
• Support launch readiness, transition activities, documentation, and knowledge transfer
• Serve as the primary point of accountability for project delivery and client satisfaction

Protect our Land, Ascend with Us!

Ascension is seeking a highly skilled Technical Writer with demonstrated experience supporting public-sector, policy-driven initiatives to translate complex socio-economic program concepts, regulatory language, and stakeholder-informed inputs into clear, defensible, and submission-ready written deliverables.

This role is essential to the success of the engagement because the Commission’s deliverables must be legally precise, operationally clear, and accessible to multiple audiences, including procurement leadership, legal counsel, internal staff, vendors, and community stakeholders. The Technical Writer ensures that all written outputs accurately reflect approved policy intent, comply with Maryland regulatory expectations, and maintain consistency across documents developed by multiple subject matter experts.

The ideal candidate brings strong experience working in government, procurement, policy, or compliance-heavy environments, understands how to structure formal reports and regulations, and can work independently with minimal supervision while coordinating closely with SMEs, analysts, and project leadership.

Summary of the Contractor Role

The Technical Writer supports both Local and Small Business Preference Program and MBE Preference Program by developing, editing, and finalizing core written deliverables required under the Scope of Work. This includes program documentation, draft and final regulatory language, stakeholder-facing materials, executive summaries, implementation guidance, and supporting reports.

This role is not a marketing or communications writer. It requires a disciplined technical writer who can:

• Synthesize complex inputs from legal, policy, data, and stakeholder sources
• Preserve accuracy and intent while improving clarity, structure, and readability
• Ensure consistency across multiple documents and versions
• Apply strong version control and document management practices

The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, structured, and methodical, with the ability to anticipate gaps, resolve ambiguities in source material, and ask precise clarification questions when needed. The Technical Writer is expected to support tight review cycles, respond quickly to feedback, and ensure all deliverables are review-ready and defensible.

What This Role Is Expected to Solve / Support

• Reduces risk of misinterpretation or inconsistency across policy and regulatory documents
• Ensures stakeholder-facing materials accurately reflect approved program decisions
• Supports legal defensibility through precise language and structured documentation
• Improves readability and usability of complex socio-economic program materials

Tools and Processes Used

• Microsoft Word (advanced formatting, tracked changes, styles, tables of contents)
• Microsoft Excel (light review of referenced data tables and exhibits)
• Microsoft PowerPoint (editing and structuring executive briefings and summaries)
• Version control and document review workflows (SharePoint or similar)
• Style guides, regulatory drafting conventions, and QA/QC checklists

Position Day-to-Day Activities (or Deliverable-Driven Activities)

• Draft, edit, and finalize program documentation for Local/Small and MBE Preference Programs
• Translate policy decisions, regulatory analysis, and stakeholder inputs into clear written narratives
• Edit and format draft and final procurement regulation amendments, including clean and redlined versions
• Ensure consistency of terminology, definitions, and program concepts across all deliverables
• Incorporate reviewer comments from Ascension leadership, legal reviewers, and client stakeholders
• Prepare executive summaries, implementation guidance, and supporting appendices
• Apply version control, document naming conventions, and review tracking protocols
• Coordinate with Program Manager, Policy Analysts, and SMEs to resolve content gaps
• Ensure all written deliverables are submission-ready and professionally formatted

Ascension is seeking a Business Process Analyst with demonstrated experience analyzing, documenting, and improving public-sector procurement and administrative processes to support the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission’s Office of Supplier Diversity and Inclusion. This role is critical to translating policy and program design decisions into operationally feasible workflows, procedures, and implementation guidance that M-NCPPC staff can execute consistently across departments and counties.

The ideal candidate brings a strong understanding of how government procurement organizations function in practice, including internal controls, approval chains, documentation requirements, and system touchpoints. This position is well suited for a professional who excels at working behind the scenes to identify inefficiencies, clarify roles and responsibilities, and ensure that newly designed Local/Small Business and MBE Preference Programs are implementable, auditable, and sustainable.

This role is important to the overall success of the effort because it reduces implementation risk by ensuring that preference program requirements do not remain theoretical, but are instead embedded into clear, defensible business processes aligned with existing Commission operations.

Summary of the Contractor Role

The Business Process Analyst supports both Local/Small Business Preference Program and MBE Preference Program by analyzing current-state procurement and administrative workflows and documenting future-state processes needed to support new preference program requirements.

Working under the direction of the Prime Contractor and in coordination with Ascension’s policy, data, and stakeholder engagement staff, the Analyst evaluates how vendor eligibility, preference application, compliance monitoring, and reporting activities are currently performed and identifies where changes, controls, or new steps are required.

The ideal candidate is methodical, detail-oriented, and comfortable operating in complex, regulated environments where processes vary across units and documentation quality is inconsistent. The Analyst must be able to work with partial information, reconcile differences between written procedures and actual practice, and clearly document assumptions and constraints.

This role is expected to solve and support the following:

• Reduce implementation risk by aligning new preference programs with existing procurement operations
• Prevent process breakdowns caused by unclear roles, undocumented steps, or inconsistent application
• Support legally defensible implementation through documented workflows and controls
• Provide M-NCPPC staff with clear process guidance they can operationalize and sustain

Tools and processes commonly used in this role include:

• Process mapping tools (Visio, Lucidchart, or equivalent)
• Microsoft Excel and Word for workflow documentation
• Structured interviews and working sessions with procurement and OSDI staff
• Review of procurement regulations, SOPs, and forms
• Change-impact analysis techniques

Position Day-to-Day Activities

• Analyze current-state procurement, vendor management, and compliance workflows related to socio-economic programs
• Conduct structured working sessions with OSDI and procurement staff to validate how processes operate in practice
• Document end-to-end workflows supporting Local/Small and MBE Preference Program activities
• Identify process gaps, redundancies, control weaknesses, and implementation risks
• Develop future-state process maps aligned with approved program designs and regulatory revisions
• Define roles, responsibilities, handoffs, and approval points within revised workflows
• Support development of SOPs, process narratives, and implementation guidance materials
• Coordinate with policy, data, and technical staff to ensure workflows align with reporting and compliance needs
• Support change management by documenting process impacts and transition considerations

Ascension is seeking a detail-oriented, analytically disciplined Data & Utilization Analyst to support the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) in the development of a Local and Small Business Preference Program.

This role is critical to establishing a credible, defensible baseline of current vendor participation across M-NCPPC procurement activities. The analyst’s work directly informs program design decisions, stakeholder discussions, regulatory drafting, and implementation planning. Candidates should be motivated by applied public-sector analysis, not abstract research, and should be comfortable working with real-world procurement datasets that may be incomplete, inconsistently coded, or decentralized.

This position is ideal for professionals with experience in public procurement data, supplier diversity analytics, utilization reporting, or government program evaluation who want to contribute to policy-shaping work without serving in a policy-setting role.

Summary of the Contractor Role

The Data & Utilization Analyst supports Local/Small Business Preference Program by analyzing Commission-provided procurement, contract, and vendor datasets to assess current participation levels of local and small businesses.

Working under the direction of Ascension’s Project Lead, the analyst focuses on data execution, validation, interpretation, and documentation, not stakeholder facilitation or regulatory drafting. The role requires strong analytical judgment, attention to detail, and the ability to clearly explain assumptions, limitations, and trends so that findings can withstand internal, legal, and public scrutiny.

The ideal candidate is methodical, self-directed, and comfortable translating raw procurement data into clear findings that support implementation-ready decisions, rather than aspirational targets.

This role is expected to solve/support the following:

• Establish a factual baseline of current local and small business participation
• Identify participation gaps and concentration trends across vendor categories
• Reduce program risk by ensuring data-supported, defensible findings
• Support benchmarking and program design without overstating data precision

Tools and Processes Commonly Used

• Microsoft Excel (advanced formulas, pivot tables, structured analysis)
• Data normalization and validation techniques
• Procurement and vendor classification review
• Written analytical summaries and data exhibits

Position Day-to-Day Activities (As Needed Based on LOE)

The contractor will:

• Analyze Commission-provided procurement, contract award, and vendor datasets to assess current utilization patterns
• Validate data for completeness, consistency, and usability, documenting limitations and assumptions
• Categorize vendors by size, locality, and other attributes relevant to Phase I program design
• Develop summary tables, charts, and baseline metrics for internal review and stakeholder discussion
• Identify participation trends, gaps, and concentration risks affecting local and small businesses
• Document analytical methodology in plain language suitable for inclusion in reports and briefings
• Coordinate with the project team to align analysis with stakeholder engagement and program design timelines
• Revise findings based on feedback from project leadership and legal considerations

Protect our Land, Ascend with us!

Ascension is seeking a senior-level Socio-Economic Subject Matter Expert (SME) with deep, practical experience designing, evaluating, and advising on local, small business, and Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) preference programs in public-sector procurement environments.

This role is critical to ensuring that M-NCPPC’s socio-economic business preference programs are legally defensible, data-informed, operationally feasible, and aligned with Maryland procurement law and best practices. The SME will serve as a trusted advisor to the project team, providing expert judgment, validation of analytical findings, and applied insight throughout both phases of the work.

The ideal candidate brings:

• Demonstrated expertise in supplier diversity, small business programs, and MBE frameworks
• Experience translating disparity studies, utilization data, and benchmarking into actionable program structures
• Credibility with procurement professionals, legal reviewers, and community stakeholders
• The ability to operate effectively in an advisory capacity without assuming day-to-day project management responsibility

This position is well-suited for an experienced practitioner who prefers focused, high-impact advisory work and is comfortable operating in a part-time, milestone-driven consulting role.

Summary of the Contractor Role

The Socio-Economic SME provides subject-matter leadership and expert advisory support across the design and implementation planning of M-NCPPC’s two-phase socio-economic business preference program:

• Phase I: Local and Small Business Preference Program
• Phase II: Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) Preference Program

Working under the direction of Ascension’s Project Lead and in coordination with the Prime Contractor, the SME will review analyses, validate assumptions, advise on policy and regulatory considerations, and support stakeholder-facing activities where senior expertise is required.

The role is not responsible for drafting all deliverables but is accountable for ensuring technical accuracy, legal defensibility, and alignment with proven socio-economic program models. The SME is expected to anticipate risks, identify gaps, and recommend practical solutions grounded in real-world implementation experience.

The ideal candidate is:

• Highly analytical yet pragmatic
• Comfortable working with incomplete or evolving information
• Confident providing constructive challenge and expert recommendations
• Self-directed and able to manage time effectively with minimal supervision

What This Role Is Expected to Solve, Resolve, or Support

• Reduces program risk by ensuring preference program designs are grounded in precedent and law
• Strengthens defensibility of program recommendations prior to legal and executive review
• Bridges the gap between analytical findings and implementable policy decisions
• Ensures stakeholder engagement outputs reflect best practices and equity principles
• Supports the translation of disparity study findings into compliant, actionable program elements

Tools and Processes Used

• Review of procurement and vendor utilization datasets (summary-level)
• Benchmarking matrices and comparative jurisdictional analyses
• Draft program frameworks, eligibility criteria, and compliance models
• Regulatory redlines and policy concept papers (review and advisory input)
• Virtual collaboration tools (Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, document review platforms)

Position Responsibilities and Anticipated Activities

The SME’s activities are milestone-driven and may include, but are not limited to:

• Advise on the design of Local/Small Business and MBE preference program structures
• Review and validate utilization analyses, benchmarking results, and needs assessments
• Interpret disparity study findings and advise on appropriate remedial program elements
• Evaluate proposed eligibility criteria, thresholds, and compliance mechanisms
• Assess alignment of program concepts with Maryland procurement law and Title 14 requirements
• Provide expert input on certification pathways, reciprocity considerations, and reporting models
• Participate in select internal and external stakeholder sessions as a senior technical resource
• Support executive briefings by reviewing key messages and recommendations
• Identify risks related to implementation, enforcement, or stakeholder acceptance
• Recommend refinements to improve clarity, feasibility, and long-term sustainability

Ascension is seeking a seasoned Supplier Diversity and Public-Sector Procurement Advisor to support the development, operationalization, and performance assessment of a new Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) program for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC).

This is a mission-critical strategic advisory role for a professional who understands the intersection of procurement policy, socio-economic program goals, internal adoption realities, and legal defensibility. The Advisor will help ensure stakeholder input is translated into an operationally viable program that strengthens how M-NCPPC engages with diverse businesses, while also ensuring the internal procurement workforce can implement, track, and sustain the program over time.

Role Overview

Working at the intersection of policy and practice, the Advisor will serve as a bridge between internal leadership, procurement teams, program offices, and the regional vendor community. This role supports both external engagement and internal execution, ensuring the MBE program moves from “policy on paper” to a functional, measurable, and institutionally adopted program.

You will work alongside project leadership and technical teams to reduce implementation risk, surface operational barriers early, and establish performance measures that support transparency and long-term success.

Key Objectives

• Bridge Policy & Practice: Translate stakeholder feedback and program design concepts into implementable procurement workflows and procedures.
• Support Program Defensibility: Contribute to program recommendations that are operationally sound and legally defensible, informed by local procurement realities in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties.
• Facilitate Stakeholder Alignment: Lead structured engagement with internal decision-makers and vendor community stakeholders to build trust, surface risks, and strengthen adoption.
• Operationalize Internal Execution: Support internal “buy-side” readiness by helping procurement teams integrate MBE participation into day-to-day acquisition planning and execution.
• Measure Program Performance: Establish KPIs and evaluation tools to track MBE participation outcomes, identify gaps, and inform continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities

Stakeholder Engagement & Facilitation

• Design and execute stakeholder engagement plans involving internal procurement staff, program offices, leadership, and community business organizations.
• Lead structured interviews, focus sessions, and workshops to capture diverse perspectives and identify barriers, opportunities, and implementation risks.
• Document stakeholder input, points of resistance, and consensus themes in a clear, defensible format to inform program design and regulatory revisions.

Procurement & Program Operationalization

• Translate high-level MBE program concepts into practical procurement workflows, procedures, and day-to-day execution guidance.
• Review existing procurement processes to identify systemic barriers to MBE participation (example: bundling practices, insurance thresholds, limited outreach pathways).
• Provide advisory input on how preferences, thresholds, compliance mechanisms, and reporting requirements will function within the existing procurement lifecycle.
• Serve as a subject matter expert to internal stakeholders to resolve operational friction and support consistent implementation.

Change Management & Internal Socialization

• Lead internal socialization and alignment activities to build consensus among procurement staff, program leaders, and department heads.
• Support development and delivery of workshops and guidance materials to help staff understand the mechanics and value of the new MBE program.
• Provide practical recommendations to strengthen institutional adoption and reduce implementation resistance.

Performance Metrics, Reporting & Assessment

• Establish an evaluation framework for measuring MBE program effectiveness post-implementation.
• Develop KPIs, rubrics, and data-informed performance measures aligned to program objectives and compliance needs.
• Analyze internal spend and procurement outcomes to identify participation gaps and improvement opportunities.
• Prepare executive-ready dashboards, reports, and briefing materials summarizing program progress, risks, and outcomes.

Collaboration & Project Support

• Coordinate closely with the Prime Contractor and technical team members to align engagement outcomes and operational recommendations with project milestones.
• Support the integration of engagement findings into final program deliverables, implementation planning, and long-term sustainment strategies.

Protect our Land, Ascend with Us!

Ascension is seeking a Training & Communications Specialist with demonstrated experience designing and delivering public-sector training, outreach, and implementation guidance for compliance-driven programs. This role is critical to ensuring that M-NCPPC internal staff, vendors, and external stakeholders clearly understand and consistently apply the Local/Small Business Preference Program (Phase 1) and the MBE Preference Program (Phase 2).

The ideal candidate brings a strong blend of instructional design, stakeholder communications, and change enablement experience, particularly in environments where new policies, regulations, or program rules must be operationalized across diverse audiences. This role is not purely instructional; it directly supports program adoption, risk reduction, and implementation success by translating complex policy and regulatory requirements into accessible, accurate, and actionable training and communications materials.

This position is well suited for professionals with experience in supplier diversity programs, procurement training, workforce or compliance training, or government program rollout communications, who are comfortable working independently while coordinating closely with program leadership and subject matter experts.

Summary of the Contractor Role

The Training & Communications Specialist supports Training and Materials, with direct linkage to Phase 1 program adoption and Phase 2 MBE outreach and implementation readiness. The Specialist is responsible for developing, refining, and delivering training content and communications that ensure stakeholders understand program purpose, eligibility requirements, compliance expectations, and operational impacts.

This role requires a detail-oriented, organized professional who can synthesize regulatory and program design inputs from subject matter experts and convert them into clear training curricula, workshop materials, job aids, FAQs, slide decks, and written guidance. The Specialist must be capable of tailoring content for multiple audiences, including procurement staff, internal program administrators, vendors, and community stakeholders.

The ideal candidate is self-directed, responsive, and comfortable working in an evolving environment where materials are refined as program decisions are finalized. The role directly supports risk mitigation by reducing misunderstanding, inconsistent application, and implementation friction during program rollout.

What this role is expected to solve/support:

• Reduces confusion and misinterpretation of new preference program requirements
• Supports consistent application of Local/Small and MBE preference rules
• Improves staff and vendor readiness prior to program launch
• Enables effective change management through structured communications
• Ensures training materials are accurate, accessible, and aligned with adopted policies

Tools and processes commonly used:

• Microsoft PowerPoint, Word, Excel
• Virtual training platforms (e.g., MS Teams, Zoom)
• Learning support artifacts (job aids, FAQs, checklists)
• Basic accessibility and document formatting standards (e.g., Section 508–aware practices)

Position Activities (Anticipated Responsibilities)

The following activities are representative of the work performed over the duration of the role and may vary by phase and milestone:

• Develop training curricula and session outlines aligned to approved program requirements
• Translate program policies, procedures, and regulatory language into clear instructional content
• Create training materials including slide decks, facilitator guides, participant handouts, and job aids
• Prepare written communications such as FAQs, implementation guidance, and outreach summaries
• Support delivery of internal staff workshops and vendor-facing training sessions
• Coordinate with program leads to ensure materials reflect final policy and regulatory decisions
• Adapt materials based on stakeholder feedback and evolving implementation needs
• Ensure consistency of messaging across training, outreach, and written communications
• Document training sessions and materials for reuse and reference during implementation

Protect our Land, Ascend with Us!

Ascension is seeking a data-driven public-sector analyst with demonstrated experience working with procurement, vendor utilization, and disparity-related datasets in support of policy development and compliance-focused programs. This role is critical to ensuring that M-NCPPC’s Local/Small Business and MBE Preference Programs are grounded in defensible, well-documented empirical evidence, rather than assumptions or anecdotal inputs.

The ideal candidate brings strong quantitative and qualitative research skills, experience navigating imperfect or incomplete government datasets, and the ability to translate complex findings into clear, decision-ready summaries that support senior leadership, legal review, and stakeholder discussions. This role directly underpins the credibility and legal durability of the preference programs by establishing the analytical foundation upon which program goals, thresholds, and design decisions are based.

This position is well suited for professionals with backgrounds in public procurement analysis, policy research, program evaluation, economics, statistics, or applied social science, who are comfortable working independently while coordinating closely with policy, legal, and stakeholder engagement leads.

Summary of the Contractor Role

The Data Analyst / Researcher supports both Phase I and Phase II of the engagement by analyzing Commission-provided procurement, vendor, and disparity study data to establish a clear baseline of current participation, identify gaps, and synthesize findings relevant to program design.

During Phase I, the role focuses on analyzing vendor utilization data to assess local and small business participation, supporting program development tasks by producing factual baselines that inform eligibility criteria, thresholds, and policy options (IV.B.1.1; IV.B.1.3).

During Phase II, the Analyst supports interpretation and summarization of disparity study findings, ensuring that MBE program elements are directly tied to documented disparities and aligned with legal requirements (IV.B.2.1).

The Analyst does not set policy or advocate for outcomes; instead, the role ensures that program decisions are evidence-based, transparent, and defensible, reducing risk of legal challenge or stakeholder dispute.

The ideal candidate is methodical, detail-oriented, and intellectually disciplined, with the ability to document assumptions, flag data limitations, and communicate findings clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.

What This Role Is Expected to Solve / Support

• Establishes a credible, data-backed baseline of current local, small, and minority business participation
• Reduces program risk by ensuring goals and thresholds are supported by documented evidence
• Supports legally defensible program design by aligning findings with disparity study results
• Enables informed decision-making without overreliance on incomplete or inconsistent datasets
• Strengthens confidence in final recommendations presented to Commission leadership

Tools and Processes Used

• Microsoft Excel (advanced formulas, pivot tables, structured analysis)
• Data validation and reconciliation techniques
• Qualitative and quantitative research methodologies
• Documentation of assumptions, limitations, and methodological notes
• Collaboration via Microsoft Teams and SharePoint
• Structured reporting and briefing support (tables, charts, narrative summaries)

Position Day-to-Day / Anticipated Activities

• Analyze Commission-provided procurement and vendor utilization datasets to assess participation trends
• Validate data for completeness, consistency, and usability; document limitations and gaps
• Develop baseline metrics for local, small, and minority business participation
• Summarize disparity study findings relevant to program design and remedial considerations
• Prepare analytical tables, charts, and written summaries for inclusion in program documentation
• Support policy and stakeholder teams by translating data into decision-ready insights
• Document analytical assumptions, methodologies, and data sources to support transparency
• Respond to ad hoc analytical questions arising during stakeholder engagement or legal review

Protect our Land, Ascend with Us!

Ascension is seeking a Socio-Economic Program Specialist with hands-on experience supporting public-sector supplier diversity, local/small business programs, or MBE-focused initiatives. This role is critical to translating policy and program concepts into implementation-ready structures that can be operationalized by a bi-county procurement organization.

The ideal candidate understands how socio-economic preference programs function in practice, not just in theory. They bring domain knowledge in local government procurement, supplier diversity frameworks, program documentation, and stakeholder-informed program design, and can work effectively under senior direction to support both Phase One (Local/Small Business Preference Program) and Phase Two (MBE Preference Program) activities.

This role is well-suited for professionals who have supported similar initiatives at the state, county, municipal, authority, or quasi-governmental level, and who are comfortable working in environments where legal defensibility, equity objectives, and operational feasibility must be carefully balanced.

Summary of the Contractor Role

The Socio-Economic Program Specialist provides programmatic and documentation support for the design and implementation of M-NCPPC’s two-phase Socio-Economic Business Preference Program. Working under the direction of senior program and policy leads, this role supports:

• Translation of program concepts into clear, structured, implementation-ready materials
• Development and refinement of program documentation, procedures, and supporting artifacts
• Synthesis of stakeholder input into actionable program design recommendations
• Alignment of program elements with regulatory requirements and operational realities

The Specialist is expected to be detail-oriented, analytical, and comfortable operating in a structured yet evolving policy environment. The role supports risk reduction by helping ensure that program concepts are consistent, practical, and defensible, reducing the likelihood of misinterpretation or implementation challenges.

Tools and processes commonly used in this role include Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint; structured outlines and templates; document version control; and collaboration platforms such as Microsoft Teams.

Position Day-to-Day (and Period-of-Performance) Activities

Activities may vary based on project phase and schedule but are expected to include:

• Support development of Local/Small Business Preference Program components aligned to RFP Sections IV.B.1.1–IV.B.1.3
• Assist with preparation of program documentation for the MBE Preference Program under IV.B.2.1–IV.B.2.4
• Draft and refine program descriptions, procedures, and implementation considerations under senior guidance
• Synthesize stakeholder feedback into structured program inputs and summaries
• Review draft regulatory and program documents for internal consistency and operational clarity
• Coordinate with senior staff to track document versions, comments, and revisions
• Validate that program elements are aligned with stated objectives, constraints, and legal considerations
• Support preparation of internal briefings or summaries related to program design decisions

Protect our Land, Ascend with Us!

Role Summary

The Systems Engineering SME provides direct technical advisory support to CG-SID-9 for Call Order 1 by supporting systems engineering policy oversight, technical reviews, and acquisition milestone activities.

This role ensures that systems engineering considerations are properly integrated into acquisition planning and decision-making, and that technical analyses produced for CG-SID-9 are rigorous, defensible, and aligned with federal acquisition standards.

Day-to-Day Responsibilities

• Review and assess systems engineering documentation
• Support acquisition reviews and milestone decisions
• Identify technical risks and gaps
• Develop technical briefings and recommendations
• Advise CG-SID-9 leadership on best practices
• Support Red Team and Senior Review activities

Protect our Land, Ascend with Us!

Role Summary

The Systems Engineering SME provides direct technical advisory support to CG-SID-9 for Call Order 1 by supporting systems engineering policy oversight, technical reviews, and acquisition milestone activities.

This role ensures that systems engineering considerations are properly integrated into acquisition planning and decision-making, and that technical analyses produced for CG-SID-9 are rigorous, defensible, and aligned with federal acquisition standards.

Day-to-Day Responsibilities

• Review and assess systems engineering documentation
• Support acquisition reviews and milestone decisions
• Identify technical risks and gaps
• Develop technical briefings and recommendations
• Advise CG-SID-9 leadership on best practices
• Support Red Team and Senior Review activities