Protect our Land, Ascend with Us!

Ascension is seeking an accomplished Senior Research Analyst specializing in Equal Employment Opportunity, Military Equal Opportunity, civil rights policy, federal policy analysis, or closely related workforce policy disciplines to support a short-term U.S. Coast Guard policy research and modernization initiative.

The selected professional will serve as the project’s Senior Research Analyst and Project Manager Designee, providing both substantive policy-analysis leadership and day-to-day management of the engagement. This is not primarily an administrative project-management position. The ideal candidate is first and foremost a senior policy researcher and analyst who also possesses the judgment, organization, communication skills, and initiative-management experience necessary to lead a complex federal research effort.

The position is central to an effort examining the Coast Guard’s existing Military Equal Opportunity program and comparing it with MEO policies and processes used by other military services. The work will help inform development of updated USCG policies, instructions, standard operating procedures, implementation activities, and related program improvements.

This opportunity is particularly suited to a professional who has spent a significant portion of their career working with EEO/MEO policy, military personnel policy, civil rights programs, employment policy, organizational policy, investigations/oversight findings, or federal regulatory environments.

Summary of the Contractor Role

The Senior Research Analyst will lead a comprehensive examination of current USCG Military Equal Opportunity policies, processes, workflows, and related organizational systems. The analyst will evaluate how MEO requirements are currently interpreted and implemented within the Coast Guard; compare those practices with other military branches; examine related policies, directives, SOPs, oversight findings, and Congressional materials; and determine how proposed policy changes could affect interconnected USCG organizational processes.

The role also leads structured stakeholder engagement designed to identify operational realities, bottlenecks, differing perspectives, implementation challenges, and areas of organizational consensus. The PWS specifically calls for qualitative and quantitative stakeholder engagement and synthesis of those findings into the overall analysis.

The ideal candidate is a highly analytical, detail-oriented professional who can independently navigate an ambiguous policy environment, rapidly absorb complex source materials, recognize relationships among policies and processes, develop defensible conclusions, and communicate findings to senior federal leaders.

The successful candidate should be comfortable working with limited supervision and should possess the judgment to identify a problem, determine what evidence is required to evaluate it, develop a structured analytical approach, and convert findings into concise recommendations and executive-level communications.

Because the individual also serves as the Project Manager Designee, the candidate must be capable of managing deadlines, risks, quality, stakeholder coordination, recurring status reporting, and Government communications while personally performing much of the substantive analytical work.

Position Responsibilities and Anticipated Activities

The selected contractor will:

• LEAD the overall research and analytical effort supporting the USCG Military Equal Opportunity Policy Analysis and Recommendation project.
• SERVE as the Project Manager Designee and primary contractor point of contact for assigned Government representatives.
• CONDUCT a comprehensive current-state assessment of existing USCG MEO policies, procedures, processes, operational practices, and workflows.
• COMPARE MEO policies and operating models across approximately three to five military services or organizational environments identified by the Government.
• ANALYZE differences between formally documented policy and actual operational workflows.
• REVIEW USCG policies, directives, guidance documents, SOPs, organizational procedures, and related EEO, human resources, legal, investigative, and command processes.
• IDENTIFY interactions and dependencies between MEO processes and other Coast Guard organizational systems.
• CONDUCT structured SWOT analyses of relevant policies, directives, and directorate processes.
• RESEARCH relevant Government Accountability Office reports, Department and Service Inspector General reports, Congressional hearing materials, federal oversight findings, legal frameworks, and other authoritative sources.
• TRACE previously identified systemic vulnerabilities and corrective actions to determine their relevance to the proposed MEO modernization.
• ASSESS the secondary and tertiary effects that proposed MEO policy changes could have on force management, administrative workflows, command activities, and operational readiness.
• DEVELOP and execute a Stakeholder Engagement Plan incorporating appropriate qualitative and quantitative research methods.
• FACILITATE stakeholder interviews, meetings, working sessions, or other structured engagement activities.
• SYNTHESIZE stakeholder observations and research findings to identify recurring themes, operational friction points, organizational risks, and areas of consensus.
• DEVELOP and maintain a formal project risk register identifying risks, likelihood, impact, ownership, and mitigation strategies.
• DEVELOP the project’s Quality Control Plan and apply internal quality controls to analytical and written deliverables.
• PREPARE the project plan and maintain visibility into project activities, deadlines, dependencies, and Government review periods.
• PREPARE weekly and monthly project-status information addressing accomplishments, schedule, risks, issues, upcoming activities, and recommendations.
• PARTICIPATE in weekly progress meetings and monthly project meetings with USCG representatives and subject-matter experts.
• COORDINATE and document project meetings, decisions, action items, and follow-up activities as required.
• SYNTHESIZE multiple research streams into a cohesive Draft and Final MEO Report.
• DEVELOP evidence-based recommendations addressing improvements to USCG MEO policy and processes.
• DRAFT recommended policy language and supporting guidance based upon approved findings and identified best practices.
• DEVELOP proposed solutions addressing implementation risks, process impacts, and potential unintended consequences of policy changes.
• DEVELOP a practical implementation plan identifying activities, sequencing, responsibilities, and anticipated timelines required to implement proposed changes.
• ADJUDICATE Government review comments and incorporate approved revisions into final deliverables.
• PREPARE and DELIVER executive-level presentations summarizing project approach, interim findings, recommendations, risks, and final conclusions.
• ENSURE all deliverables are factually supportable, methodologically sound, logically organized, professionally written, and suitable for executive Government audiences.
• SAFEGUARD sensitive Government information and comply with applicable confidentiality and nondisclosure requirements.