Communications Specialist I

Description

IHRC, Inc. is seeking a qualified Communications Specialist I to support the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Occupational Safety and Health (OOSH) under the Occupational Safety, Industrial Hygiene, Information Systems, and Training (OSIST) contract. The Communications Specialist will serve as a central communications and coordination resource for the OOSH Workstreams team. The position combines technical and organizational communications, editorial and graphic content development, stakeholder outreach, meeting and program coordination, and support for occupational safety and health initiatives across FDA. The selected candidate will coordinate and develop the monthly OOSH Newsletter; support agency-wide safety and biosafety outreach campaigns; develop digital display advertisements and other communications products; support tabletop exercises and drills; coordinate meetings and calls; prepare meeting minutes and track follow-up activities; and assist the OSIST Program and Project Managers with Workstream communications, schedules, dashboards, and other program information. The Communications Specialist will work closely with the OSIST Workstreams Project Manager, Program Manager, occupational safety and health subject matter experts, training personnel, FDA stakeholders, and other members of the multidisciplinary OSIST team. The position requires exceptional organizational, writing, editing, interpersonal, and coordination skills and the ability to manage multiple concurrent activities and deadlines in a federal government environment.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead the development, coordination, editing, production, and publication of the monthly OOSH Newsletter, working with FDA personnel and OSIST subject matter experts to identify topics, obtain and refine content, develop graphics, coordinate reviews, and prepare each issue for publication.
• Develop, edit, review, and refine occupational safety and health communications for FDA-wide distribution, including safety messages, awareness materials, guidance summaries, campaign materials, announcements, presentations, and      other communications products.
• Develop graphics, visual communications, and other materials that effectively communicate technical occupational safety, industrial hygiene, biosafety, laboratory safety, emergency preparedness, and related information to diverse FDA audiences.
• Assist with the development, coordination, approval, and publication of digital display advertisements for internal FDA displays, including up to eight advertisements during the Workstreams period of performance.
• Lead communications and outreach support for National Safety Month in June and National Biosafety Month in October, including planning campaign activities, coordinating stakeholders and subject matter experts, developing communications materials, scheduling communications, and supporting execution of campaign activities.
• Support other OOSH outreach and employee-engagement initiatives by developing communications strategies and materials appropriate for targeted and agency-wide audiences.
• Serve as a key coordination resource for tabletop exercises, drills, and emergency preparedness activities, including scheduling and coordinating planning meetings; communicating with designated FDA personnel, participating organizations, external emergency responders, and other stakeholders as appropriate; developing exercise-related communications and materials; and supporting exercise execution and follow-up activities.
• Assist technical personnel with preparation, editing, formatting, and coordination of drill and exercise documentation, including after-action materials and reports identifying observations, areas for improvement, and recommended corrective actions.
• Attend Workstreams meetings, project meetings, planning sessions, conference calls, and other meetings as required and provide communications and administrative coordination support.
• Schedule and coordinate meetings and conference calls, including coordinating participant availability, distributing invitations, reserving appropriate meeting resources, and communicating meeting information and changes to      participants.
• Prepare and distribute meeting agendas and supporting materials, as appropriate, and maintain organized records of meeting documentation.
• Take accurate and comprehensive meeting notes and prepare professional meeting minutes documenting key discussions, decisions, action items, responsible parties, and due dates.
• Maintain and track meeting action items and assist the Project Manager and Workstream personnel with follow-up activities to ensure assigned actions are appropriately communicated and addressed.
• Support the OSIST Workstreams Project Manager and Program Manager with maintenance and updating of Workstream schedules, the Integrated Master Schedule (IMS), dashboards, status information, and other program-management      communications.
• Assist in communicating Workstream schedules, milestones, deliverable status, emerging requirements, and other relevant program information to project personnel and FDA stakeholders.
• Support preparation and refinement of presentations, executive briefings, status reports, dashboards, and other materials used to communicate Workstream activities, accomplishments, schedules, performance information, and emerging issues.
• Coordinate with occupational safety and health subject matter experts to translate complex technical information into clear, accurate, accessible, and audience-appropriate communications.
• Support training activities through communications, scheduling and logistical coordination, development and editing of supporting materials, participant communications, and coordination with the OSIST Training Specialist and technical subject matter experts.
• Perform editorial review, proofreading, formatting, and quality-control activities for Workstream communications and other assigned deliverables to ensure clarity, consistency, accuracy, professional presentation, and adherence to established FDA requirements.
• Support stakeholder outreach and working-group activities involving FDA Centers, Offices, laboratories, facilities, occupational safety and health personnel, and other internal and external stakeholders.
• Ensure communications products are developed in accessible electronic formats and conform to applicable Section 508 accessibility requirements.
• Organize and maintain communications files, meeting documentation, outreach materials, newsletters, graphics, presentations, and other project records within designated FDA and OSIST information-management systems.
• Work collaboratively with the Workstreams Project Manager, Program Manager, technical subject matter experts, Training Specialist, FDA Government Task Leads, and other project personnel to ensure communications and coordination activities are completed accurately and on schedule.
• Perform other communications and coordination activities within the scope of the OSIST Workstreams Task Order as assigned.

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited academic institution.
• Minimum of two (2) years of directly relevant professional experience in communications, public affairs, public relations, technical communications, marketing communications, program coordination, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated professional writing, editing, proofreading, and document-production skills.
• Demonstrated ability to prepare clear, concise, and professional communications for different audiences and communication channels.
• Experience coordinating meetings, schedules, stakeholders, and multiple concurrent activities.
• Ability to prepare accurate meeting minutes and effectively document decisions, action items, responsibilities, and deadlines.
• Demonstrated organizational skills and ability to manage recurring deliverables, competing priorities, and deadline-driven assignments.
• Experience developing presentations, graphics, newsletters, announcements, outreach materials, or comparable communications products.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, and Teams.
• Ability to work effectively with technical subject matter experts and translate technical information into understandable communications without compromising technical accuracy.
• Strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to work collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams and with personnel at multiple organizational levels.
• Ability to work independently, exercise sound professional judgment, and appropriately manage sensitive or internal information.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Journalism, Public Relations, Marketing, English, Technical Communication, Graphic Communications, or a related discipline.
• Experience supporting a federal government agency, public health organization, scientific or technical organization, laboratory environment, or occupational safety and health program.
• Experience developing or managing newsletters or other recurring organizational publications.
• Experience developing graphics, digital signage, presentations, infographics, or other visual communications.
• Experience supporting organizational outreach or awareness campaigns, particularly safety, health, scientific, or employee-engagement campaigns.
• Experience coordinating tabletop exercises, emergency preparedness exercises, drills, or similar multi-stakeholder events.
• Experience supporting large or multidisciplinary meetings, including scheduling, agenda coordination, meeting minutes, action-item tracking, and follow-up.
• Familiarity with occupational safety and health, industrial hygiene, biosafety, laboratory safety, emergency preparedness, or related technical subject matter.
• Experience using Microsoft SharePoint or comparable collaborative document-management and information-sharing platforms.
• Experience maintaining dashboards, project schedules, or program status information.
• Familiarity with Section 508 accessibility requirements and preparation of accessible Microsoft Office documents and electronic communications.
• Experience working directly with technical and scientific subject matter experts to develop communications for nontechnical audiences.