Communications Professional III

Job Description

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) Communications Office has an opening for an experienced communications project manager who will lead a team to amplify wind energy-related research.

In this role, you will be accountable for delivering communication strategies and results on time/on budget in a fast-paced agency-like model. You will motivate and guide our team’s delivery of five-star customer service through establishing relationships and trust with our clients at the Department of Energy Wind Energy Technologies Office and NREL’s Wind Energy Program.

We’re looking for a proactive leader who has experience overseeing high-performing teams and managing complex budgets and multiple communications campaigns with minimal direction. You’ll apply a hands-on approach to ensuring day-to-day details meet big picture objectives by coaching team members, adding creative solutions, and continuously improving team processes. 

Excellent interpersonal, presentation, and oral and written communications skills are essential to collaboration with senior internal and external clients on projects requiring coordination between multiple organizations. An advanced understanding and application of communication project/budget management principles, concepts, best practices, and standards is required for successful collaboration with writers, technical editors, graphic designers, and web producers/developers.

Successful candidates will be able to inspire their teams through exemplary attention to detail and quality, strong writing and editing skills, knowledge of traditional and digital communication standards and best practices, a can-do attitude, a passion for problem-solving, and a collaborative workstyle that helps to maintain good working relationships with clients and team members.

Job functions include

• Leading a team, which includes other communication representatives, project managers, project coordinators, and subcontractors
• Serving as the primary contact for external and internal clients 
• Creating and executing complex strategic communications programs that align with program goals and budgets
• Establishing project plans and program budgets and reporting to funding sources with accountability for costs, timelines, and project scopes
• Demonstrating Communications Office capabilities to maintain and develop new business
• Planning, developing, and performing a broad range of activities to achieve communication results
• Offering expertise on a full suite of communication principles and products for campaigns, which may include fact sheets, events, graphics, newsletters, presentations, proposals, social media posts, technical reports, website articles and pages, webinars, and videos
• Communicating science, including reviewing complex technical information from research staff and translating it into clear, engaging content for a variety of target audiences and channels 
• Working closely with managers to identify and assign critical resources for projects and individual tasks 
• Coaching colleagues with less experience, including reviewing their work and providing feedback
• Managing projects through documentation and presentations in Microsoft Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe Acrobat, and other tools
• Participating in office-level improvements, policy reviews, campaigns, events, and other activities as requested.

About NREL and the Communications Office
NREL is the only U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory dedicated to renewable energy and energy efficiency research. The NREL Communications Office (CO) is comprised of communications experts in a variety of disciplines focused on raising awareness about the lab and DOE programs. This position resides in CO’s Science and Technology Communications Group, which consists of 12 teams representing NREL’s wide-ranging research areas.

Job Requirements

Basic Qualifications
Master's Degree in Marketing, English, Journalism, Communications, Public Relations or related and 3 or more years of experience in Project Management, Marketing, Journalism, Communications, Public Relations or related
Or, relevant Bachelor's Degree Marketing, English, Journalism, Communications, Public Relations or related and 5 or more years of experience in Project Management, Marketing, Journalism, Communications, Public Relations or related.

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