Strategic Communications Subject Matter Expert, Senior Principal

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Strategic Communications Subject Matter Expert, Senior Principal

Strategic Communications Subject Matter Expert, Senior Principal
Arlington, VA/Alexandria, VA

Full-time

Description

The Clearing is a management consulting firm that helps leaders solve complex challenges by turning insight into action. We specialize in diagnosing the root causes of organizational friction across people, processes, and technology, then configuring proven solutions that accelerate meaningful, measurable progress.

Our approach blends analytical rigor with human-centered design. Whether we’re enabling change, optimizing workflows, or guiding smart technology adoption, everything we do is built to scale, repeat, and deliver value. We work across public, private, and mission-driven sectors, partnering with clients to modernize how they lead, work, and deliver.

Our team brings deep experience across disciplines, including change management, strategic planning, organizational design, leadership development, behavioral science, and more. What unites us is a shared belief: real progress happens when we focus on what’s not working, define what’s possible, and deliver outcomes that stick.

If you're excited by purpose-driven work, energized by solving problems at their roots, and passionate about building solutions that last, we’d love to meet you.

The Strategic Communications Subject Matter Expert (SME) provides cradle-to-grave strategic communications, branding, stakeholder engagement, and organizational-adoption support to a federal client’s Front Office. The SME will help the client articulate and advance its expanding mission portfolio through cohesive internal and external communications that reach government stakeholders, Congress, partners, employees, and the public.

This role requires a seasoned strategic communications leader with demonstrated experience operating in complex, high-visibility, and international environments. The successful candidate will combine strategic judgment, exceptional writing and briefing skills, brand stewardship, change-adoption expertise, and an ability to shape compelling narratives around mission priorities, organizational strategy, and public value.

As the client expands its mission portfolios, strategic communication will be essential to build awareness, strengthen stakeholder confidence, enable workforce alignment, and sustain support across internal and external audiences. The Strategic Communications SME will serve as a senior advisor to the Front Office, helping leadership define communications priorities, establish an integrated brand and message architecture, anticipate stakeholder needs, and execute coordinated communications activities from strategy through measurement.

The role supports communications involving internal government audiences, interagency and international partners, congressional stakeholders, external organizations, media or public-facing audiences, and the broader public, as appropriate. The SME must exercise sound judgment in a sensitive environment, work effectively with senior leaders, and ensure communications remain accurate, mission-aligned, audience-specific, accessible, and consistent with applicable policy and security requirements.

• Serve as a senior strategic communications advisor to the client’s Front Office and other designated government leaders.
• Develop, refine, and implement an enterprise strategic communications strategy that supports mission expansion, organizational priorities, leadership objectives, and stakeholder engagement goals.
• Provide cradle-to-grave communications support, including discovery, strategy development, planning, message development, content production,…