Director, Design Strategy; Competency Manager

LINK is a fast-growing Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB) that leverages human-centered design to support strategy, innovation, communication, change, and branding within the federal government and adjacent industry partners. They are seeking a Director, Design Strategy; Competency Manager to lead and execute innovative design strategies while managing a high performing design strategy team.

Responsibilities:

• Directly manage assigned employees within the competency
• Lead performance management activities, including coaching, feedback, development planning, performance reviews, and promotion recommendations
• Support employee engagement, retention, career growth, and professional development
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive culture aligned with LINK's values
• Support onboarding and integration of new employees into the competency and broader organization
• Address employee concerns, performance issues, and challenging personnel situations in partnership with leadership as needed
• Partner with Talent and Leadership teams to shape recruiting priorities, workforce plans, and hiring strategies that support competency growth
• Participate in recruiting activities, including interviewing, candidate evaluation, selection, and onboarding
• Identify capability gaps and anticipate future staffing needs to support competency growth
• Build and maintain relationships with prospective talent and external communities that strengthen the competency talent pipeline
• Help define role requirements, capability needs, and hiring criteria for competency-related positions
• Establish and maintain competency standards, tools, frameworks, methodologies, and best practices
• Lead competency development initiatives, including learning opportunities, mentorship, knowledge sharing, and capability-building efforts
• Monitor emerging client needs, industry trends, and capability gaps to inform competency growth and investment priorities
• Identify and recommend investments in hiring, development, tools, and capability-building initiatives that strengthen the competency
• Partner with Project Team Leadership to support staffing decisions, employee development, and project success
• Provide support to project teams on an ad hoc basis
• Collaborate with Deputy Competency Managers to ensure consistency in employee experience and competency operations
• Represent and advocate for competency needs, priorities, and recommendations with leadership

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Design, Communication, Sociology, Psychology, Human-Centered Design, or a related field
• 15+ years of experience in design strategy, service design, experience design, research, consulting, communications, or a related field
• Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance
• Demonstrated people management experience, including performance management, coaching, employee relations, conflict resolution, and employee development
• Demonstrated ability to mentor senior practitioners and foster a culture of continuous learning, collaboration, and design excellence
• Experience building high-performing teams by shaping recruiting strategies, workforce planning, competency development, and learning initiatives aligned with business objectives
• Demonstrated ability to assess organizational capability, identify emerging skill needs, and develop strategies that advance the long-term growth and maturity of a professional practice
• Recognized expertise applying human-centered design, design thinking, systems thinking, facilitation, and research methodologies to solve complex organizational challenges
• Experience designing and facilitating workshops, stakeholder engagements, and collaborative working sessions that drive alignment and informed decision-making
• Demonstrated ability to advise senior leaders, shape strategic direction, and translate ambiguity into actionable strategies that drive organizational outcomes
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with senior leaders, clients, and cross-functional teams
• Approaches work with optimism, curiosity, sound judgment, and a collaborative mindset
• Portfolio that demonstrates both design execution and strategic decision-making