Associate Director, Information Design; Deputy Competency Manager

**Who We Are:** 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. At LINK, we partner with engineers, futurists, and thought leaders to untangle complexity, discover opportunity, and communicate clearly with visual stories. Let us be your partners in change. **About the Opportunity** The **Associate Director, Information Design; Deputy Competency Manager (DCM)** partners with the Competency Manager to support the health, growth, and performance of the LINK Information Design competency. The DCM directly manages a group of LINKmates and is responsible for performance management, employee development, coaching, and employee experience for their assigned employees. In partnership with the Competency Manager, the DCM contributes to competency initiatives, recruiting efforts, capability development, workforce planning, and continuous improvement activities. The DCM serves as a key partner in maintaining competency health while escalating employee concerns, risks, and organizational needs to the Competency Manager as appropriate. In addition to fulfilling the responsibilities of the Deputy Competency Manager, this role is expected to operate as an accomplished Information Design practitioner at the Associate Director level. Maintaining deep expertise in the Information Design competency is essential to effectively coach and develop Information Designers, contribute to competency standards and growth, and provide credible guidance on client work and professional practice. The Information Design competency helps organizations communicate complex ideas with clarity by applying visual communication, information design, illustration, storytelling, accessibility, and human-centered design principles to solve communication challenges. Information Designers partner with clients to transform technical, operational, strategic, and research-driven information into compelling visual products that improve understanding, align stakeholders, and support informed decision-making. Through thoughtful design, visual systems, strategic storytelling, and the effective use of digital and emerging media, the Information Design competency enables organizations to engage audiences, simplify complexity, and drive meaningful action. **Responsibilities** Talent Management & Employee Development - Directly manage assigned employees within the competency. - Conduct 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, escalating issues as appropriate. Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning - Participate in recruiting activities, including interviewing, candidate evaluation, selection, and onboarding. - Provide input on hiring needs, workforce planning, and capability gaps within the competency. - Support development of talent pipelines and recruiting efforts aligned with competency growth needs. - Build and maintain relationships with prospective talent and external communities that strengthen the competency talent pipeline. - Contribute to role requirements, capability needs, and hiring criteria for competency-related positions. Competency Health & Growth - Partner with the Competency Manager to maintain and improve competency standards, tools, frameworks, methodologies, and best practices. - Contribute to competency development initiatives, including learning opportunities, mentorship, knowledge sharing, and capability-building efforts. - Identify employee trends,…