LGBTQ Veterans Community Outreach & Relations Specialist - Mayor's Office on Veterans Affairs (MOVA)

Washington, DC

Full Time

Mayor's Office on Veterans Affairs (MOVA)

Experienced

POSITION: LGBTQ Veterans Community Outreach & Relations Specialist
OFFICE:       Mayor's Office on Veterans Affairs (MOVA)
OPEN: May 4, 2026
CLOSED:      May 8, 2026
GRADE:        Excepted Service, Grade 5 (ES-5)
SALARY:      $76,377.00

This is an Excepted Service position. Selected candidate must be a District resident or establish residency within 180 days of hire.

Current District of Columbia residents will receive priority and advanced preference for screening and interviews.

SPECIAL TERM: As an Excepted Service position that serves at the pleasure of the Mayor, the term for this posting aligns with the end of Mayor Bowser's term and is expected to end on January 2nd, 2027.

background

The Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs (MOVA) is dedicated to serving the District’s veteran community, their families, survivors, and military caregivers. MOVA seeks to address the broad range of social, economic, and healthcare needs of the District’s veteran community by building strategic partnerships with public and private organizations, creating veteran-centered policy initiatives, and developing strong relationships with the veteran community. Building on these relationships, MOVA acts as a liaison between the District’s veteran community and the Mayor, District agencies, Federal agencies, and non-profit organizations to ensure that the District’s veteran community has access to the full range of available resources. For more information on MOVA, visit https://ova.dc.gov/.

Major duties

Identify, develop, plan, organize, and coordinate District-wide programs and services to meet the needs of LGBTQ veterans.
Strengthen partnerships between the District’s Veteran community, the Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs (MOVA), and organizations serving the Veteran community, with an emphasis on LGBTQ veterans.
Conduct outreach to, and provide assistance designed for the unique needs of veterans who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ), and to the spouses and dependents of such veterans.
Provide assistance to LGBTQ veterans in applying for an upgrade to the character of a discharge from service or a change in the narrative reason for a discharge from service.
Provide assistance in applying for and obtaining veterans’ benefits and benefits available through other programs that provide services and resources to LGBTQ veterans and to the spouses and dependents of such veterans.
Develop and distribute informational materials to LGBTQ veterans, and to the spouses and dependents of such veterans, regarding veterans’ benefits and other benefit programs that provide services and resources to LGBTQ veterans and to the spouses and dependents of such veterans.
Organize and participate in speaking engagements, panels, and lectures to support MOVA’s mission and goals.
Develop and coordinate intake office hours and joint events with the DC Mayor’s Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Affairs.
Manage social media engagement to effectively disseminate information to the community, and respond to inquiries.
Develop policy with the collaboration of agency and community stakeholders including the Advisory Board on Veterans Affairs.
Identify areas of need in the city’s veteran community and work with the Director to establish and maintain strategic relationships with community organizations.
Organize and facilitate veteran stakeholder meetings with members of the community, Veteran Service Organizations, District agencies, and Federal agencies.
Analyze data to identify and recommend priorities to develop, direct, and organize work-plans.
Coordinate services among District agencies to ensure timely responses to community concerns.
Work together with other Community Affairs agencies in the development of community engagement strategies.
Performs other related duties as assigned.

COMPETENCIES, KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

Strong working knowledge of Veteran benefits and services available at the Federal and State level and able to counsel Veterans on obtaining these services and benefits.
Knowledge of the program services provided through MOVA and other partnering agencies.
Highly organized and methodical.
Innovative with strong critical thinking abilities.
Ability to work well under pressure and meet tough deadlines in a fast paced, demanding environment.
Constituent focused; positive outlook; strong people skills.
Ability to organize and manage projects; to review, analyze, and evaluate data; and to prepare analytical reports.
Ability to critically review reports and data.
Ability to communicate both orally and in writing, and to utilize tact and persuasion in gaining acceptance of policies and programs.
Strong writing and editing capabilities.
Experience with social media platforms.
Experience with core issues facing the Veteran community.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Affiliation with the United States Armed Forces, including as a veteran or military family member, strongly preferred.
Demonstrated experience engaging with the Veteran community with a focus of connecting Veterans to available services and benefits.
Direct experience working to support the needs of LGBTQ veterans.
Minimum of two years working in public policy, community engagement, government affairs, or military service.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work is performed primarily in-person in an office setting. Times in the field are frequently required for related events.

SPECIAL NOTE - SECURITY SENSITIVE

This position is deemed security sensitive. The incumbent of this position will be subject to enhanced suitability screening pursuant to Chapter 4 of DC Personnel Regulations, Suitability – Security Sensitive.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT

There is a legal requirement that each new appointee to the Excepted Service either:

be a District of Columbia resident at the time of appointment; or
become a District resident within one hundred eighty (180) days of appointment.

The law also requires that Excepted Service employees remain District residents during the duration of the individual’s appointment. Failure to remain a District resident for the duration of the appointment will result in forfeiture of employment.

If you are interested in this role, please upload your resume and answer the questionnaire. Only the candidates deemed most suited for the position based on resume will receive a call to schedule further discussion.