Desktop Publisher Specialist

The Challenge:

Official publications must be accurate, readable, accessible, and ready for release under demanding timelines. What if you could use your desktop publishing and editing expertise to help the U.S. Coast Guard produce high-quality directives, forms, messages, and other mission-critical publications?

Build Your Career:

At JCTM we value knowledge, experience, integrity, and commitment. Joining our team means becoming part of an organization that empowers individuals, prioritizes ethical practices, and fosters a culture of collaboration and growth.

Challenging Projects:

As a Desktop Publisher Specialist with JCTM, you will support the production, editing, formatting, and finalization of Coast Guard publications in a high-volume environment. This role requires mastery of editing and layout tools, strong command of written English, experience applying templates and publication standards, and the ability to help deliver polished, compliant products across the publishing lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities:

• Desktop Publishing and Formatting: Prepare, edit, and format directives, forms, general messages, and other publication artifacts using approved templates, layouts, and standards.
• Copyediting and Proofreading: Correct grammar, punctuation, usage, consistency, readability, and technical writing issues across draft and final publication products.
• Line Editing Support: Improve sentence-level readability, clarity, tone, and structure for publication content, especially for general messages and other time-sensitive products.
• Template Application and Standards Compliance: Ensure correct template usage, proper structure, formatting consistency, and alignment with Coast Guard correspondence and publishing requirements.
• Section 508 and Plain Language Support: Apply accessible writing and basic remediation practices, including document cleanup, alternative text insertion, artifact tool usage, and identification of non-compliant content for correction or escalation.
• Publication Processing Support: Assist with pre-publication final checks, version control, release-readiness reviews, and coordination with sponsors or team leads to resolve errors or missing components.
• Library and Database Maintenance: Maintain accurate publication metadata, titles, coding, categorizations, and archive information to support reliable searchability and records integrity.
• General Message Processing: Support regular business-hour processing, maintenance, and archiving of message products in accordance with required system formats and records processes.
• Production Tracking: Keep publication status current in trackers and support reporting of edits, publications processed, remediation actions, and related production metrics.

State-of-the-Art Technology:

Expand your expertise by working with current versions of Microsoft Office 365, Adobe Acrobat Pro, Microsoft SharePoint, and connected collaboration and publishing systems in a virtual, cloud-enabled environment.

New Skills:

Work alongside experienced publishing and compliance professionals while building your expertise in government publishing workflows, accessibility support, records accuracy, metadata management, and publication lifecycle operations.

Room to Grow:

You will have opportunities to grow your career and contribute to JCTM’s strategic goals through increasingly complex publishing assignments, process improvement efforts, and broader support to enterprise publication management.

Work Location: This position is primarily remote from a U.S.-based work location, with occasional on-site support at U.S. Coast Guard Base NCR in Washington, DC, as mission requirements dictate.

You Have:

• Bachelor’s degree preferred in Information Technology, Policy, Administration, Military Science, Library Science, Homeland Security, English, or a related discipline
• 2–5 years of professional experience in desktop publishing, technical editing, document production, or a related field
• Mastery of editing, proofreading, layout, and template application
• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Office 365, Adobe Acrobat Pro or similar PDF editing tools, and Microsoft SharePoint
• Highly proficient command of English grammar, punctuation, and business writing standards
• Experience managing or supporting document libraries, publication databases, or structured document repositories
• Ability to work independently while coordinating with sponsors, leads, and cross-functional stakeholders
• Strong attention to detail with a commitment to quality, consistency, and on-time delivery

Nice to Haves:

• 2+ years supporting military or federal publishing products such as strategy, policy, procedures, training content, executive correspondence, or message release workflows
• Experience with Section 508 review and basic remediation
• Experience with Microsoft Power Platform or Power Apps
• Experience processing or supporting official messages, forms, or controlled publications
• Familiarity with Coast Guard, DHS, or DoD publishing environments

Clearance:

No clearance is required, however applicants selected will be subject to a background investigation and must be able to safeguard sensitive information.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement:

JCTM is an Equal Opportunity Employer that empowers our people to fearlessly drive internal and external change while supporting the safety and security of our great nation.