Staff Assistant III

This position is in the Threat Investigations and Analysis (TIA) Directorate Front Office, Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS), Department of State. TIA’s mission is to provide DS with the means to track, analyze, disseminate, and investigate threat information for our embassies and consulates, as well as for the private sector. The offices within the TIA coordinate with U.S. law enforcement and the Intelligence Community to produce timely intelligence products to warn of threats to American facilities and personnel overseas.

The Staff Assistant will be responsible for providing the full range of direct support to the TIA Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) and Front Office staff, as well as TIA’s five subordinate offices: the DS Command Center, the Office of Intelligence and Threat Analysis, the Office of Protective Intelligence Investigations, the Office of Rewards for Justice, and the Office of Open-Source Intelligence.

The Staff Assistant will conduct duties and responsibilities in accordance with Department and DS policies and applicable security regulations. The selected candidate will occupy a highly trusted position that requires analytical and specialized technical skills which will enable them to perform all aspects of the job in a thorough and timely manner. They will exercise independent judgment, as well as a high degree of problem-solving ability within the scope of work. In addition to interacting with DS Senior personnel and their support staff daily, the Staff Assistant will work closely with the TIA Special Assistant, TIA Front Office staff, TIA office directors and resource personnel, other DS and Department personnel, and may engage in frequent contact with related government offices/departments.

Major Duties:

• Manages all aspects of operations for the TIA Front Office along with the TIA Special Assistant and Executive Administrative Assistant.
• Serves as the acting Special Assistant when necessary to function as the main interlocutor between TIA and the rest of DS to facilitate the crucial flow of threat information.
• Drafts, processes, reviews, and edits incoming and outgoing materials to include briefing papers, DS forms, correspondence, reports, memoranda, and other forms of written communication on behalf of the TIA DAS. Communication may be time-sensitive, personnel-sensitive, and/or classified.
• Oversees the tracking and monitoring official correspondence and tasks assigned to the TIA Front Office via the DSS Task Tracker (DS’s official task management system).
• Directly liaises with TIA program offices and other directorates to obtain status updates and additional guidance (as/if needed) to ensure timely responses to tasks assigned.
• Analyzes the functions and operations of the TIA Front Office and presents recommendations for greater productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness. Establishes and maintains working relationships throughout DS to ensure TIA operations run efficiently, and to facilitate coordinated efforts when/if needed.
• Serves as TIA’s HR liaison and routinely engages with DS/HR personnel to update civil service position descriptions as needed, and to discuss current and/or upcoming vacancies on behalf of the hiring managers within the directorate.
• Manages all required security measures and ensures operational requirements are met for the TIA Front Office secure space by serving as the Assistant Special Security Representative (ASSR).
• Communicates regularly with TIA support staff to improve upon existing standard operating procedures/practices for administrative and logistics functions.
• Reviews the TIA Directorate organizational chart for accuracy and oversees the creation/distribution of emergency contact cards for TIA leadership and support staff.
• Communicates (written and orally) directly with and provides guidance to TIA office directors to address matters of direct concern to the DAS and other DS senior officials.
• Tasks appropriate TIA offices with providing written products and/or briefings needed for upcoming U.S. dignitary travel. Initiates and tracks subsequent internal TIA tasker to ensure trip and/or briefing materials are delivered in a timely manner.
• Oversees the compilation of TIA’s Weekly Activity Report (WAR) and ensures the timely submission of the WAR to the DAS and the DS Front Office for clearance.
• Coordinates the TIA VIP speaker series and TIA directorate morale events.
• Responsible for coordinating all aspects of all VIP visits to TIA, to include facility access, passing clearances, logistics, escorting, and confirming the availability of meeting space/schedules.
• Mentors’ incumbents of the Executive Administrative Assistant position and provides direct guidance to ensure daily objectives are met and tasks are completed.
• Serves as the main point of contract for all FOIA-related inquiries for the TIA directorate.

Other duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Oversees the TIA DAS’s calendar. Coordinates with Office Management Specialists (OMS) within TIA and/or personnel from other directorates or agencies to schedule appointments/coordinate internal and external meetings for the TIA DAS.
• Ensures that the TIA Executive Administrative Assistant is prepared to onboard new hires/newly transferred employees to ensure a smooth transition into the TIA Front Office; create/transfer computer accounts, request badges and appropriate accesses, assist with setup for wireless devices. May provide guidance to TIA program offices to assist with onboarding efforts as needed.
• Manages the annual inventory process for the TIA Front Office by ensuring all workstations are provisioned with appropriate equipment and that all equipment is in good working order. This includes tracking the replacement life cycle of assets.
• Serves as the visa coordinator for the DAS. As the coordinator, ensures that visa requests for DAS travel are prepared and dropped off in time to allow sufficient visa processing time.
• Maintains the access roster to a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) and ensures classified documents are destroyed at the end of each day.
• Serves as the primary timekeeper for TIA Front Office personnel and the office directors for each of TIA’s program offices.
• Serves as travel arranger for the TIA DAS and Front Office staff; processes reservations, authorizations, and vouchers on behalf of travelers; serves as the back-up travel arranger for the TIA Directorate.
• Ensures that the contact information listed on the Department’s Organizational Directory and TIA’s SharePoint sites is updated to reflect appropriate contacts and job titles.
• Monitors and maintains office supplies for TIA Front office; processes all office procurement to include supplies, equipment, furniture, and computer hardware, following approval from TIA’s Resource Manager. May also complete procurement orders for subordinate offices as needed.
• Coordinates logistical and facility service requests and deliveries as needed.
• The incumbent of this position will perform driving duties. They will be responsible for maintaining the vehicle and service logs for the TIA Front Office’s government owned vehicle.
• Driving duties will include driving the DAS to meetings, driving required to facilitate obtaining foreign visas, and hand-carrying information between the Department and DS Headquarters.
• Participates in special studies of the administrative or management aspects of sensitive situations identified by the Bureau, Department, or external audit organizations. The incumbent gathers facts and analyzes results relevant to the specific issues he/she has been assigned to investigate and collaborates with other appropriate organizations in gathering and analyzing facts and data. Formulates conclusions and recommendations for action and submits them for incorporation into a formal written report and oral presentations, as necessary, for various levels of management.
• Other duties as assigned.

• Undergraduate degree in related field and 5 years specialized experience. Without a degree, must have 7 years of specialized experience.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and meet deadlines under pressure.
• Ability to work in an independent and self-directed manner with minimal supervision or tasking.
• Advanced knowledge of management, support, and organizational skills, including the application of a wide range of qualitative and quantitative methods, to conduct surveys and studies of Directorate organizations and operations to assess productivity and efficiency.
• Comprehensive knowledge of the Bureau’s and the Department’s structure, missions, functions, and operations to coordinate extensive studies related to assessing and improving the Bureau’s organizational structure, workflow, staff size, and occupational mix.
• Ability to communicate orally to liaise with senior management officials and present recommendations to management.
• Ability to communicate in writing to develop policy, guidance, instructions, and reports of findings and recommendations as well as to write reports, correspondence, and other documents.
• Must be proficient with Microsoft Office to support reporting and tracking work activities, particularly SharePoint, Word, Outlook, and Excel.
• Must have excellent written and oral communications skills, and the ability to interact with individuals at all levels.
• Must have excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to work independently and as a member of the team.
• Must have a valid state or District of Columbia driver’s license.
• MANDATORY: Applicants selected for this position will be subject to a Government Security Investigation and must be eligible for access to classified information at the Top Secret/SCI clearance level. Selected candidate may start with a Top-Secret clearance in certain TIA program offices (or under an Interim Top-Secret clearance if made available to candidate), however, for most TIA programs/spaces; the candidate will require a final TS/SCI clearance to enter on duty.