Action Officer

Overview

Hepburn and Sons is looking for an Action Officer to join the team. In the role of Action Officer, you will be working as part of a team to provide high level business, operational, and executive support in a demanding, fast-paced professional services environment. The primary goals are to leverage the executives’ time, support the broader team, and successfully serve the Agency’s Mission. You have a deep commitment to advance national and economic security. 

Working at Hepburn and Sons

Working at Hepburn means applying a passion for meaningful work with intellectual rigor to help solve the leading issues of today. We honor handshakes as rigorously as contracts. We keep trust at the forefront of every decision we make and customer we serve! We believe there is no greater principle in business than that of building a solid foundation of trust. We hold one another to the highest levels of integrity and ethics. We cherish every opportunity given to us by our clients. We believe in collaboration, mutual respect, open communication, and opportunity for growth.

Responsibilities

• Provide calendar and communications support. Prioritize, manage, and coordinate complex daily schedules across multiple time zones, internally within DARPA, and for external meetings with top Corporate Executives, private investors, top tier venture and private equity fund managers, other DOD agencies, other USG agencies, start-up and venture accelerators
• Work closely with other Action Officer(s), and Commercial Strategy team members to support the commercial agenda of DARPA by ensuring government leads are well organized, prepared, and informed for meetings and other engagements, including handling, responding, collaborating and communicating with a broad range of requests from DIRO, other DARPA leaders, PMs, other Agencies, Corporate, and Venture/Private/Accelerator Investor requests
• Prepare and provide weekly status updates and ensure data files are uploaded, named, and stored
• Plan and manage logistics, costs, and agenda for quarterly meetings to review portfolio/performance for optimal team impact
• Travel - Use the Defense Travel System (DTS) to book and modify frequent travel / coordinate travel arrangements, including booking flights, accommodation and ground transportation as required (within tight deadlines to enable a seamless travel experience); Submit and reconcile expenses
• Interact with Partners, Principals, and Directors to ensure understanding of individual priorities
• Provide general support to improve business processes and anticipate upcoming workload
• Provide support related to Agency activities, including industry events, DOD matters, and investor community
• Research industry trends in technology, investments, and innovation and share with the team
• Manage contacts for Chief, including updating electronic contacts from business cards
• Prepare documents, letters, emails, and presentations, as well as copy and distribute documents as requested
• Maintain document management systems and databases
• Prioritize correspondence based on urgency and importance
• Balance workload with other Junior Action Officers / Executive Assistants, Action Officers, and SETAs providing support to the team where appropriate

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 4 years’ experience or 9 years of cumulative experience as an executive assistant/junior action officer 
• Secret clearance, and or ability to secure clearance
• Hybrid role, with onsite support needed for DARPA Home Week and support of other meetings/workshops/reviews, totaling an estimated 50% onsite at DARPA
• 5 years’ experience with any combination of the following:
  • > 1 year supporting C-suite/corporate or
  • > 1 year supporting a leadership team at a private/ venture/equity, and or family office or tech accelerator or
  • > 1 year supporting a commercial client making M&A, JVs, Licensing investments of technology
• Meticulous attention to detail and follow-through; perform tasks with high degree of accuracy and efficiency
• Excellent organizational and time management skills; ability to meet deadlines
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Ability to work independently, to take initiative and to overcome obstacles
• Ability to successfully manage competing priorities, keeping constant sight of the overall objectives
• Ability to work effectively with all levels of the organization
• High degree of flexibility in a demanding, fast-paced, and frequently changing environment
• Strong service orientation in responding to customer needs
• Ability to exercise judgment in managing confidential or sensitive information
• Experience working successfully within a complex matrix structured team