Special Assistant

Special Assistant

Kaiva Tech, LLC is seeking a Special Assistant in Washington, DC.

Position Summary

Perform secretarial duties in support of the Assistant Secretary and other senior Department of State (DoS) Consular Affairs (CA) bureau officials by performing senior level secretarial/staff support duties.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Receives schedules, directs, and responds to telephone calls coming into the office, referring to the Assistant Secretary, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Deputy Assistant Secretaries, and other senior officials, those calls, which in his/her judgment cannot or should be referred to others or handled by him/herself. Make available as necessary information to which the Assistant Secretary and other senior CA officials may wish to provide.
• Maintains the schedule for the Assistant Secretary, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, and other senior CA officials, arranging, referring to other officials, or rescheduling appointments as deemed necessary. In this connection, the incumbent handles all requests for meetings, speaking engagements, and appointments, decides the distribution of time for the senior official(s) to which he/she is currently assigned, prepares or requests preparation of briefing memorandum indicating purpose of appointments and background data. Arranges for oral briefings by appropriate officers; and discussions with officials invited to meetings called by senior CA officials the subject of the meetings in order that they will be properly informed and provided with necessary information.
• At the direction of the Assistant Secretary, ensures that proposals and orders are directed at the proper offices for implementation action. Works with the Chief of Staff and Staff Assistants to track assignments, programs, and schedules.
• Performs a variety of administrative and office management tasks to support the smooth flow of information and tasks through the CA Front Office and across the Bureau; devise and install procedures and practices to coordinate and control the flow of information to and from the office. Distribute taskers that flow into the office. Resolve administrative bottlenecks and correct deficiencies to streamline the flow of information and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of routing information and taskers in the Front Office.
• Serves as a liaison between the CA Front Office and counterparts in the Executive Secretariat Staff, Office of the Secretary, Office of the Deputy Secretary, Offices of the Under Secretaries, and the Front Offices of multiple policy bureaus. Corresponds with external partners in other U.S. Government agencies, private sector companies, and foreign governments on logistical topics. Brings urgent items to the attention of CA or the detailed office leadership.
• Ensures Front Office staff are advised of pertinent and time-critical information of interest to the A/S and PDAS.
• Serves as a liaison between Front Office leadership and all bureau colleagues as well as other officials in the Department outside the bureau to transmit and interpret instructions and inquiries in both directions.
• Makes and acknowledges various social engagements, which are a part of the official responsibility of the Assistant Secretary, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, and other senior CA officials.
• Makes travel arrangements often highly complex and last minute - including scheduling of appointments, hotel reservations, passports, visas, and travel advances, as necessary for the Assistant Secretary and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, and other CA Front Office officials as needed. Upon return of traveler, prepares vouchers from receipts, notes, and incumbent's knowledge of arrangements.
• Serves in a liaison capacity between the Assistant Secretary, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, and other senior CA officials and their staff and other offices in the Department. Assures that colleagues are fully informed on the plans and commitments of senior CA officials as well as cognizant of the status of matters under discussion or consideration.
• Ensures that senior CA leadership is kept continually informed of activities for which his/her subordinates are responsible. Transmit and interpret instructions from the Assistant Secretary or Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary to members of his/her staff and other officials in the Department.
• As requested, or on his/her own initiative, makes careful and exhaustive searches for information difficult to obtain, compiles data and makes preliminary analyses.
• Make and transcribe notes taken during meetings as required.
• Responsible for carrying out special assignments for senior CA officials, which require a high degree of tact and diplomacy and comprehensive knowledge of the views of various senior officials.
• Prepares correspondence, telegrams, and memoranda for the Assistant Secretary and other senior CA officials, and ensures that briefing papers and reports all conform to style and format guidelines established by the Department's Executive Secretariat
• Has a comprehensive knowledge of Government Travel authorization application (E2 Travel Solutions). Drafts/prepares travel authorizations on behalf of supervisor or staff member who is traveling. Prepare travel authorizations for staff members as requested based on information provided by traveler. Prepares trip itinerary, obtains travel expenses estimates (MI&E costs, taxi, hotel costs etc; prepares travel authorization request. Upon completion of trip, assists traveler in preparing electronic travel vouchers. Follows up with travelers to ensure all expense documents have been submitted and on time (i.e. within 30 days).

Mail, Correspondence and Reports

• Reviews all incoming correspondence and forwards it with necessary information or instructions to the appropriate offices for action. Composes replies for his/her own signature when appropriate. Exercises judgment in presenting material to the Assistant Secretary or other senior CA officials that he/she has special interest or which for reasons of special confidential consideration is not reviewed by any member of the immediate staff. Composes correspondence for signature by the Assistant Secretary and other senior CA officials.
• Processes/reviews all incoming and outgoing letters, memos and related correspondence. Prepares reports, memoranda and other forms of written communication. Composes and edits letters, reports and general office memoranda for publication/distribution on behalf of the Assistant Secretary or other senior CA officials or senior level officer.
• In the absence of the relevant senior CA official, maintains a file of correspondence and events of which the Assistant Secretary or Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary should know about and upon his or her return. Brings such matters to their attention.
• Demonstrates extensive experience and demonstrated ability in working with classified and unclassified computer applications. Operation and knowledge of Microsoft applications, including Word, Excel, and related computer-based programs operations.
• Ability to work under pressure and tight or short deadlines.
• Make and transcribe notes taken during meetings as required.
• Responsible for carrying out special assignments for the Assistant Secretary, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretaries, and other senior CA officials which require a high degree of tact and diplomacy and comprehensive knowledge of the views of the CA leadership.
• Maintains office files. Manages other tasks authorized by the Government Task Manager that fall within the scope of this task order.
• Performs duties as assigned by the Assistant Secretary related to the general function, logistics, and flow of paper through the Front Office.

Knowledge and Critical Skills

• Must be a US citizen with a valid US passport
• Possess a minimum a SECRET clearance; Top Secret Preferred
• Excellent knowledge of Department of State operations and overall special assistant experience.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including drafting and editing executive-level correspondence, memoranda, briefing materials, and reports.
• Demonstrated experience supporting senior executive/front office leadership in a high-tempo government environment.
• Working knowledge of personal computers and general administrative practices.

Education & Work Experience

• Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree preferred
• 8+ years of experience in supporting executive leadership
• Experience performing duties comparable in complexity and responsibility to the GS-14/15 level.
• Demonstrated expertise in coordinating executive level travel and managing executive calendars.

Work Environment

Employee will primarily work on-site in Washington, DC in collaboration with federal and contractor teams.

Physical Demands

The employee must be able to operate standard office equipment, work on a computer for extended periods, and communicate effectively in a in-office environment. Reasonable accommodations will be made as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).