Special Program Manager

Position Description Special Programs Manager U.S. Department of State Office of the Under Secretary for Political Affairs (P) Bureau for Near Eastern Affairs (NEA) Program of Technical Cooperation (PTC) *This is a personal services contractor position.* Introduction This position is located in the Program of Technical Cooperation (PTC), a fast-paced office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. PTC leads an interagency effort currently including several interagency partners, with the possible addition of other agencies and offices in the future. U.S. Chief of Mission staff working for the program in the Kingdom perform their duties primarily in Saudi facilities. The incumbent serves as a Special Programs Manager (SPM) and participates in all areas of preparation, planning, development, execution, and accountability on PTC initiatives and projects with the Saudi Government. The incumbent is a member of multiple Integrated Project Teams (IPT) and is expected to guide U.S. government agencies and senior Saudi colleagues through the process of designing and executing joint projects that meet U.S. national interests and Saudi government goals, while balancing the institutional and individual equities of multiple stakeholders. Outstanding interpersonal, analytical, and teamwork skills and written and oral communication skills are required. Major Duties and Responsibilities The Special Programs Manager (SPM) serves as a subject matter expert (SME) and advisor to U.S. program officials and senior Saudi staff on current and emerging public security, emergency management, infrastructure protection, counterterrorism, and capacity building projects. Having mastered the application of a wide range of qualitative and quantitative methods for the assessment and improvement of operational effectiveness, the incumbent serves as an expert action officer and analyst who can easily share knowledge among the PTC team. In addition, the SPM serves as a team lead, coordinating efforts across the team, representing the team in senior leadership meetings, and ensuring team work quality meets expectations. PTC is structured into teams, and the incumbent must be a strong team player able to work jointly with colleagues including Program and Project Management experts, Foreign Affairs Officers, participating agency members, U.S. Embassy officials, and other relevant SMEs as required by each project. Specific responsibilities include: Identify strategies for jointly developing training and advisory programs to be provided by the U.S. Government to Saudi Arabian agencies responsible for public security, law enforcement, civil defense, transportation security, cybersecurity, environmental security, and counterterrorism, including identifying the correct U.S. agency partnerships to engage with Saudi entities. Actively participate in and/or coordinate efforts and meetings between U.S. and Saudi colleagues, potential U.S. implementing agencies, U.S. universities, U.S. non-government entities, and centers of excellence that may assist PTC in project planning, assessments, development of program management documentation, and execution efforts. Play a critical role in ensuring that contractors and implementing agencies meet the commitment of their contracts/agreements. Serve as primary interagency liaison between PTC and U.S. interagency partners. Perform other duties as assigned. Knowledge Required by the Position The candidate should possess a bachelor’s degree and 10 years of full-time experience with either a federal law enforcement agency or public safety department in one or more of the following disciplines: law enforcement; counterterrorism; fire/rescue; and emergency management services. PTC welcomes candidates with a background in implementing projects with diverse groups and/or advancing women in law enforcement and security. In lieu of a bachelor’s degree, an additional ten years of experience in the above areas will be considered. In addition to the above have: Awareness of training and curriculum development processes, facilitation and instruction. Mastery of advanced management and organizational principles and practices along with a comprehensive knowledge of planning, programming, and budgeting regulations, guidelines and processes. The ability to write accurate and timely reports. Communicates complex issues in simple terms in an efficient, prompt and professional manner. Computer proficiency in Microsoft Office applications is required – at a minimum in Excel, Power Point and Word applications. Knowledge of the various jurisdictions of Federal, State, and local law enforcement and public security agencies. Position Requirements Must know and understand U.S. Department of State security regulations Bachelor’s Degree and extensive relevant work experience U.S. Citizenship Ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret clearance Ability to obtain and maintain a Department of State issued Medical Clearance Good communication skills in English, both written and oral Demonstrated data visualization and data management experience and skills Ability to effectively work as a team in the resolution of conflicting views to promote cooperation and support for national security objectives One year of specialized experience equivalent to a FS-03 equivalent, with demonstrated knowledge of the methods and procedures for providing or performing a variety of functions and services applicable to the position to be filled. Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following: Extensive experience working with a range of public security concepts, programs, and practices needed to advise decision-makers on and to design and plan for program requirements. Experience leading teams. Experience providing advice and guidance to staff, other agency officials, contractors, and foreign government representatives concerning U.S. Government policies and procedures. Experience with interagency stakeholders in resolving problems. Experience protecting and safeguarding personnel, facilities, classified materials, operations, and processes at locations outside the United States. Experience providing advice and guidance to staff, other agency officials, contractors, and foreign government representatives concerning policies and procedures. Experience analyzing complex issues and experience leading organizational or team actions in accordance with plans, goals, and objectives. Experience working closely with senior leadership of an organization. Experience communicating directly with senior level officials of a host government, overseas. Experience working in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment, and working accurately under pressure and in difficult circumstances. Experience establishing and maintaining effective and constructive working relationships with people of different national and/or cultural backgrounds with respect for diversity. Ability to influence employees to cooperate in the pursuit of common goals. Ability to effectively work as a team in the resolution of conflicting views to promote cooperation and support for national security objectives. Ability to plan and organize activities, prioritize and schedule work, efficiently allocate assigned resources, meet deadlines, work under pressure, and achieve desired results with minimal or no supervision. Ability to identify requirements, establish objectives, develop alternate courses of action based on data-driven analysis and decisions, present policy options, and coordinate execution of policy decisions. Ability to communicate effectively in the English language orally and in writing, defend recommendations, negotiate solutions, and present to senior decision-makers. Supervisory Controls The SPM reports to the Director through the Supervisory Special Programs Manager. The incumbent works daily with senior Saudi officials and is expected to do so with little supervision. The SPM must exercise independent initiative and is fully responsible for the actual planning and carrying out of assignments of the SPM team; resolving linguistic or other problems as they arise; coordinating the work with others as necessary; quality assurance for the SPM team; supervising the team of SPMs, representing the SPM team in senior leadership meetings; and interpreting policy at his/her own initiative in terms of established objectives, with guidance from the Director and Deputy. Work in most cases is considered definitive and subject to only cursory review, when fully successful. The key exception is in the finalization of international agreements, where the SPM reviews project team recommendations with the Director before additional action is taken. Guidelines Guidance, direction and delineation of policy approaches are broad in nature and jointly developed in conversation with senior PTC officials. The incumbent must exercise initiative and independent judgment in proposing or choosing the appropriate subjects for assessment and developing specific analytical approaches. Department of State guidelines for supervision, writing style and standards, ethical guidelines, and other policies as relevant apply and guide the work. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manuals and Handbooks PTC Standard Operating Procedures Applicable Embassy Riyadh Management and Security Notices U.S. law and regulation Scope and Effect The position involves analyzing and advising on public security, emergency management, infrastructure protection counterterrorism, and capacity building projects. The position involves monitoring programs and determining the necessity for adjustments or changes to current policies. This is not a supervisory position. Personal Contacts Regular contacts are with senior U.S. and KSA officials, senior staff of interagency partner organizations, PTC staff members, officials and other personnel from other federal agencies, and personnel from private U.S. and international industry. Contacts occur in a wide variety of planned and unplanned, formal and informal settings, including open meetings and conferences where the incumbent represents the PTC and the Department of State, and may be called upon to explain and defend the agency’s programs and positions. Purpose of Contacts Contacts are to exchange information; resolve problems; coordinate and advise on a variety of procedures, projects, assessments, and other work efforts. In the performance of duties, the employee comes in contact with all employees of PTC. The incumbent sometimes has to interview employees for information in confidence and for this reason, the employee in this position must be someone who can be trusted by both management and colleagues. Physical Demands The work is normally sedentary, requiring no special physical demands. The demands associated with travel to and from remote areas, for example occasional site visits within KSA, in restrained time frames over under-developed infrastructure and conveyances, require an average resistance to fatigue and physical hardships. Work Environment The position is duty-stationed in Riyadh, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Work is largely performed in an office setting, but may include site visits and other external venues. During travel and site visits within KSA, one will encounter harsh desert climate conditions, with exceptionally high heat and sandstorms and may encounter locations with underdeveloped infrastructure and conveyances. One must be willing and able to abide by the laws, regulations, and requirements of living in the Kingdom, including the social environment of Saudi Arabia.