WHA Leahy Vetting Senior Program Advisor

The contractor will serve as the WHA Bureau Leahy Vetting Program Subject Matter Expert (SME) and Point of Contact for questions, recommendations, and advocacy for all aspects of the Leahy laws policies, practices, training, remediation efforts, the Fast Track list, and software programs.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Includes the following:

·       Serve as the WHA Bureau Leahy Vetting Program Subject Matter Expert (SME) and Point of Contact for questions, recommendations, and advocacy for all aspects of the Leahy laws policies, practices, training, remediation efforts, the Fast Track list, and software programs.

·       Brief WHA senior leadership on WHA Leahy Vetting policies, practices, and situations; brief other bureaus, agencies, NGOs, and entities as requested.

·       Identify, obtain, aggregate, interpret, and report on vetting and program data, including individual vetting performance/productivity of WHA Vetting Advisors.

·       Ensure all WHA vetting is completed within 10 working days of receipt from posts; perform timely reviews of derogatory information and help stakeholders reach agreement.

·       Review Leahy law-related processes and programs, and recommend improvements to meet the vetting policy and practice needs of the Bureau, and WHA posts.

·       Compile and analyze budget requirements for the WHA Leahy vetting program, preparing programmatic and budgetary justifications and overviews annually with the GTM.

·       Maintain positive, professional relationships with relevant stakeholders; provide advice and guidance during State and interagency meetings to coordinate efforts, protect WHA equities; review and provide proper, timely follow up on difficult and suspended cases.

·       Maintain routine supportive contact with WHA posts and desks to promote smooth vetting processes in DC and at WHA missions abroad; obtain and review each posts’ Standard Operating Procedures bi-annually; update policy and procedural guidance as needed, ensuring consistency in language and process with global and regional SOPs.

·       Prepare background material for and draft reports, memos, letters, ALDACs, bulletins, briefings, speeches, presentations, responses to congressional inquiries and mandated reports, FOIA requests, responses to OMB, GAO, and OIG, and other documents as requested related to regional and thematic issues. Ensure documentation originating in the WHA Leahy Vetting Program is accurate, timely, and professional.

·       Assertively manage and support WHA security force remediation efforts, in coordination with DRL and DoD; advocate for WHA posts in remediation review panels.

·       Maintain an effective and efficient training program for DC-based WHA vetting advisors, support cross-training vetting activities with DRL, provide on-the-job, formal, and informal training to vetting advisors and others, and teach vetting-specific processes such as Boolean logic, INVESTc use, and others as needed; provide virtual and on-site training to Posts.

·       Conduct classified vetting of foreign military and police personnel planned to receive U.S. foreign assistance from the WHA region to ensure all vetting requests are completed within 10 working days of receipt from posts; ensure urgent requests are completed timely.

·       Monitor political, economic, and security developments in WHA as required, providing timely assessments, analyses, and other programmatic support to the WHA/PPC office, including but not limited to assembling briefing books, drafting reports and updates, clearing thematic and regional paper, and serving as control officer, to contribute to well-coordinated USG policy and program recommendations to the PPC office and Bureau leadership.

·       These responsibilities include pre-establishing in the contract specified ranges of acceptable decisions, subjecting the contractor’s discretionary decision to final approval by an agency official, assigning a sufficient number of qualified federal employees with appropriate expertise to administer the work, and taking steps to avoid or mitigate conflicts of interest.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited institution, Master’s Degree preferred.
• Demonstrated minimum of eight years of combined work experience in business, program management, project coordination, customer service, human rights, international affairs, policy support, intelligence, Defense, Law Enforcement, or another relevant field.
• Experience performing Leahy or similar vetting activities.
• Spanish language capability at the FSI 2/2 level or greater.
• Knowledge of research and analytical methods to validate, evaluate, and interpret information obtained from a variety of sources.
• Demonstrated at least one (1) year of experience coordinating or managing programs or projects, including tasks such as monitoring resources, tracking team performance, writing operating procedures, designing and/or implementing training programs, advising on or assisting with budget preparation, planning projects, timelines, and/or supervision of personnel.
• Experience developing, implementing, and/or interpreting metrics to measure project performance against expected outcomes preferred.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Ability to obtain and maintain a Top-Secret Clearance with SCI approval.
• Demonstrated experience working with Microsoft office products to create professional and comprehensive documents to validate, evaluate, and interpret information.
• Demonstrated excellent English verbal and written communication skills adequate to prepare and present analyses and recommendations, and draft cables, official memos, and reports.
• Demonstrated strong analytical skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to solve problems and model consistent, solid performance.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks, coordinate activities in multiple locations, act decisively in daily work, and work well in a multi-cultural team environment.
• Ability to work independently to assess priorities and coordinate daily requirements with minimal supervision