Staff Assistant (Project Coordinator)

Location: Washington, DC, 20037

Position Overview

HunaTek is seeking a Staff Assistant to fill a vacancy on our contract with Department of State, located in Washington DC. The Staff Assistant serves as a critical support resource to the Under Secretary, Special Assistants, and Senior Advisors by coordinating administrative and operational processes that advance key business needs and mission objectives. This role requires a comprehensive understanding of bureau priorities, strong judgment in managing competing demands, and the ability to facilitate seamless interagency coordination.

Essential Job Functions:

Strategic Support & Coordination

• Serve as Staff Assistant to the Under Secretary, Special Assistants, and Senior Advisors, coordinating administrative and operational processes to advance critical business needs and mission objectives.
• Maintain a comprehensive understanding of major current and long-term issues pursued by the bureau to provide informed support and anticipate leadership needs.
• Exercise sound judgment in prioritizing competing demands and resolving administrative challenges both short and long term.
• Provide backup support to process and submit time and attendance records for F/FO personnel.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Interagency & Departmental Liaison

• Maintain liaison with the Office of the Secretary, Executive Secretariat (S/ES), Operations Center, Department Principals, offices of other Assistant Secretaries, and offices of Principals in other agencies to facilitate seamless coordination and information flow.
• Coordinate with bureaus and offices to ensure deadlines are met for work tasked by S/ES and the Under Secretary, proactively addressing potential delays.
• Advise Bureau personnel on overdue action items, upcoming deadlines, priority issues, and Department/S/ES procedures for processing documentation.

Correspondence Management & Quality Control

• Maintain liaison with bureau offices to ensure deadlines are met for work tasked by S/ES and the Under Secretary, coordinating with the Chief of Staff, Special Assistants, and Senior Advisors to track and monitor correspondence within the F Family.
• Determine feasibility of meeting deadlines, make necessary corrections, return documents to originators for changes, and notify originators when extensions are required.
• Ensure all official communications to the F Under Secretary are properly and promptly handled in accordance with records requirements and Department standards.
• Assist in preparing high volumes of correspondence, telegrams, memoranda, briefing papers, and reports for senior-level contacts at the White House NSC, DOD, DOC, DOE, DOJ, and across the Department.
• Prepare and request briefing memoranda for meetings through the Department paper tasking system.
• Coordinate with Special Assistants and Senior Advisors to track, monitor, and expedite correspondence within the F family bureaus.
• Ensure the quality and timeliness of written products drafted within the F family bureaus directed to Department principals, maintaining the highest standards of professionalism.
• Provide authoritative guidance, enforce deadlines, and review and edit all documents for the Under Secretary to ensure correct format, style, coherence, accuracy, content, and clearances.
• Make necessary corrections or return documents to originators with clear guidance for required changes.

Knowledge Management, Process & Workflow Improvement

• Design and implement knowledge management systems to track assignments, share information, and maintain core documentation in collaboration with F Front Office staff and other Department personnel.
• Determine feasibility of meeting deadlines on specific documents, notify originators when extensions are required, and negotiate realistic timelines.
• Respond promptly to inquiries from within and outside F family bureaus concerning the status, location, subject matter, and deadlines of documents and taskers.
• Identify workflow bottlenecks and take proactive action to avoid, minimize, or eliminate processing problems in both the short and long term.

Security & Classified Information Management

• Ensure classified materials are managed appropriately, including procedures for handling and storing SCI documents.
• Take and transcribe notes during international, interagency, or public meetings as required.

Skills and Qualification Required:

• High school diploma or GED
• Six (6) years or more work experience in international politics/foreign policy, military/defense, or security cooperation.
• Six (6) years or more work experience in administration, travel planning, complex logistics, political-military affairs, foreign affairs, and defense security cooperation.
• Experience working with the U.S. interagency, preferably the Department of Defense, with senior-level contacts.
• Experience as an assistant to Senior Executive Service/Senior Foreign Service officials, including managing schedules, briefing memoranda, and travel arrangements.
• Experience working with U.S. security cooperation, preferably Foreign Military Sales and/or export control issues.
• Experience in State Department paper content, format, and clearance management, including knowledge management systems such as SharePoint.
• Ability to work independently to assess priorities and manage daily coordination of details without repeated requests for guidance from supervisors.
• Proficiency in travel management, preferably experience with E2 solutions.
• Ability to solve problems and encourage 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.
• Strong organizational, communication, interpersonal, and computer skills.
• Excellent English language communication skills (written and spoken).
• Top Secret clearance