QSI is seeking a Visa Liaison Officer to work for our Government Client in Washington, D.C. The Special Assistant within the Bureau of Consular Affairs Visa Office (CA/VO) will report through the FS-02 Special Assistant to the CA/VO Managing Director. The Special Assistant assists in managing the flow of information to, from, and within CA/VO, and in so doing, often serves as CA/VO's primary contact with the Consular Affairs Front Office, Bureau principals, other CA Directorates, and other Department bureaus. In CA/VO, which is responsible for the Department’s worldwide visa operations, the special assistants assist the Deputy Assistant Secretary and Managing Director in coordinating the activities of 150+ Washington-based staff and over 1000 contract employees at two domestic processing centers. Candidates with prior experience as special assistants, front office staffers, or handling paper clearance processes are preferred.
An active DOD Top-Secret Security Clearance is required.
- Strong verbal and written communication skills to provide accurate and appropriate descriptions of case statuses, processing procedures, and visa eligibility under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
- Superior organizational skills and work ethic and be able to maintain composure and objectivity in stressful situations in order to deal with multiple taskings and inquiries.
- Strong customer service skills and be able to politely and appropriately interface with everyone, from high-ranking public officials to colleagues and the public, in a timely and helpful manner.
- Possess the ability to draft and edit complex written memoranda that are comprehensive, accurate and will conform to all relevant format guidelines with minimal revisions necessary.
- Possess the ability to communicate effectively and confidently to high-level executives. The incumbent must be able to understand senior managers’ needs and appropriately ask questions to clarify taskings or assignments to identify the true information being sought, even when directions are vague or buried in
- extensive information. Additionally, the incumbent must be able to congenially task or assign specific work products to senior level managers and assist them in providing appropriate products to the requesting entity.
- Possess the ability to represent the office in meetings, workshops or conferences relating to his or her assigned portfolio and/or general visa processing as necessary.
- Manage the flow of information to and from the Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) and other senior officials. Ensure that the DAS, Managing Director, and Office Directors receive relevant information in a timely manner and are well-briefed on key issues.
- Prepare, assign, and track taskings within CA/VO for memoranda, talking points, speeches, testimony, diplomatic notes, cables, and reports. Manage taskings for responses to correspondence with the White House, Congress, other agencies, and the public.
- Ensure timely action by CA/VO staff on action items received from the CA Front Office, other Department bureaus, or external government agencies, by reviewing draft materials to make or suggest changes, as appropriate.
- Serve as the primary resource for drafters on questions of CA Front Office and Executive Secretariat procedure and paper format requirements. Respond to tasking-related inquiries from the CA Front Office, other CA Directorates, the Executive Secretariat, the Bureau of Legislative Affairs, and Department bureaus.
- Review and edit documents for substantive accuracy, appropriateness, grammar, format, and clearances.
- Utilize Department and Bureau style guidelines and templates and provide guidance from these reference materials to drafters.
- Ensure appropriate CA/VO distribution of restricted, classified, and sensitive material.
- Maintain archival records of correspondence and completed work.
- Other duties as assigned.
- Bachelor’s Degree (advanced degree preferred), and;
- At least 4 years of written and oral communications in an office environment, including;
- At least 2 years of policy development, international relations, legal, and/or foreign service, including;
- Four (4) years of experience utilizing a variety of office software, specifically: MS Word,
- MS Power Point, MS SharePoint, MS Excel, and MS Outlook