FOIA Support

Ocean Associates Incorporated•Silver Spring, MD

7h•$25 - $45•Hybrid

About The Position

Ocean Associates Inc. (OAI) is seeking an applicant to provide Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) support to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Office of the Assistant Administrator (OAA) in Silver Spring, MD. This position is prospective and dependent on the award of a contract. OAI specializes in scientific program and project management, strategic planning, professional and technical services, and stakeholder engagement, supporting government contracts. The NMFS Office of the Assistant Administrator (OAA) provides executive leadership and coordination for various activities and requires professional administrative and analytical support to maintain timely, secure, accurate, and accessible operations.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and three (3) years of experience, or a Master’s degree, from an accredited college or university.
Demonstrated experience supporting FOIA processes, records review, records organization, tagging, de-duplication, redaction support, status reporting.
Experience using Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, Clearwell/eDiscovery tools, or comparable platforms.
Ability to prepare clear written and verbal instructions for record reviewers.
Strong written and oral communication skills.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, Adobe Acrobat, electronic file management, calendars, spreadsheets, and approved collaboration tools.
Ability to learn NOAA/DOC systems and procedures quickly.

Responsibilities

Provide administrative, analytical, and records-processing support for NMFS OAA FOIA activities using Government-approved procedures, templates, systems, and instructions.
Review incoming FOIA requests for completeness, identify missing information, clarification needs, scope issues, deadlines, tolling events, consultation needs, and routing considerations for Government review.
Create and update FOIA case records in approved Government systems (e.g., FOIA Online, Clearwell, successor eDiscovery platforms).
Maintain a FOIA tracking dashboard identifying case number, requestor, date received, due date, current owner, status, risks, next action, dependencies, and target completion date.
Monitor case progress and alert the COR before cases approach statutory or internal due dates, backlog risk, or resource bottlenecks.
Collect responsive records from subject matter experts and coordinators and place them in the approved staging area or system of record.
Import, export, sort, organize, format, de-duplicate, and tag records using Government-approved categories and instructions.
Perform first-pass review of records for responsiveness, duplicate status, consultation needs, sensitivity indicators, and potential redaction areas for Government review.
Prepare draft redaction recommendations and draft release packages for Government and Office of General Counsel (OGC) review.
Perform quality control checks on records packages, including file format, pagination, search completeness, tagging consistency, redaction integrity, and packaging completeness.
Prepare weekly taskers for subject matter experts, including records requested, due dates, instructions, reminders, and status summaries.
Prepare draft correspondence, status updates, reports, briefings, and response materials for Government review and approval.
Support Government communications with requestors to clarify or narrow requests and provide status information when authorized by the COR.
Coordinate administrative package routing with OGC, track OGC comments, and incorporate Government-approved edits.
Prepare monthly and annual FOIA status reports, including caseload, aging, backlog risks, completed actions, pending SME actions, and process improvement recommendations.
Identify recurring bottlenecks, data quality issues, and workflow improvement opportunities and propose practical corrective actions for Government consideration.
Develop or update desk guides, checklists, templates, and written instructions for FOIA record review processes when requested by the COR.