Program Specialist – International Science/Science Director

Cherokee Federal•Arlington, VA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Cherokee Nation System Solutions (CNSS) seeks a Science Director (SD) Program Specialist to provide business administration services in support of the International Science Program (ISP). Based in Arlington, VA, this role supports the International Science Program Manager (ISPM) and Science Director Program Manager by enabling the planning and execution of internationally focused S&T engagements, program operations, and communications. The Program Specialist’s primary responsibility is to provide robust administrative and operational support that ensures ISP requirements are met. The Specialist will accept technical tasking and prioritization from the ONR Global Science Director Program Manager, acting as the Technical Point of Contact (TPoC) for this position.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and 7+ years of relevant work experience, or Associate’s degree and 10+ years of U.S. Government RDT&E program support experience.
Demonstrated proficiency in managing customer requirements across diverse tasks.
Demonstrated proficiency in preparing briefings and maintaining administrative history.
Demonstrated proficiency in supporting program administration, execution, and evaluation.
Professional maturity to interact daily with senior leaders (O-6/GS-15/Director level) across Joint, Navy, Marine Corps, NR&DE, UARCs, and international S&T partners.
Proven experience planning, scheduling, and managing conferences and multi-day meetings.

Nice To Haves

Working knowledge of the Naval Research & Development Establishment (NR&DE).

Responsibilities

Support the planning and execution of ISP activities and events, including Department All Hands, CNR Quarterly Updates, Regional Team Meetings, and the Global Team Meeting.
Schedule activities, identify conflicts, manage attendance, and facilitate security/building access.
Coordinate logistics (audio, video, virtual participation), prepare agendas, record minutes, and track follow-on actions.
Collect, consolidate, and distribute regular and ad hoc ISP reports, including Science Director Reports (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly), GTAR (weekly), CNR Highlights, newsletters (e.g., China Corner, Outlook Outback), ONR Global Magazine inputs (quarterly), and the ONR Global Prospectus (annually).
Provide administrative support to enable communications between ONR Global Corporate Communications and ONR Headquarters Corporate Strategic Communications.
Coordinate with ONR Global Business Operations teams (Operations, HR, Strategic Comms, BFM) to meet ISP needs.
Support the Science Director hiring cycle: coordinate panel schedules, candidate interviews, consolidate assessments, and maintain records.
Support resolution of complex administrative or business issues requiring sensitive coordination with international and domestic stakeholders across ONR, NR&DE, UARCs, and partner organizations.
Maintain ISP knowledge repositories and platforms to ensure accuracy and currency within one week, including: ONR’s public-facing website, ONR Global’s Knowledge Management systems (e.g., SPO, Teams), International Science Knowledge Management platforms (e.g., Teams), and GTAR repositories (e.g., Intelink).