Staff Assistant

Cherokee Federal • Washington, DC

10d

About The Position

Cherokee Federal is pursuing an opportunity to support the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs, Passport Services Directorate (CA/PPT). Passport Services oversees passport issuance nationwide and protects the integrity of the U.S. passport as proof of citizenship. Its headquarters teams provide leadership, policy guidance, operational oversight, planning, training, records management, and modernization support to passport agencies and centers.

Staff Assistants and Senior Staff Assistants support the Deputy Assistant Secretary and Managing Directors by providing information, coordinating work across Passport Services and Consular Affairs, and ensuring decision materials are accurate, complete, and cleared on time. Senior Staff Assistants have greater responsibility for independent coordination and resolving issues across offices.

Both roles use Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and SharePoint to prepare documents and coordinate work. This is an anticipated opportunity.

Requirements

• Staff Assistant: Bachelor’s degree and at least two years of relevant professional experience.
• Senior Staff Assistant: Bachelor’s degree and at least four years of relevant professional experience.
• Active Secret personnel security clearance.
• Knowledge of Department of State documents and clearance processes.
• Familiarity with Bureau of Consular Affairs and Passport Services operations.
• Strong computer skills and proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and SharePoint.
• Strong writing, editing, organization, judgment, and attention to detail.

Nice To Haves

• Experience supporting senior officials in a federal headquarters or similar environment.
• Experience preparing materials for executive review.
• Experience coordinating input across multiple offices under competing deadlines.
• Experience using SharePoint for document collaboration, tracking, and version management.
• Discretion, anticipating leadership needs, and follow-through.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate headquarters activities, gather input from relevant offices, and flag issues that need leadership attention.
• Serve as a point of contact for correspondence, action items, guidance, and policy updates.
• Manage the preparation, routing, review, revision, clearance, and transmission of Department documents.
• Track deadlines and follow up on outstanding actions.
• Edit correspondence, memoranda, briefings, and decision papers for clarity, accuracy, consistency, formatting, and completeness.
• Consolidate office input and reviewer comments, manage document versions, and resolve missing information or conflicting edits before submission.
• Keep leaders and staff informed of document status, approaching deadlines, delays, and decisions needed.
• Support front office practices, communicate leadership direction, and recommend improvements to headquarters operations.
• For Senior Staff Assistants: lead coordination of responses across offices, prepare complete packages for leadership review, address delays, and maintain tracking tools.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level