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Assistant to the President for Management and Administration

Assistant to the President for Management and Administration, White House
Responsibility
Management Scope

The assistant to the president for management and administration manages seven departments as of 2012: Personnel, Operations, Visitors Office, Photo Office, Calligraphy Office, Executive Residence and the White House Switchboard. He or she allocates critical resources and manages a staff of about 275 in the Office of Administration as well as the annual appropriated operating budget of the White House of more than $55 million. Additionally, this individual provides oversight of the Office of Administration budget of $95 million and the executive residence budget of $14 million.4

Primary Responsibilities

• Develops strategic plans for a multimillion dollar budget to maximize spending efficiencies, while supporting White House policy priorities with funding for personnel, travel and contracts with vendors for a wide range of services
• Works closely with departments throughout the White House on the onboarding and offboarding of personnel and staffing plans that fit within the framework of the overall White House budget
• Oversees professional development programming for White House staff in conjunction with the Office of Presidential Personnel
• Coordinates with the Secret Service on issues related to security, including the impact on the White House campus of state visits and other large events
• Directs timing and project management with the Office of Administration, the General Services Administration, the National Park Service and the White House Military Office, on repairs and long-term infrastructure enhancements to the White House campus5

• Serves as the continuity coordinator for the Executive Office of the President in relation to continuity of operations planning and activities

• Collaborates with White House Counsel’s Office on ongoing matters, and updates and delivers a comprehensive White House Staff Manual covering core policies and procedures6

Strategic Goals and Priorities
[Depends on the policy priorities of the administration.]
Requirements

• Close relationship with, and trusted advisor to, the deputy chief of staff and/or the chief of staff, given that the assistant to the president for management and administration works closely with the chief of staff
• Reflects staffing priorities of White House chief of staff
• Highly developed management skills, with extensive management experience
• Experience in government (Washington experience a plus)
• Understanding of White House and Executive Office operations and the context in which they operate
• Understanding of which appointments require management expertise rather than, or in addition to, political expertise and sensitivity
• Understanding of the fact that routine White House activities White House should not make news

Competencies

• Ability to discern which positions are best filled with long-term employees and which are appropriate for political appointments

Past Appointments
  • Maju Varghese (2015 to 2017) – Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Advance; Advance Lead/Senior Advance Lead; Associate at Wade Clark Mulcahy
  • Katy Kale (2013 to 2015) – Deputy Assistant to the President for Management and Administration; Special Assistant to the President and Director of White House Operations, Director of the Obama-Biden Transition Project; Administrative Director for both Sen. Sherrod Brown and Sen. Bill Nelson7
  • Brad Kiley (2009 to 2012) – Director of operations for the Obama-Biden transition team; Vice President of the Center for American Progress; worked at the International AIDS Trust and the Democratic National Convention8
AGENCY

Executive Office of the President

Mission: White House Management and Administration offers important operational and administrative support for the president of the United States and the White House Office, and administrative oversight to components of the Executive Office of the President.1

COMPENSATION

$174,714 in 20162

REPORTS TO

As of 2012, the deputy chief of staff for operations3

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Footnote
  1. https://www.whitehouse.gov/participate/internships/departments#MnA
  2. https://www.whitehouse.gov/21stcenturygov/tools/salaries
  3. Romney Readiness Project position description
  4. Romney Readiness Project position description
  5. https://www.linkedin.com/in/maju-varghese-0b90a611a
  6. Romney Readiness Project position description
  7. https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/author/katy-kale
  8. http://www.pedaids.org/blog/entry/meet-brad-kiley
This position description was created with the help of Martha Kumar from the White House Transition Project, which provides information to a new White House staff about their individual offices thereby streamlining the process of transition from one administration to the next.
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