Federal Position Descriptions
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Chief Financial Officer

Chief Financial Officer, Department of State
Responsibility
Management Scope

In fiscal 2015, the Department of State had $26,498 million in outlays, and in fiscal 2014 it had 10,068 total employment. The CFO oversees the financial management of the entire department.

Primary Responsibilities

• Develops and maintaining integrated accounting and financial management systems
• Oversees the recruitment, selection and training of personnel to carry out agency financial management functions as well as managing, training and providing policy guidance and oversight of these personnel and their activities
• Implements agency asset management systems, including systems for cash management, credit management, debt collection, and property and inventory management and control
• Develops budgets that support all agency missions
• Manages the financial execution of the agency budget and actual expenditures
• Provides financial and performance reports to staff, overseers and stakeholders
• Ties the budget and performance to outcomes
• Takes the lead role in enterprise risk management

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

• Strong background in federal financial management
• Executive leadership experience
• Experience working in a large organization
• Risk-management experience
• Knowledge of the department’s functions and policies
• Knowledge of federal budget formulation
• Familiarity with cyber technology a plus
• Background in data analytics a plus

Competencies

• Ability to collaborate with the chief information officers, under/assistant secretaries for administration/management, as well as other CFOs and OMB via the CFO Council
• Knowledge of, and relationships with, Congress, or ability to develop them

Past Appointments
  • James L. Millette (2012-2017) – Deputy Assistant Secretary for State Programs, Operations, and Budget, DOS; Senior Policy Advisor to the CFO, DOS; Director of Resources for the Foreign Buildings Program in the Bureau of Administration, DOS
  • Bradford Higgins (2006-2009) – Chief/Director of Planning to the U.S. Mission’s reconstruction management office in Baghdad; Chief Financial Officer to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq; Co-Director of the joint civil-military strategic planning group in Iraq; Director of Strategic Performance and Assessment office for the U.S. Mission in Iraq; Senior advisor to the U.S. Ambassador in Iraq
  • Christopher Bancroft Burnham (2002-2005) – Chief Executive Officer of PIMCO’s Columbus Circle Investors; Vice-Chairman of PIMCO’s mutual fund group; Treasurer of Connecticut; investment banker with Credit Suisse First Boston and Advest Corporate Finance; elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives three times, and served as assistant minority leader; 23-year veteran of the United States Marine Corps Reserve
AGENCY

Department of State

Mission: The Department of State is the lead institution for the conduct of American diplomacy and the secretary is the president's principal foreign policy advisor.

COMPENSATION

Level IV $155,500 (5 U.S.C. § 5315)2

REPORTS TO

Secretary and Deputy Secretary of the Department of State

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Footnote
  1. CRS report: Presidential Appointee Positions Requiring Senate Confirmation and Committees Handling Nominations, 2016
  2. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (Public Law 115-31, May 5, 2017), contains a provision that continues the freeze on the payable pay rates for certain senior political officials at 2013 levels during calendar year 2017.
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