Federal Position Descriptions
Print

Executive Secretary

Executive Secretary, Department of State
Responsibility
Management Scope

The executive secretary leads the executive secretariat bureau and oversees four deputy executive secretaries and their staff, totaling nearly 300 employees, and manages a budget of $9.762 million.3

Primary Responsibilities
  • Leads the executive secretariat, which includes five deputy executive secretaries and their staff.
  • Coordinates the work of the department internally and serves as the primary liaison between the department’s bureaus and the offices of the secretary, deputy secretary and undersecretaries.
  • Manages the department’s relations with the White House, National Security Council and other Cabinet agencies.
  • Maintains the department’s official historical records and processes Freedom of Information requests for information from the secretary, deputy secretary, undersecretary for political affairs and the counselor.
  • Manages the secretary’s official domestic and overseas trips, including arranging the travel schedule and overseeing the logistics and run-of-show for secretary visits.
  • Plays a coordinating role in the department’s preparation for, management of, and distilling lessons learned from crises.
  • Leads the Operations Center, which includes monitoring world events 24/7, preparing briefings for the secretary and other department principals and coordinating the department’s response to crises.
Strategic Goals and Priorities
Depends on the policy priorities of the administration
Requirements
  • Demonstrated commitment to the foreign
  • Previous leadership experience in the State Department.
  • Substantive expertise in international affairs.
Competencies
  • Robust communication and administrative skills both up and down the organization.
  • Ability to effectively prepare for and respond to crises.
  • Ability to work collaboratively across the State Department, other agencies and the White House.
Past Appointments
  • Dereck J. Hogan (2023 to present): Principal deputy assistant secretary, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Department of State; ambassador to the Republic of Moldova, Department of State; deputy executive secretary, Department of State.4
  • Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir (2021 to 2023): Ambassador to Malaysia, Department of State; executive assistant to the undersecretary of State for political affairs, Department of State; special assistant to the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Department of State.5
  • Lisa D. Kenna (2017 to 2020) Executive Assistant to the Secretary of State, Department of State; political adviser in the Office of the Secretary of Defense; Director for Iraq, National Security Council.6
AGENCY

Department of State

Mission: The Department of State is the lead institution for the conduct of U.S. diplomacy, and the secretary of state is the president’s principal foreign policy advisor.

COMPENSATION

Level IV $191,900 (5 U.S.C. § 5315)2

REPORTS TO

Secretary of State

Appointee Tracker

Check out our Political Appointee Tracker

Go to the tracker

Footnote
  1. https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/principalofficers/executive-secretary
  2. https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/22Tables/exec/html/EX.aspx
  3. https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/FY-2025-CBJ-A-1.pdf; https://www.state.gov/about-us-executive-secretariat/
  4. Leadership Directories.
  5. Leadership Directories.
  6. Leadership Directories.
More federal position descriptions