Undersecretary for Civilian Security Democracy and Human Rights

The department consists of more than 13,500 foreign service officers, 10,500 civil service and 5,500 foreign service nationals working at approximately 270 posts around the world. The undersecretary leads five bureaus: the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration; the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement; the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations; the Bureau of Counterterrorism; and the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, and three offices: the Office of Global Criminal Justice; the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons; and the Office of Global Youth. The undersecretary has an immediate staff of approximately 14 people and manages the largest budget in the department.³

• Contributes to the security of the American people and nations around the world by assisting countries to build more democratic, secure, stable and just societies
• Serves as principal policy advisor to the secretary and deputy secretary on a wide range of global and security matters
• Oversees policy changes and ensures implementation, including programmatic operations
• Oversees and manages stabilization operations as well as U.S. response to humanitarian and natural disasters
• Works closely with the National Security Council staff, the U.S. mission to the United Nations, the United States Agency for International Development, the Department of Homeland Security, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the director of national intelligence, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Office of the Vice President, the Office of Management and Budget and the Treasury Department⁴
• Coordinates U.S. foreign policy on the environment and oceans, health, science, population, refugees, migration and women’s issues
• Provides leadership and direction in coordinating and executing related programs and initiatives, and directs the negotiation and implementation of any international agreements as requested
• Assists the secretary and deputy secretaries by attending senior-level meetings with the White House upon request, and represents the department’s position by testifying before congressional committees and appearing in the media
• Reconciles policy differences among assistant secretaries before presenting unified proposals to the secretary and deputy secretaries
• Coordinates closely with senior officials from other departments and agencies as well as nongovernment organizations⁵

[Depends on the policy priorities of the administration.]