The Information Technology Specialist II is assigned to and reports to the Office of Antiterrorism Assistance (ATA) Front Office and serves as the principal office-wide information technology specialist and primary point of contact for IT-related matters. The incumbent provides direct support to the ATA Front Office and assists the Training Management Division (TMD), Specialized Programs Division (SPD), and other ATA elements with the planning, coordination, administration, troubleshooting, and sustainment of information technology capabilities. As an expert in information technology, the incumbent provides expertise in planning, analyzing, designing, developing, testing, implementing, and maintaining technologies to include SharePoint, website development, hardware, desktop software, information management, and related office-wide IT solutions.

Essential Job Functions:

• Serves as ATA’s primary point of contact for office-wide IT-related issues, requirements, service requests, and technical support, coordinating with the appropriate Department of State’s Information Resource Management (IRM) or the Diplomatic Security Bureau’s Chief Technology Office (CTO) and other IT support organizations as required; understand and navigate enterprise technology requirements when supporting office initiatives. CTO and IRM relationships are important for projects involving enterprise security requirements, system integrations, accessibility, information management, cloud technologies, or other Department-level considerations.
• Provides direct IT support to the ATA Front Office and assists the Training Management Division (TMD), Specialized Programs Division (SPD), and other ATA elements in identifying, coordinating, and resolving information technology requirements;
• Responsible for ongoing security and access management. Monitors the SharePoint environment for potential security vulnerabilities and address issues as they are identified. Reviews SharePoint permissions and user access to ensure that individuals have the appropriate level of access to sites, lists, libraries, and other information. Access and permissions are updated as organizational roles and business requirements change, helping to maintain appropriate controls over office information and resources.
• Collaborates with office-wide system users, subject matter experts, contractors, Department of State technical personnel, and other organizations to ensure IT requirements are thoroughly defined and that assigned capabilities and services are delivered as required;
• Serves as the primary SharePoint Administrator for ATA for the administration, development, configuration, security, and ongoing support of the office's SharePoint environment. Ensures ATA SharePoint sites, pages, lists, libraries, permissions, workflows, forms, metadata, document-management functions, and related capabilities remain operational, organized, current, secure and responsive to office requirements;
• Plans, designs, develops, tests, implements, maintains, and improves ATA SharePoint sites and solutions, including site architecture, page layouts, lists, libraries, content types, permissions, metadata, workflows, business process automation, search, collaboration tools, reports, and other business-process solutions;
• Provides higher-level troubleshooting and technical support for issues with SharePoint, Access/SharePoint-linked databases, and other office information-management solutions, as applicable; investigating complex technical issues, identifying root causes, working with users and other technical personnel to resolve problems, and determining when a larger system or process change may be necessary.
• Leads or coordinates day-to-day development, testing, implementation, and sustainment of assigned IT capabilities and works with office-wide users to resolve business and technical issues or dependencies that affect mission support;
• Participates and coordinates with ATA senior management to develop and implement office-wide IT programs, policies, standards, procedures, guidelines, governance, knowledge-management practices, and electronic document-retention processes;
• Interprets and provides authoritative guidance, advice, office-wide training, assistance, and recommendations on IT matters, including the effective use of SharePoint and other approved information-management tools;
• Evaluates Department approved emerging IT products, services, and technologies; prepares recommendations, action plans, roadmaps, reports, and briefings regarding potential solutions that may improve ATA mission support and business processes;
• Defines goals and objectives for assigned IT projects; develops schedules and implementation plans; monitors progress; identifies impediments; conducts requirements and gap analyses; and recommends corrective actions or alternative solutions;
• Performs special assignments and other IT-related duties in support of the ATA Front Office and office-wide mission requirements.
• Serves as an office-wide resource for the responsible use and adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI), generative AI, and emerging technology tools, including Department’s Approved Microsoft solutions (Co-Pilot) for O365 products and processes, , and other Department-authorized AI platforms, to enhance ATA operational capabilities, productivity, information management, and mission support.
• Identifies and evaluates opportunities to integrate AI-enabled capabilities into ATA business processes, SharePoint environments, knowledge management, data analysis, administrative workflows, training support, and other office functions;
• When the Department approves their use, develops, tests, and recommends AI-assisted workflows and solutions designed to improve efficiency, automate routine processes, enhance information retrieval and analysis, and support decision-making across the ATA Front Office, Training Management Division (TMD), Specialized Programs Division (SPD), and other ATA elements.
• Conducts business process analysis and requirements gathering across ATA to evaluate existing processes, workflows, information flows, and records lifecycles; identifies inefficiencies, duplicative activities, process gaps, and opportunities for technology-enabled improvement; Work with stakeholders to understand how they currently perform their work, identify gaps or inefficiencies, and translate those requirements into technical solutions. Determine whether a requirement is best addressed through SharePoint, Power Platform, Microsoft 365, or another technology. Coordinate the development, configuration, testing, user acceptance, deployment, and ongoing maintenance of those solutions.
• Leads workflow improvement initiatives by engaging ATA Front Office, TMD, SPD, and other office stakeholders to gather requirements, conduct user-group interviews, document current and future-state processes, identify operational challenges, and develop more efficient and standardized workflows.
• Designs, develops, tests, implements, and maintains automated business solutions using Department-approved tools such as Microsoft Power Automate, Power BI, SharePoint, and other automation or low-code/no-code technologies to streamline communications, approvals, reporting, tracking, and recurring administrative processes.
• Develops and maintains dashboards, active reports, automated scripts, data visualizations, pivot-table reporting, and other analytical products that provide management and program personnel with timely, accurate, and actionable information;
• Demonstrated experience in meeting Federal requirements when developing and implementing technology solutions including Section 508 accessibility considerations.
• Analyzes data and reporting requirements and develops technology-enabled solutions that improve data collection, quality, accessibility, visualization, and management decision support across ATA;
• Demonstrated experience in establishing and implementing processes for managing electronic information and documents within SharePoint and Microsoft 365 with multiple databases, SharePoint sites/lists, office-wide shared drives, webpages as well as external facing ATA SharePoint sites. This includes supporting document retention practices, improving information organization and accessibility, and developing processes that allow the office to consistently manage and maintain its electronic records and information.
• Provide technical guidance and training to office personnel. Demonstrate new capabilities, develop user and technical documentation, maintain a library of user guides, create training materials, conduct training, and provide guidance to users and management on how to effectively use and manage the technologies available to them.
• Supports ATA records and information management requirements by applying metadata, content types, document libraries, retention practices, records lifecycles, and other information-governance principles within SharePoint and related systems;
• Coordinates with business owners and system users to evaluate Department approved existing technology-enabled processes, recommend improvements, and implement solutions that integrate business process analysis, automation, reporting, records management, SharePoint, and Department approved AI capabilities.
• Documents business requirements, functional requirements, workflows, process maps, user needs, testing results, and implementation procedures for new or improved IT and business-process solutions.
• Ensures ATA personnel have the required government-furnished IT equipment and peripherals necessary to perform daily duties, and identifies equipment shortages, replacement requirements, and emerging needs for management action.
• Coordinates with embedded Diplomatic Technology System Administrator personnel and IRM who maintain and reconcile an office-wide inventory of IRM issuedIT equipment, including CPUs/workstations, monitors, and other assigned hardware, and supports ATA owned IT equipment accountability, lifecycle planning, replacement, and disposition activities in coordination with responsible offices.
• Monitors external hardware, peripherals, approved software, and related IT capabilities used by ATA personnel to ensure they are properly functioning; coordinates troubleshooting, repair, replacement, installation, or escalation when deficiencies are identified;
• Advises on IT requirements and coordinates purchases using applicable Department of State IT processes, Federal acquisition policies, security requirements, and technical standards.
• Submits, tracks, coordinates, and follows up on IT service tickets and support requests on behalf of ATA personnel and ensures issues are routed to the appropriate technical support element for resolution.

Necessary Skills and Knowledge:

• Demonstrated ability to design and develop SharePoint sites and solutions using SharePoint Designer and other approved development or configuration tools, and to troubleshoot complex SharePoint issues
• Working knowledge of web and application technologies used to support SharePoint and information-management solutions, which may include HTML, CSS, JavaScript, JQuery, C#, CAML, Java, SQL, VBA, or comparable technologies
• Demonstrated ability to define IT project goals and objectives; develop action plans, roadmaps, schedules, and implementation strategies; analyze project data and impacts; identify problems; and recommend practical solutions
• Demonstrated experience managing or coordinating IT hardware and software support, equipment inventories, service tickets, troubleshooting, lifecycle requirements, and end-user support in a complex organization
• Expert knowledge of Microsoft applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Teams, and SharePoint, and the ability to rapidly learn Department-specific systems and applications
• Ability to communicate technical information clearly to technical and non-technical audiences; prepare comprehensive reports and briefings; provide user training; and advise managers and executives on IT requirements, risks, progress, and recommended courses of action
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate across organizational boundaries and work effectively with senior management, government personnel, contractors, technical service providers, and office-wide customers
• Understands, or has demonstrated ability to operate within, the Department of State technical framework, cybersecurity requirements, IT service processes, and applicable Federal IT and acquisition policies
• Demonstrated ability to work within the context of diplomatic, political, and security organizations
• As budgets and mission requirements allow, willingness to travel domestically and/or abroad.
• Demonstrated knowledge of Department’s approved artificial intelligence, generative AI, large language models, and Department’s Microsoft solutions (Co-Pilot) for O365 products and processes as AI-enabled productivity tools, including experience utilizing platforms such as Microsoft AI capabilities, StateChat, ChatGPT, or comparable technologies
• Demonstrated ability to identify business requirements and develop practical use cases for integrating Department approved AI into organizational workflows, knowledge management, SharePoint, data analysis, process automation, and administrative functions
• Knowledge of the Department’s responsible AI practices, including information security, privacy, data protection, records management, human oversight, validation of AI-generated outputs, and organizational governance requirements
• Demonstrated experience conducting business process analysis, requirements gathering, user interviews, workflow analysis, process mapping, and the development of current-state and future-state business processes
• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing workflow improvements and automated business solutions using Microsoft Power Automate, Power BI, SharePoint, or comparable Departm