Correspondence Services: 1st Choice Staffing Agency

I. Background

Correspondence services are required for the Office of the Secretary, Office of the Executive Secretariat. The Executive Secretariat is the central coordination point in the Department responsible for ensuring proper and expeditious action on all corespondence addressed to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary. The office is also responsible for the coordination of all policy-level decision material submitted by Secretarial Officers and Modal Administrators for action by the Secretary or the Deputy Secretary.

II. Requirements

The Contractor shall be responsible for the analysis, review and clearance of correspondence prepared for the signature of the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, and the Director of the Executive Secretariat.

The contractor shall:

1. Review and analyze incoming correspondence and documents for designated program areas. Based on the analysis, the contractor shall verify appropriateness of assigned action office, and determine appropriate signature level, response deadlinem distribution and clearances. The contractor shall provide action offices with pertinent background information.

2. Advise the Director of the Executive Secretariat of any incoming document which may warrant special attention or appears controversial in nature. The Contractor shall handle documents in accordance with DOT procedures and regulations. The contractor shall provide action office with instruction on special handling requirements.

3. Record the receipt of documents in the automated database correspondence management system. Following established data entry procedures, the contractor shall ensure that each computer record is complete and accurate.

4. Track the progress of correspondence designated for the signature of the Secretary, Deputy Secretary or Director fo the Executive Secretariat. Correspondence movement is recorded in the automated correspondence management system. The contractor shall assure that the system is current and accurate.

5. Maintain daily contact with assigned offices to assure that deadlines are being met. The contractor shall instruct offices on established procedures and policies for preparing Secretarial correspondence.

6. Provide reports to the Director and Deputy Director of the Executive Secretariat on overdue correspondence. Reports explain delays in correspondence preparation and/or review.

7. Prepare draft responses for use by the Director of the Executive Secretariat. The contractor shall assure that correspondence is prepared in accordance with Departmental standards and policies, appropriate clearances have been obtained, pertinent background information is included and the information in the folder is logically organized in accordance with established procedures. If action and/or coordination offices cannot reach a consensus on the proposed response, the contractor shall prepare an executive summary on the conflict for possible use by the Director, Executive Secretariat.

8. Provide research assistance and ad hoc reports upon request. This assistance involved retrieving data from the automated database system and documents stored on microfilm.

Knowledge Required

1. Knowledge of the mission, organization and program responsibilities of the Secretarial Offices and Modal Administrations in the Department of Transportation.

2. Knowledge of automated data processing procedures, in general: ability to learn the Secretary's automated database correspondence tracking system.

3. Ability to plan, organize and coordinate work in situations where numerous diverse demands are involved.

4. Ability to make clear oral and written presentations.

5. Capable of working under pressure without sacrificing quality or timeliness of work product.

6. Ability to adjust to rapid changes in policies, procedures, and punctuation.

7. Knowledge of grammar, spelling, capitalization and punctuation.

8. Ability to adapt to established policy for correspondence format and special instructions associated with current Administration.