Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. KMRG, LLC is a federal services company supporting government agencies and is hiring a Senior FOIA Analyst for the U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid. The role processes complex FOIA, FOIA Appeals, and Privacy Act requests, applies exemptions and redactions, prepares responses, manages cases in FOIA Xpress, and provides regulatory and analytical support.
Responsibilities
- Review, analyze, and process incoming FOIA and Privacy Act requests
- Participate in intake activities and assess requests for appropriate processing
- Enter FOIA requests and related correspondence accurately into FOIA Xpress and FSA tracking systems
- Coordinate with Department program offices to obtain responsive records and address request issues
- Communicate with requesters regarding scope, cost, identity certification, and other processing matters
- Track cases and complete required actions within statutory, regulatory, and Department timeframes
- Support efforts to reduce the number of pending FOIA and Privacy Act requests
- Maintain complete and accurate case documentation throughout the request lifecycle
- Review responsive records and determine the appropriate treatment under FOIA and Privacy Act requirements
- Apply redactions using expert knowledge of the nine FOIA exemptions
- Process complex FOIA requests requiring careful analysis and disclosure determinations
- Prepare interim and final response letters and memoranda for signature, as appropriate
- Apply controlling case law, Department policy, regulations, procedures, and guidance to disclosure decisions
- Coordinate with appropriate Department personnel when legal, policy, or program input is needed
- Process FOIA Appeals in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, policies, and procedures
- Review case records, prior determinations, responsive documents, and exemption applications
- Provide accurate analytical support for appeal review and resolution
- Maintain appeal documentation and related correspondence in applicable case-management systems
- Support timely completion of appeal actions and required follow-up
- Identify issues requiring additional review or coordination
- Use FOIA Xpress to process, track, document, and report FOIA and Privacy Act activity
- Maintain accurate request data, case actions, correspondence, and status information
- Use FSA's internal FOIA Integrity Management System (FIMS) and other workflow tools as required
- Quickly learn and use internally developed systems supporting FOIA processing
- Recommend modified or new operational approaches, including improvements involving FOIA Xpress
- Support accurate management, tracking, and reporting of FOIA workload
- Provide technical guidance on FOIA and Privacy Act laws, regulations, policies, procedures, and guidance
- Analyze factual information, evaluate significant factors, and solve complex processing problems
- Review options and provide recommendations regarding procedures, strategies, resources, and ongoing activities
- Aggregate and analyze data to support comparisons, reporting, and management decisions
- Provide subject-matter expertise to FSA FOIA management and internal stakeholders
- Support Department compliance with Federal information-management and privacy requirements
- Communicate professionally with FSA personnel, Department offices, requesters, and other stakeholders
- Keep the COR and FSA FOIA management informed of progress and issues affecting performance
- Prepare complete, correct, timely, and easy-to-understand written work products
- Use Department formats, terminology, and procedures when preparing deliverables
- Incorporate feedback and correct identified errors promptly
- Manage competing priorities while maintaining accuracy and required response timelines
- Support analytical reporting and other FOIA program activities assigned by FSA management
- Prepare Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and related work products as required
- Maintain documents in appropriate locations so they are accessible to authorized staff
- Protect sensitive, privacy-related, and Government information handled during performance
- Perform quality checks on case data, correspondence, redactions, and deliverables
- Work independently at a high-performance level with minimal input from program leadership
- Be prepared to begin performance immediately after award
- Perform related FOIA and Privacy Act support duties within the scope of the position
Skills
- * Bachelor's degree
- * Minimum of 3 years of Federal service or equivalent public/private-sector experience managing and/or responding to FOIA/Privacy Act requests
- * Demonstrated expertise using and applying the major FOIA exemptions
- * Experience processing complex FOIA requests
- * Expert knowledge and application of FOIA and Privacy Act laws, regulations, policies, procedures, and guidance
- * Expert-level experience using FOIA Xpress and related technologies
- * Experience processing FOIA Appeals
- * Experience reviewing responsive records and applying appropriate redactions
- * Ability to work independently at a high-performance level with minimal supervision
- * Strong written and verbal communication skills
- * Federal agency FOIA and Privacy Act processing experience
- * Experience preparing interim and final FOIA response letters and memoranda
- * Experience coordinating responsive-record searches with multiple program offices or stakeholders
- * Experience applying FOIA case law and Department or agency policy to disclosure determinations
- * Experience with FOIA reporting, workload analysis, or case-management data
- * Experience using Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, and related office tools
- * Experience learning or using internal FOIA workflow, tracking, or reporting systems
Benefits
- Work may be performed virtually or in accordance with Department of Education policies
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