THE INTELLIGENCE SECRETARIAL CAREER SYSTEM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00530R000400830005-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 14
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 9, 2013
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: January 4, 1987
• Content Type: MISC

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The Intelligence
Sc-viletarial j)stern
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Foreward
Welcome to the Agency's Intelligence Secretarial Career
System. In the pages that follow, the major features of the
Intelligence Secretarial Career System are explained. These
features include information about the nature of the work,
salary, training, and career opportunities for secretaries in the
Central Intelligence Agency. This handbook is not intended to
be all inclusive, but rather it provides an overview of what it is
to be an Intelligence Secretary.
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History
The establishment of a unique career system for secretaries is a novel idea for the federal gov-
ernment. In the Central Intelligence Agency, this idea is a reality. In 1986, a Secretarial Career
System was introduced to support the professionalism of secretaries in the Agency's work force.
The system is the result of the hard efforts of the Agency's secretaries and managers to establish
a program which has attractive, long-term career and pay advancement opportunities, supported
by professional training and development. A study was commissioned in the early 1980's by the
Executive Director to assess job satisfaction, career progression, and pay for Agency secretaries.
Several significant changes to the secretarial occupation resulted from the study's conclusions.
These included establishment of:
A Secretarial Job Enrichment Program,
? A separate Intelligence Secretarial Pay Schedule (IS),
? A Performance Appraisal and Promotion System
? A Performance Award System,
? A Training Program, and An Executive Director's Secretarial Board.
The Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) formally approved the Central Intelligence
Agency's Secretarial Career System. With this, the DCI's commitment to excellence focuses on
the secretary as a team member in fulfilling the Agency's mission to produce timely, accurate in-
telligence for the government's highest policy makers. On 6 July 1986, the system was
implemented, and the official career title of Intelligence Secretary came into being.
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The Intelligence
Secretarial Career
System
The Intelligence Secretarial Ca-
reer System is divided into four ca-
reer levels with a corresponding
grade level:
Career Level Grade
Secretarial Trainee
Secretary
Senior Secretary
Executive Secretary
IS-01
IS-02
IS-03
IS-04
Each Career Level is defined by the
duties and responsibilities of the es-
tablished secretarial positions. Each
has its own salary range, training
requirements, and experience factors
for career development. These levels
are outlined in depth in the Intelli-
gence Secretarial Career Profiles in
Appendix/A. The profiles are impor-
tant because they provide a career
roadmap for your development and
advancement in the Agency.
The Secretarial
Job Enrichment
Program
The Secretarial Job Enrichment
Program is designed to study the
levels of secretarial responsibility at
the working level and, if necessary,
to define duties which should be
added to the work to support the
objective of the IS system, i.e., to
provide a challenging, long-term sec-
retarial career within the Agency.
The job enrichment program began
in September 1986 and is expected to
be completed in 1990. Internal hu-
man resource consultants, primarily
from the Position Management and
Compensation Division (PMCD)
within the Office of Personnel, to-
gether with external contractors, are
working with secretaries and manag-
ers to review, and redesign, secretari-
al positions across the Agency. The
job enrichment program is the most
important and exciting part of the
career system because of its new and
novel approach to rewarding career
secretaries. For a more in depth re-
view of job enrichment you are invit-
ed to talk with your Personnel Offi-
cer or to contact PMCD on 482-
7103.
Eventually, as many as twenty
percent of Agency secretarial posi-
tions and people will be at the IS-04
Executive Secretarial level and the
remainder will be distributed among
the other three levels with no more
than thirty percent at the IS-03 Se-
nior Secretarial level. Although
there may be an initial imbalance
between the number of people and
positions at each level because of the
job enrichment process, it is expected
that, by the end of fiscal year 1988,
the number of people will not exceed
the number of positions at any given
level. The following is a chart show-
ing the percentage objectives for po-
sitions and people at the IS-03 and
IS-04 levels:
Level
1987
1988
1989
1990
IS-03
20%
25%
30%
30%
IS-04
10%
13%
17%
20%
The Intelligence
Secretarial Pay
Plan
Agency secretaries are paid ac-
cording to the Intelligence Secretari-
al Pay Schedule (IS), see Appendix
B. Like the secretarial career levels,
IS pay is divided into four pay
ranges: IS-01, IS-02, IS-03, and IS-
04. Each pay range is divided further
into twenty pay steps. The following
will provide a general idea of how
secretaries are paid on the IS sched-
ule, or its overseas counterpart, the
ISO schedule. There are three, gener-
al pay administration principles that
the IS pay schedule follows:
1. The Intelligence Secretary Pay
Schedule is competitively based on
salary comparisons in the public and
private sector. This means that, if
there is a government-wide compara-
bility pay increase for federal em-
ployees, that increase will also apply
to IS pay. If the President approves
such an annual comparability in-
crease it usually will become effec-
tive in January.
2. There are semiannual or annual
longevity increases for secretaries
who are performing at or above the
full-performance level. These pay in-
creases are called "within-level-in-
creases" (WLI) and are equivalent to
one pay step within the secretary's
pay level. For example, an IS-01,
step 5 Secretarial Trainee who re-
ceives a WLI will have a salary
increase to IS-01, step 6.
a. The secretary's supervisor is
responsible for certifying the perfor-
mance level and approving the WLI.
Secretaries who are not performing
satisfactorily will be denied increases
and be provided the appropriate
counseling.
b. Secretaries with less than two
years Agency experience receive a
WLI every six months until their
second anniversary with the Agency.
Thereafter, secretaries receive an an-
nual increase. This WLI provides
salary advancement for the new sec-
retary while the employee gains
valuable experience to be competi-
tive for promotion to the next secre-
tarial pay level.
3. In addition to the WLI, the IS
pay schedule provides for pay in-
creases by promotion to the next
secretarial level. When the secretary
receives a promotion, the increase in
salary is equal to two pay steps at the
current pay level or to the first pay
step of the next level, whichever sala-
ry is higher. For example, using Ap-
pendix B, it can be seen that when a
secretary is promoted from IS-01,
step 6, the salary two steps above the
step 6 will be matched at the IS-02
level. Accordingly, this secretary
would be promoted at a salary equiv-
alent to an IS-01, step/8. In this case
the promotion is from IS-01, step 6
to IS-02, step/1 (the first step of the
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next level). Additional information
regarding competitive promotion is
explained in the next section.
Performance
Appraisal
and Promotion
Secretaries are evaluated for pro-
motion annually. Each year the
secretary's supervisor evaluates the
employee's performance and submits
a performance appraisal report
(PAR) to the Secretarial Career Pan-
el. A PAR is required for all employ-
ees upon completion of their three-
year trial period with the Agency.
Employees who are within the three-
year trial period are evaluated in
accordance with that schedule. The
schedule for performance appraisal
reports for all other secretaries is as
follows:
For
Period PAR Due
Level Ending in Hqs.
IS-01 31 Mar. 30 Apr.
IS-02 30 Nov. 31 Dec.
IS-03 31 Dec. 31 Jan.
IS-04 31 Dec. 31 Jan.
The Secretarial Career Panel is a
group which meets twice a year to
evaluate secretaries at each career
level for performance awards and
promotions.
Component Secretarial Career
Panels have the following
responsibilities:
a. Rank and evaluate IS-01 Secre-
tarial Trainees for promotion to IS-
02.
b. Evaluate IS-02 Secretaries for
performance awards. They also rank
and evaluate IS-02's for promotion
to IS-03 and submit their recom-
mendations to the Directorate Secre-
tarial Career Panel for competitive
evaluation within the Directorate.
c. Submit a rank-order recommen-
dation of the IS-03 Senior Secretar-
ies for performance awards and
promotion to IS-04 to the Director-
ate Career Panel for competitive
evaluation. (optional)
Directorate Secretarial Career
Panels have responsibility for:
a. Evaluating IS-02 Secretaries
for promotion to IS-03.
b. Evaluating IS-03 Senior Secre-
taries for performance awards and
for promotion to IS-04.
c. Evaluating IS-04 Executive
Secretaries for performance awards.
Panel membership for IS-01, 02,
and 03 is determined by each compo-
nent or Directorate and includes sec-
retaries senior in rank to those being
evaluated. Members of the IS-04
evaluation panel include senior offi-
cer representatives from each major
component within a Directorate. In
addition to the PAR submitted by
the supervisor, the career panels will
look at a secretary's readiness for
promotion by evaluating the
following:
1. The private/public sector and
Agency experience of the secretary,
2. The external/internal training
the secretary has had,
3. Acquisition of specific skills,
e.g., shorthand,
4. The time the employee has been
in a particular grade level (Time-in-
Level), and
5. Overall career potential with
the Agency.
The time-in-level guidelines noted
in no. 4., above, refer to the number
of years a secretary generally spends
in a grade level before being eligible
for promotion to the next level. Pro-
motion ahead of the time-in-level
guidelines is approved by the Head
of the Career Service. These guide-
lines are:
Current
Level
IS-01
IS-02
IS-03
Time
in the
Level
2 years
3 years
5 years
Promotion
Eligibility
to IS-02
to IS-03
to IS-04
The Secretarial Career Profiles in
Attachment A provide information
on the specific training and experi-
ence requirements at each level
which the secretary must meet to be
eligible for advancement.
Although the Secretarial Career
Panels meet twice a year, the secre-
tary's supervisor is responsible for
communicating performance expec-
tations to the individual secretary at
the beginning of the evaluation year,
and reaffirming clear performance
goals periodically throughout the
year.
Once the Secretarial Career Pan-
els have completed their ranking and
evaluation, they submit their recom-
mendations for performance awards
and promotion to the Head of the
Subcareer Group (Office Director) or
to the Head of the Career Service
(Deputy Director). The Head of the
Subcareer Group approves perfor-
mance awards and promotions to IS-
02 and the Head of the Career Ser-
vice approves performance awards
and promotions to IS-03 and IS-04.
The Director of Personnel approves
all personnel actions for promotion.
Career Services have the option to
promote employees, subject to avail-
ability of promotion headroom, on
either an annual or semi-annual ba-
sis in accordance with the schedule
listed below:
Current Annual
Level Option
IS-01
IS-02
IS-03
IS-04
Unscheduled
May
May
Performance
Awards
in April
Semi
Annual
Option
Nov
Nov
Performance
Awards
Secretaries are nominated for cash
performance awards annually. The
secretarial performance award pro-
gram allows for the best performers
to be rewarded in addition to their
base salary. The secretaries are
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nominated by their supervisors or
Secretarial Career Panel each
Spring and the performance awards
are presented in April.
Amount
of Percent
Award Eligible Level
$1000 Up to IS-02
30% Secretaries
$1000 Up to IS-03
30% Senior
Secretaries
$2000 Up to IS-04
20% Executive
Secretaries
$3000 Up to IS-04
10% Executive
Secretaries
The Training
Program
The training program outlined in
Appendix A augments the secretar-
y's experience and is intended to
encourage professional development
within the Agency. The course work
focuses on a full gamut of interests,
from developing shorthand skills to
exploring the issues of women in the
work force. The training for each
level is further divided into required
and recommended courses. A secre-
tary must take the required courses
at the employee's current grade level
before being eligible for promotion
to the next grade level. For example,
an IS-02 Secretary must take the
required courses at the IS-02 level
before being eligible for promotion
to IS-03. The Secretary takes the IS-
03 required courses after being pro-
moted to IS-03, but before promo-
tion to IS-04.
The Directorate or Component
Training Officer can certify appro-
priate substitutes for the required
training. For example, a secretary
with an Associate Arts degree from
a certified college or university may
have courses which can substitute for
those required by the Agency.
The training is presented in such a
way that there will be plenty of time
for the secretary to receive the re-
quired training while gaining experi-
ence in the designated level. For
example, an IS-03 Senior Secretary
must take five required courses and
an additional 120 hours of training.
This equates to approximately one
week of training per year for five
years, which meets the time-in-level
guideline for an IS-03 Senior Secre-
tary. 2
The Executive
Director's
Secretarial Board
An Executive Director's Secretari-
al Board has been established to
facilitate the communication of the
Agency's Secretarial Career System
to current and prospective employ-
ees. The Board is made up of secre-
tarial representatives from each of
the Directorates. Their responsibil-
ities include recommending addition-
al training courses, participating in
recruitment efforts, developing a
mentor system for secretaries, and
assessing the career system.
Benefits
The following provides a general
description of the primary benefits
employees receive in addition to base
salary. Your personnel officer can
provide additional details unique to
your situation.
Health Insurance:
Secretaries can select one of over
300 health insurance plans that the
Agency offers through the Federal
Employees Health Benefits Program
(FEHBP). If eligible, you and your
family can qualify for these plans
regardless of your age or physical
condition. The Government contrib-
utes to the health insurance plans so
that the premium cost to the employ-
ee is low, payable through payroll
deductions. Costs for self-only cover-
age for 1987 range from $10.00 to
$74.00 per month. Family coverage
ranges from $22.00 to $140.00 per
month. Many of the plans have a
standard and high option for cover-
age which is why the range varies.
An employee chooses a health
plan during the first month of em-
ployment. Generally speaking, if a
change from one plan to another is
desired, this can be done during
"open season" which occurs once a
year, usually in November. Appro-
priate announcements are made to
provide employees with the exact
dates for open season.
Life Insurance:
The Agency has several life insur-
ance plans (group term insurance) to
chose from, the major ones being the
Federal Employees Group Life In-
surance Program (FEGLI), the Unit-
ed Benefit Life Insurance Company
Program (UBLIC), and the World-
wide Assurance for Employees of
Public Agencies (WAEPA). The in-
surance is offered at lower premium
cost to the employee because the
Government pays one-third of the
premium cost. The employee pays
the remaining two-thirds cost, made
through payroll deductions. Other
insurances include an income re-
placement plan, group accident in-
surance, and flight insurance.
Retirement:
The Agency participates in four
different retirement plans, the Fed-
eral Employee's Retirement System,
the Civil Service Retirement System,
and the CIA Retirement and Dis-
ability System. They are described
in general terms below:
1. The Federal Employee's Retire-
ment System (FERS) covers employ-
ees hired after January 1984 and
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employees hired before who choose
to participate. Under this system,
newly-hired federal employees con-
tribute 8.45 percent of their salary
by payroll deductions (5.7 percent
goes to Social Security, 1.45 percent
to Medicare, and 1.3 percent to the
Retirement Fund). Social Security
and Medicare withholdings are ap-
plied up to a specific amount of your
income.
An advantage to the FERS retire-
ment plan is the opportunity to con-
tribute up to 10 percent of your
salary to FERS' "Thrift Savings
Plan (TSP)" which has Government-
matched contributions of up to 5
percent of salary. The TSP is similar
to a 401K or IRA savings plan with
desirable tax advantages. That is,
your taxable salary is reduced by the
amount of your TSP contributions.
Such contributions are not taxable
until withdrawn from the plan. Thus,
the TSP also can increase your re-
tirement income. Depending upon
your birthdate, minimum retirement
age under FERS ranges from age 55
to 57. There is no mandatory retire-
ment age under the FERS plan.
2. The FERS CIA Special Cate-
gory retirement plan is for employees
with no prior Federal service who
complete five years of qualifying ser-
vice, usually overseas, who are eligi-
ble under certain cirucumstances for
retirement at an age of 50.
3. The Civil Service Retirement
System (CSRS) provides retirement
coverage, commencing with optional
retirement upon completion of 30
years of service at the age of 55,
upon completion of 20 years service
at age 60, or at age 62 with a
minimum of 5 years service. Em-
ployees contribute 8.45 percent of
their salary to the retirement fund
(7 percent to the retirement fund and
1.45 to Medicare). There is no man-
datory retirement age under the
CSRS plan. There is an opportunity
to contribute up to 5 percent from
salary to the "Thrift Savings Plan"
but there is no Government-matched
contribution.
4. CIA Retirement and Disability
System (CIARDS) provides for re-
tirement coverage for employees who
are at least 50 years of age, have 20
years government service, 10 years
of which is with the Agency, and
have 60 months qualifying time.
When eligible, the employee is noti-
fied and elects, at that time, to con-
vert from FERS to FERS Special
Category or CSRS to CIARDS.
There is a mandatory retirement age
under CIARDS and FERS Special
Category. For those in grade SIS-03
and below, the mandatory retire-
ment age is 60; for SIS-04 and
above, the age is 65.
Voluntary Investment Plan:
The Voluntary Investment Plan
(VIP) is an IRS-qualified pension
plan designed to offer you an oppor-
tunity to supplement your Social Se-
curity, retirement annuity, and
Thrift Plan contributions. Partici-
pants pool their contributions to in-
vest regularly in a tax-sheltered in-
vestment program consisting of a
VIP Growth Fund and a VIP In-
come Fund. There are no employer
contributions. From Janaury
through October 1986, the VIP
Growth Fund yielded a unit value
increase of 21.6 percent, and the VIP
Income Fund yielded a unit value
increase of 8.4 percent.
Annual Leave:
Employees earn leave (time off
with pay) on the basis of their total
years of full-time Federal service
(part-time employees are prorated).
Annual leave accural generally is
limited to 240 hours per year and is
accumulated as follows:
Federal
Service
First 3 years
From 3 to 15 yrs
Over 15 years
Annual
Leave
per year
13 workdays
20 workdays
26 workdays
Sick Leave:
Employees earn 13 workdays of
paid sick leave per year throughout
their career. Part-time employees ac-
cumulate sick leave on a pro-rated
basis based on the number of hours
they work. There is no limit to the
amount of sick leave you may
accumulate.
Moving Expenses:
The Agency will pay for certain
costs for your relocation travel
expenses and for shipment of your
household goods. Secretaries are ad-
vised of this benefit and how to
process a claim during their appli-
cant processing.
Relocation Assistance &
Car Pools:
The Agency has a Family Em-
ployee Liaison Office (FELO) to help
secretaries relocate to the Washin-
gon, D.C. area or to relocate over-
seas. FELO can help find low-cost
housing, roomates and real estate
counseling, if requested. Additional-
ly, there is a car pool board to help
employees find car pools near their
area of residence.
Medical Services:
The Agency offers a wide variety
of physical and psychological pro-
grams comparable to those of large
corporations, including free biennial
physical examinations and vocation-
al counseling.
Physical Fitness:
Secretaries can participate in the
Agency's physical fitness programs.
There are full-time physiologists to
oversee your fitness program, using
the Agency's facility which has a
fully equipped Nautilis room and a
running track.
Banking Facility:
Membership in our credit union
entitles you to:
? Free checking with direct depos-
it of paycheck, no minimum balance,
no charges for transactions, and 5 to
6 percent interest paid on checking
account balances.
? Check cashing privileges.
? Money market, 91-day, and
treasure rate certificates.
? Loans?signature, car, educa-
tional, home equity, and stock.
? Individual Retirement Accounts
(IRA's).
? Deposits insured up to $100,000.
? In case of the member's death,
loans are insured up to $10,000 at no
cost to the member.
? New members are eligible for an
unsecured loan up to $1,500.
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APPENDIX A
Secretarial Career Profiles
IS-01 Secretarial Trainee
Nature of Work:
Work requires basic secretarial skills and knowledge
of basic rules, policies, and guidelines applied to simple
office procedures. Agency-qualified typing skill is re-
quired. Duties include routine typing, receptionist, corre-
spondence control, and maintaining office files. Under
close supervision the incumbent learns Agency-unique
formats, record systems, and any word processing/auto-
mated data systems used in the office. While the work at
this level generally has little impact outside the immedi-
ate office, the incumbent becomes familiar with the
structure, functions, and mission of the office to which
assigned. Contacts are usually with others working in the
office and visitors for the purpose of inquiring and
relaying information concerning the routine functions of
the office. The incumbent closely follows written proce-
dures found in Agency manuals after soliciting verbal
guidance from the supervisor or senior secretary on how
to proceed. The incumbent is indoctrinated into the
culture of an intelligence organization and learns the
principles and practices of security and
compartmentation.
Training Requirements:
While at the IS-01 level, secretaries are expected, as a
condition of advancement, to have completed the follow-
ing required courses and, as availability permits, some of
the recommended courses. Component career panels
have responsibility for monitoring secretarial training
against requirements and space availability.
Required Courses:
? Agency Orientation & Office Procedures (classroom
training, 5 days, full-time)
? Correspondence Workshop (classroom training,
2 days, full-time)
? Word Processing (classroom training, 3/7 days, full-
time)
? * Time Management (classroom training, 1 day,
full-time)
? * Proofreading & Grammar Review (classroom
training, 4 days, full-time)
Recommended Courses:
? Office Orientation (classroom or videotape)
? VM or Computer Training (classroom training,
2 1 / 2 days, full-time)
? * Shorthand (classroom, 10 weeks, part-time)
? Typing (classroom, 3 weeks, part-time)
? Electronic & Pouched Communications (classroom,
2 days, full-time)
* Available through self-study courses. Note: Overseas
training requirements are not included in these profiles.
Qualifications:
Entrance on duty into IS-01, the secretary must pass
the Agency Typing Test and the Standard Employment
Test (SET), and must have a high school diploma or
equivalent (e.g., GED).
Advancement to IS-02:
Requires completion of required courses for IS-01 and
normally two years of Agency secretarial experience.
Time-in-level guidelines may be waived by the Head of
the Career Service for exceptional performance. Each
Directorate and the E Career Service can specify the
type and range of experience required.
The following are examples of experience require-
ments to be obtained in IS-01:
Must demonstrate basic understanding of the organi-
zation of the Agency and familiarization with names of
key officials.
Must demonstrate an understanding of basic security
requirements of working in an intelligence organization,
for example:
? Proper use of regular, and secure lines
? Familiarization with classification guidelines (in-
cluding handling and mailing classified material, espe-
cially TS and compartmented)
? Proper disposal of classified trash
? Opening, monitoring, and securing safes, vaults,
typewriters, and other office equipment
? Monitoring visitors, including char-force, mainte-
nance personnel
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Must demonstrate an understanding of basic compart-
mentation requirements of the Agency, for example:
? A general understanding of sources and methods
(need-to-know principle and what should not be dis-
cussed outside the office)
? Understanding of document and file control
procedures
? Understanding of the principle against release of
information to an unknown person, either on the tele-
phone or in person
Must demonstrate an understanding of Agency secre-
tarial procedures, for example:
? Understanding of correspondence formats and dis-
semination procedures
? Understanding of office filing system
? Telephone message procedures
? Appointment calendar procedures
IS-02 Secretary
Nature of Work:
The skill and knowledge learned as a Secretarial
Trainee is broadened into the full-performance level of
an IS-02 Secretary. Work requires knowledge of an
extensive body of rules, policies, and procedures, which is
applied in support of the more complex office functions
and missions. Knowledge of the office work routine to
meet the typical ebb and flow of office deadlines enables
the incumbent to work with a minimum of supervision.
Work requirements outside of established procedures are
referred to the supervisor for guidance or handling. The
Secretary applies judgment to prioritize the work tasks
based on a knowledge of the supervisor's work responsi-
bilities. However, the incumbent learns to "juggle" the
work based on changing priorities of the supervisor. The
duties and responsibilities usually require more than a
one-step process such as typing memoranda, documents,
and reports in final, determining dissemination proce-
dures, and following up to ensure they were received or
by keeping a log of the outgoing correspondence.
Secretarial work at this level includes establishing and
updating files and suspense systems which the office
requires or which the incumbent determines are needed;
drafting routine and recurring statistical/information
reports, arranging routine travel and meetings; maintain-
ing appointments on the supervisor's calendar; reviewing
outgoing correspondence for format and accuracy; relay-
ing information from the supervisor to subordinate offi-
cers; and helping to set priorities by organizing and
relaying office mail, telephone calls, and visitors. Knowl-
edge of how to proceed comes from supervisory input or
is based on clearly defined procedures, policies, and
practices. As stated, the Secretary works with minimum
supervision based on the knowledge of the office struc-
ture, principal managers, and work priorities, and by
utilizing resources and contacts outside the immediate
office to expedite the work.
The effectiveness of the position stems from the
secretary's knowledge of office responsibilities within the
Directorate, the functions the office performs and the
ability to work on several tasks, projects, and office
procedures simultaneously toward the accomplishment
of office goals. The Secretary works as a key member of
the office team under the guidance of the supervisor,
applying judgment and discretion in support of the office
mission.
Contacts are inside and outside the immediate office,
and possibly outside the organization (e.g., Department
of State, Department of Defense, local contractors),
where the purpose of the contact may not be readily
known to the Secretary. The Secretary determines the
nature and purpose of contact, answers inquiries pertain-
ing to general office functions or services, or directs the
person to the appropriate officer for help. The Secretary
at this level is often responsible for orienting Secretary
Trainees on office mission and functions, procedures,
and principal managers.
Training Requirements:
To be eligible for advancement, must have completed
the following required courses and 20 hours of recom-
mended training while in IS-02. Component career
panels have the responsibility of monitoring secretarial
training against requirements and space availability.
Required Courses:
? *Career Management Workshop (classroom, 2 days,
full-time)
? *Developing Writing Confidence for Secretaries
(classroom, 3 days, full-time)
? *Essentials of Writing (classroom, 1 week, full-time)
Directorate Orientation (see your training officer)
? *Stress Management (classroom, 1 day, full-time)
? *Professional in the Office (classroom, 1 day, full-
time)
Employee Development Course (classroom, 4 days,
full-time)
*Available through self-study courses.
Recommended Courses:
? Geography (Component Specific) (classroom, 1 day,
full-time)
? Language Training (As appropriate?Assignment
specific)
? IS-01 Courses Not Yet Taken
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Advancement to IS-03:
Requires completion of the required training at IS-02
and normally three years experience at IS-02. Time-in-
level guidelines may be waived by the Head of the
Career Service for exceptional performance. Each Direc-
torate and the E Career Service can specify the type and
range of experience required. For example, a combina-
tion of headquarters and field assignments, staff and line
positions, and exposure to more than one component or
unit may be required by a Directorate for advancement
to IS-03.
A IS-02 Secretary should have demonstrated an abili-
ty to manage the supervisor's appointments; to complete-
ly and efficiently coordinate messages, meetings, and
office routines; to give guidance to more junior secretar-
ies on formats, work management, and office techniques;
and to accomplish most aspects of the job independently,
asking for guidance only in unique or first-of-a-kind
situations. The secretary at this level should have a good
grasp of the bureaucratic structure and operations of the
immediate office and how it relates to other components.
Knowledge of major operations, key foreign political and
liaison service figures, and the operating environment
and stations supported by the component is an important
factor in the quality of support the secretary is able to
provide.
Examples of required skills and successful perfor-
mance include:
? Understanding of the organization, and its principal
managers, practices, policies, and programs
? Knowledge of other organizations (e.g., Department
of State,FBI, domestic and foreign organizations)
? Understanding of statues, policies & regulations
? Strong typing skills
IS-03 Senior Secretary
Nature of Work:
Work at this level incorporates the duties and respon-
sibilities of the previous level; however, the work has
greater scope and impact on operations outside the
immediate office and Directorate. This often requires a
knowledge of other organization's administrative prac-
tices as they impact on the Agency office procedures,
e.g., Department of State, Federal Bureau of Investiga-
tion, Intelligence Oversight Board, and other Intelligence
Community agencies. The Secretary generally either
assumes office management and administrative responsi-
bilities or provides substantive reference search and
elementary processing of information from manual or
automated information systems in support of Agency
mission and functions. A thorough knowledge of how the
office in which assigned functions in the Directorate and
the organization, as well as knowledge of the principal
managers, practices, and policies is necessary to expedite
tasks and responsibilities effectively. There is much
greater awareness of Agency operations and "flap-poten-
tial" and, as a consequence, greater judgment and
discretion are applied in carrying out the duties and
responsibilities of this level.
?Within the Directorate of Administration, the Se-
nior Secretary may assume some responsibilities of the
personnel, security, logistics, etc. assistant in support of
the administrative functions of the Directorate.
?Within the Director of Central Intelligence area,
the Senior Secretary may assume the responsibilities for
protocol, rudimentary research on legal and Congressio-
nal inquiries, and/or collation of data from automated
information systems to support intelligence estimates.
?Within the Directorate of Intelligence, the Senior
Secretary may perform substantive reference search and
collation of information, accessing several automated
information systems to support the preparation of fin-
ished intelligence.
?Within the Directorate of Operations, the Senior
Secretary is aware of the various operations and may
assume an operational role, or provide unique operations
support via technical skills or language ability.
?Within the Directorate of Science and Technology,
the Senior Secretary may assume the liaison role of
monitoring the many independent contractors working
for the Directorate.
Whereas, the work at the previous level may require
knowledge of other support systems, such as personnel,
security, and logistics, work at the Senior Secretary level
requires a knowledge of the major aspects and proce-
dures in these areas in order to serve as a "stand-alone"
referent to the other employees assigned to the office
who require these services. The Senior Secretary accom-
plishes the work with minimum supervision, applying
solutions and decisions from past circumstances to simi-
lar problems and tasks without clear precedents and
without the aid of the supervisor or Executive Secretary.
The Senior Secretary's knowledge of Agency adminis-
trative procedures and methods is applied in determining
when new procedures and practices need to be estab-
lished to expedite the work of the office. It is then the re-
sponsibility of the Senior Secretary to prepare procedur-
al changes, have them approved, and communicate them
to the employees in the office and other, subordinate
secretaries, as applicable.
Contacts are generally with other internal and exter-
nal managers and secretaries within the Agency, in
private industry, and/or with foreign liaison services for
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the purpose of obtaining providing information and
setting up meetings for the supervisor. The Senior Secre-
tary's knowledge of office priorities and methods enables
the incumbent to expedite the work by tasking subordi-
nate officers of the manager directly on the more
straight forward functions of the office (e.g., giving
officers responsibility to respond to action items and
following up on these for the supervisor), deciding visitor
and telephone contact with the supervisor, and determin-
ing the office mail to which the supervisor needs to
respond and which mail the incumbent or others can
directly process.
The work at this level may include setting up hotel,
meeting, and security arrangements for conferences be-
tween organizations; assembling background informa-
tion from various reference files and sources for the
supervisor's meetings, calendar engagements, and brief-
ings; preparing and submitting in final statistical/infor-
mation reports where the data is not directly provided,
but is determined from various sources; writing memo-
randa and correspondence of a persuasive nature of the
supervisor's signature; attending meetings with supervi-
sors, taking shorthand, and following up on proceedings
involving action items for supervisors; being able to act
independently on the supervisor's behalf in usual, well-
precedented situations. Knowledge of how to proceed
comes primarily from guided research, known practice,
policy, and well-established, functional contacts in exter-
nal and/or internal organizations.
The Senior Secretary may have formal supervisory
responsibilities or informal direction and guidance re-
sponsibilities for subordinate secretarial and other cleri-
cal employees, providing input into their performance
appraisal reports (or writing them), requesting courses
for their training and development, and projecting office
coverage during time of employee leave. The Senior
Secretary may be a participant on the Executive Direc-
tor's Secretarial Board and/or the Component Secretari-
al Career Panel to evaluate, rank, and recommend
promotion of IS-01 Secretarial Trainees and recommend
promotion and performance awards for IS-02
Secretaries.
Training Requirements:
To be eligible for advancement, secretaries must have
completed the following required courses plus 120 hours
of 1S-03 training. Directorate-level career panels have
the responsibility of certifying substitute course work
using curriculum guidelines to be drawn up jointly by the
Office of Personnel, the Executive Director's Secretarial
Board, and the Office of Training.
Required Courses:
? Effective Oral Presentation (classroom, 4 days, full-
time)
? Getting Your Ideas Across (classroom, 2 days, full-
time)
? Women in the Work Force (classroom, 3 days, full-
time)
? *Management Skills for Secretaries (out of town, 3
days, full-time)
? *Supervisory Skills for Secretaries & Administrative
Assistants (out of town, 5 days, full-time)
? Available through self-study courses.
Recommended Courses:
? Any Courses in Supervison
? Advanced Writing Course (classroom, 6 sessions
over a 2 week-period, part-time)
? Professional Woman's Course (out of town, 1 week,
full-time)
? Area Familiarization Courses (Component specific)
IS-01 and
? IS-02 Courses Not Yet Taken
Advancement to IS-04:
Requires five years' Agency secretarial experience at
IS-03 level, certification of Agency-qualified shorthand,
and successful completion of OTE training requirements.
Time-in-grade guidelines may be waived by the Head of
the Career Service for exceptional performance. Career
services can specify the type and range of experience
required. For example, a combination of headquarters
and field assignments, staff and line positions, and
exposure to more than one component or unit may be
required by a Directorate for advancement to IS-04.
Examples of required skills and successful perfor-
mance include:
? Understanding of the organization, and its principal
managers, practices, policies, and programs
? Knowledge of other organizations (e.g., Department
of State, FBI, domestic and foreign organizations)
? Demonstration of supervisory capability
? Understanding of statutes, policies & regulations
? Demonstration of strong organizing, office manage-
ment, and expediting skills
? Superior typing and shorthand skills
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IS-04 Executive Secretary
Nature of Work:
Work at this level can be differentiated from Senior
Secretarial work by the higher level of knowledge,
independence of action and decision-making responsibil-
ity, and nature and purpose of contacts required to
accomplish complex work objectives. The Executive Sec-
retary often has responsibility for specific, on-going
projects and the requirement to act independently on
behalf of the manager in new or unusual situations
where time is of the essence in meeting work deadlines.
Most assignments have aspects which require the adap-
tation or interpretation of the intent of existing methods,
practices, and policies; decision making on which stat-
utes, regulations, Presidential Directives, or specialized
instructions apply; or generalizing from several methods
and guidelines to perform the support and analytical
work of the office. Frequently assignments require de-
partures from standardized procedures to accomplish
work objectives and to independently resolve non-routine
problems. The work typically requires handling of sensi-
tive information regarding office mission and functions
such that the selection of work methods to get the work
done must be carefully determined to prevent inadver-
tent exposure of such information to the public or to
external contacts with which the office does business.
The Executive Secretary's work relationships often
require telephone and personal contact with counterpart
management and secretaries in other organizations (e.g.,
Department of State, Department of Defense, embassies,
the White House, and/or Intelligence Community agen-
cies for the purpose of coordinating mutual work dead-
lines, conferences, and liaison. Consequently, a working
knowledge of the principal managers, philosophy, and
administrative practices of external organizations is nec-
essary to perform the work effectively.
The scope and impact of the work influences work at
the Agency or national level, thus requiring experienced
judgment, sophistication, and discretion in decision mak-
ing. Executive Secretaries are responsible for organizing
and directing the work flow of the office in which
assigned, adjusting the priorities and restructuring the
work of the office and subordinate employees as neces-
sary to alleviate the manager of administrative office
management and procedural responsibilities. The effec-
tiveness of the Executive Secretary depends on a thor-
ough knowledge of the Agency's organization, and often
knowledge of other organizations with which the Agency
has frequent contact, the manager's primary views and
policies, and the principal managers and policymakers,
foreign and domestic with whom the manager has
contact.
The Executive Secretary performs work similar in
nature to the Senior Secretary; however, the indepen-
dence of action and knowledge of Intelligence Communi-
ty operations is greater at this level. Agency-qualified
shorthand is required. Work includes conducting or
attending meetings, recording, and tasking subordinate
officers with action items stemming from meetings;
writing correspondence for manager's signature, serving
as focal point for office correspondence with delegated
authority to assign action based on understanding of
office responsibilities; reviewing the format and sub-
stance of office correspondence, noting discrepancies and
inaccuracies for correction; identifying secretarial posi-
tion requirements for the office and, as applicable, in the
Directorate; and coordinating and administering the
office's secretarial training program. The nature of the
office team effort is such that the Executive Secretary is
fully participating in the information processing to fulfill
office mission and functions.
The incumbent often has supervisory responsibility to
oversee the career development of subordinate secretari-
al and clerical employees. For example, in supervising
subordinate secretarial and clerical employees, the Exec-
utive Secretary may document positive or negative su-
pervisory action in career development support of the
employee, mandate employee training or attendee priori-
ties, write performance appraisal reports for junior secre-
taries, and make career counseling and assignment rec-
ommendations. Where the Executive Secretary position
does not necessitate the supervision of work at lower
organizational levels, there are usually research responsi-
bilities to collate background information from the li-
brary, people, and other, often obscure, sources and
apply the information in support of office requirements.
The Executive Secretary may be a participant on steer-
ing groups and task forces involving the development of
the Secretarial Career System (e.g., Executive Director's
Secretarial Board, DCI Secretarial/Clerical Manage-
ment Advisory Group) or involving Directorate-specific
development of office administration methodology, em-
ployee development, etc.
Training Requirements:
While in IS-04, secretaries are eligible to take the
IS04 courses listed below (some of the courses are by
Directorate nomination). Directorate career panels have
the responsibility for monitoring Executive Secretary
training.
Required Courses:
? None
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Recommended Courses:
? Briefing Techniques Course (classroom, 4 days, full-
time)
? Intelligence Issues (classroom training, 7 days, full-
time)
? Mid-Career Course (out of town/local/field trips, 4
weeks, full-time, 5th week optional)
? OTE Courses for GS-11 & Above
? Any Intelligence Secretarial Courses Not Yet Taken
? External Seminars and Symposiums
(see your training officer)
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APPENDIX B
INTELLIGENCE SECRETARY PAY SCHEDULE (IS)*
Effective 4 January 1987
LEVEL
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
IS-01
13636
13995
14354
14713
15072
15431
15790
IS-02
16890
17334
17778
18222
18666
19110
19554
IS-03
20663
21207
21751
22295
22839
23383
23927
IS-04
22752
23351
23950
24549
25148
25747
26346
Occupational Categories to which the above rates apply:
8 9 10 11 12
16149 16508 16867 17226 17585
19998 20442 20886 21330 21774
24471 25015 25559 26103 26647
26945 27544 28143 28742 29341
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
17944
18303
18662
19021
19380
19739
20098
20457
22218
22662
23106
23550
23994
24438
24882
25326
27191
27735
28279
28823
29367
29911
30455
30999
29940
30539
31138
31737
32336
32935
33534
34133
0318.01 Secretarial Trainee
0318.02 Secretary
0318.03 Senior Secretary
0318.04 Executive Secretary
* To qualify for this schedule, employees must be assigned to one of the occupational categories and must have passed the Agency's typing test.
OVERSEAS INTELLIGENCE SECRETARY PAY SCHEDULE (ISO)*
Effective 4 January 1987
LEVEL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
ISO-01 14945 15338 15731 16124 16517 16910 17303 17696 18089 18482 18875 19268 19661 20054 20447
ISO-02 18511 18998 19485 19972 20459 20946 21433 21920 22407 22894 23381 23868 24355 24842 25329
ISO-03 22647 23243 23839 24435 25031 25627 26223 26819 27415 28011 28607 29203 29799 30395 30991
ISO-04 24936 25593 26250 26907 27564 28221 28878 29535 30192 30849 31506 32163 32820 33477 34134
Occupational Categories to which the above rates apply:
0318.01 Secretarial Trainee
0318.02 Secretary
0318.03 Senior Secretary
0318.04 Executive Secretary
Incr
16
17
18
19
20
20840
21233
21626
22019
22412
25816
26303
26790
27277
27764
31587
32183
32779
33375
33971
34791
35448
36105
36762
37419
* To qualify for this schedule, employees must be assigned to one of the occupational categories and must have passed the Agency's typing test.
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359
444
544
599
Incr
393
487
596
657