Christine S. Yates

Program Analyst, Technical Support Office (TSO), U.S. Agency for International Development

Budgetary and Financial Program Management:   

•       Submitting quarterly accruals for the personal services contractors, grants and contracts for E&E.

•       Managing procurement planning, reporting, and execution with the Office of Acquisitions and Assistance and CORs.

•       Developing and managing budgets for a program or functional area.

•       Providing advice to senior managers and others on the budgetary implications of existing policy and recent policy changes.

•       Planning and implementing annual and multi-year budgeting for an organization or major programs.

•       Represent the Bureau at meetings to facilitate knowledge sharing and information exchange with Office of Acquisition and Assistant.

•       Serving as a budget liaison and principle channel of communication with 49 budgetary activities totaling over $100 million. 

•       Maintaining an excel spreadsheet of 49 budgetary activities and funding streams for the E&E Bureau activities. 

The budget committer for all E&E budget actions. 

•       Add yearly funding for all Foreign Service Limited employees.

•       Prepare a detailed briefing on the funding for both the program and OE budget for the incoming Office Director.

•       Monitor and update the activity mechanisms when they have reached 75% expenditures of the obligated funds: tracking payment of vouchers and/or other program documents, entering budgetary data into a variety of forms, schedules, reports and electronic financial management systems, and assisting staff with program financial planning and analyses.

•       Responsible for inputting the information into the Federal Managers Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA) software for TSO yearly.

•       Ensuring the accuracy of Congressional and Technical Notifications as well as other fiscal documents.

•       Creating requisitions, modifications, and amendment in GLAAS for the 49 budgetary activities. 

Requesting de-obligation when contracts end.

•       Creating Commitments in Phoenix Financial System.

•       Approving action for missions and submitting funding for activities in the Field Support Database.

•       Submitting allowance request for funding in the BDRC system.

•       Preparing and/or editing narrative justifications for funding requirements and assuring that data in request is formally and accurately documented in a variety of formats and schedules, assisting with preparing and providing active assistance in the preparation of detailed operating expenses and program budget guidance and procedures.

•       Notifying E&E Directors three months prior to a PSC’s contract expiration date and letting the COR/AOR of the procurement know when amendment is needed for the mechanism.

•       Tracking, analyzing and reporting on program budgets, allowances, commitments and obligations using excel spreadsheet.  Ensuring spreadsheet has the most recent expenditures for program funds.

•       Providing support to others in Europe & Eurasia Missions in processing budget execution actions.

•       Entering all future funding requests and/or modifications are in the USAID A&A Plan.

•       Interacting regularly with the GLAAS, Phoenix Solution and Acquisitions and Assistance teams. 

•       Marking mechanisms quarterly for de-obligation using the Phoenix Viewer. 

•       Work closely with the Office of Acquisition and Assistance to ensure all actions are completed by the end of the fiscal year.

•       Monitor the obligation and expenditure of funds to ensure that funds are allocated and obligated correctly.

•       Reconciles TSO’s budget ensuring we received all funding, cross-referencing to ensure all activities received the approved amount according to the approved operational plan.

•       Reviews and gain familiarity with all guidelines and instructions issued for agency use in executing the agency budget.

•       Meeting regularly with the E&E Program Office to discuss spending and funding needs for contracts, grants and supplies.

•       Interacting regularly with the Financial Services Division team to assist with funding requests and processing.

Travel Management:    

•       Supervising the Lead Senior Travel Coordinator. 

•       Add funding and approving all travel on the budget level.

•       Processing domestic and international travel authorizations for the TSO staff (OE and Program funded) as well as Europe and Eurasia Bureau staff, including travel amendments, obtaining hotel reservations, informing travelers of visa/passport requirements, coordinating funding with USAID Missions, securing approvals from approval officials, and ensuring accuracy of travel arrangements when completed.  

Serving as office subject matter expert on ADS travel policies and procedures and following the guidelines set by USAID.

•       Assisting travelers with visa and passport renewals, ensuring electronic country clearance is sent and approved, completing voucher upon their return and managing the office travel budget to ensure sufficient funds are allocated for direct hires and personal services contractors.  

•       Notifying both the Director and Deputy Director of any potential travel funding issues and following through on all travel arrangements. 

•       Preparing the travel spreadsheet for the Front Office which includes a breakdown of the cost, length, destination, purpose and how each TDY will be funded.

•       De-obligating excess travel funding once voucher has been paid.

•       Serving as a back-up travel arranger for all E&E Staff including Front Office Senior Leaders in arranging and processing travel.  Upon their return from TDY, processing their voucher.

•       Maintaining positive working relationships with the E2 Helpdesk, Travel Service provider, Phoenix Solutions, Travel and Transportation Office, and colleagues that manage travel within and outside of TSO team to ensure efficient processing of travel requests.

Executive Administrative Leadership & Contract Management:   

•       Acting Director and Deputy Director at various times. 

•       Drafting position descriptions and scopes of work for support positions within the office.

•       Lead, advises, and represents TSO on staffing management and budget discussions.  As it relates to the staffing needs of the office.     

•       Submit a finalized statement of work, budget worksheet, and position marketing level description, for all program-funded staff.  Ensuring the final document is submitted by the requested deadline to the Office of Acquisition and Assistance to be advertised inside and outside of the agency.

•       Providing technical support and database management which includes updating tables, charts, graphs and project databases, creating slide presentations and maintaining spreadsheets, assisting team members in initiating, preparing and/or processing administrative documents in accordance with all pertinent rules, regulations, requirements and laws.

•       Coordinate meetings, seminars, conferences, retreats, and workshops amongst government agency stakeholders internally and externally.  Assist the Office Director and Deputy Director with special projects as needed. 

•       Working with senior managers on annual evaluations and option year submissions for personal services contractors.  Ensuring the appropriate office receives an evaluation and recommendation for salary increase.  

•       Provides expert advice to management and coordinates the development of services for related administrative programs and financial operations.

•       Develops procedures and systems for assessing the effectiveness of programs/management processes.

Sr. Program Specialist, Technical Support Office (TSO), U.S. Agency for International Development

Budgetary and Financial Program Management:   

•       Submitted quarterly accruals for the personal services contractors, grants, and contracts for E&E.

•       Managed procurement planning, reporting, and execution with the Office of Acquisitions and Assistance and CORs.

•       Developed and managed budgets for a program or functional area.

•       Provided advice to senior managers and others on the budgetary implications of existing policy and recent policy changes.

•       Planned and implemented annual and multi-year budgeting for an organization or major programs.

•       Represented the Bureau at meetings to facilitate knowledge sharing and information exchange with the Office of Acquisition and Assistant.

• Served as a budget liaison and principle channel of communication with 49 budgetary activities totaling over $100 million. 

•       Maintained an Excel spreadsheet of 49 budgetary activities and funding streams for the E&E Bureau activities. 

The budget committer for all E&E budget actions. 

•       Add yearly funding for all Foreign Service Limited employees.

•       Prepared a detailed briefing on the funding for both the program and OE budget for the incoming Office Director.

•       Monitored and updated the activity mechanisms when they have reached 75% expenditures of the obligated funds: tracking payment of vouchers and/or other program documents, entering budgetary data into a variety of forms, schedules, reports and electronic financial management systems, and assisting staff with program financial planning and analyses.

•       Responsible for inputting the information into the Federal Managers Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA) software for TSO yearly.

•       Ensured the accuracy of Congressional and Technical Notifications as well as other fiscal documents.

•       Created requisitions, modifications, and amendments in GLAAS for the 49 budgetary activities. 

Requesting de-obligation when contracts end.

•       Created Commitments in the Phoenix Financial System.

•       Approved action for missions and submitted funding for activities in the Field Support Database.

•       Submitted allowance request for funding in the BDRC system.

•       Prepared and/or edited narrative justifications for funding requirements and assuring that data in request is formally and accurately documented in a variety of formats and schedules, assisting with preparing and providing active assistance in the preparation of detailed operating expenses and program budget guidance and procedures.

•       Notified E&E Directors three months before a PSC’s contract expiration date and let the COR/AOR of the procurement know when the amendment is needed for the mechanism.

•       Tracked, analyzed, and reported on program budgets, allowances, commitments, and obligations using Excel spreadsheets.  Ensured the spreadsheet has the most recent expenditures for program funds.

•       Provided support to others in Europe & Eurasia Missions in processing budget execution actions.

•       Entered all future funding requests and/or modifications in the USAID A&A Plan.

•       Interacted regularly with the GLAAS, Phoenix Solution, and Acquisitions and Assistance teams. 

•       Marked mechanisms quarterly for de-obligation using the Phoenix Viewer. 

•       Worked closely with the Office of Acquisition and Assistance to ensure all actions were completed by the end of the fiscal year.

•       Monitored the obligation and expenditure of funds to ensure that funds were allocated and obligated correctly.

•       Reconciled TSO’s budget, ensuring we received all funding, cross-referencing to ensure all activities received the approved amount according to the approved operational plan.

• Reviewed and gained familiarity with all guidelines and instructions issued for agency use in executing the agency budget.

•       Met regularly with the E&E Program Office to discuss spending and funding needs for contracts, grants, and supplies.

•       Interacted regularly with the Financial Services Division team to assist with funding requests and processing.

Travel Management:    

•       Lead Senior Travel Coordinator. 

•       Add funding and approve all travel on the budget level.

•       Processing domestic and international travel authorizations for the TSO staff (OE and Program funded) as well as Europe and Eurasia Bureau staff, including travel amendments, obtaining hotel reservations, informing travelers of visa/passport requirements, coordinating funding with USAID Missions, securing approvals from approval officials, and ensuring accuracy of travel arrangements when completed.  

Serving as office subject matter expert on ADS travel policies and procedures and following the guidelines set by USAID.

•       Assisting travelers with visa and passport renewals, ensuring electronic country clearance is sent and approved, completed voucher upon their return and managing the office travel budget to ensure sufficient funds are allocated for direct hires and personal services contractors.  

•       Notifying both the Director and Deputy Director of any potential travel funding issues and following through on all travel arrangements. 

•       Preparing the travel spreadsheet for the Front Office, which includes a breakdown of the cost, length, destination, purpose, and how each TDY will be funded.

•       De-obligated excess travel funding once the voucher has been paid.

•       Served as a back-up travel arranger for all E&E Staff, including Front Office Senior Leaders in arranging and processing travel.  Upon their return from TDY, I processed their voucher.

•       Maintaining positive working relationships with the E2 Helpdesk, Travel Service provider, Phoenix Solutions, Travel and Transportation Office, and colleagues that manage travel within and outside of TSO team to ensure efficient processing of travel requests.

Administrative Leadership:

•     Lead, advise, and represent TSO on staffing management and budget discussions.  As it relates to the staffing needs of the office.     

•       Submit a finalized statement of work, budget worksheet, and position marketing level description for all program-funded staff.  Ensuring the final document is submitted by the requested deadline to the Office of Acquisition and Assistance to be advertised inside and outside of the agency.

•       Provided technical support and database management, which included updating tables, charts, graphs, and project databases; creating slide presentations and maintaining spreadsheets; and assisted team members in initiating, preparing, and/or processing administrative documents in accordance with all pertinent rules, regulations, requirements, and laws.

•       Coordinate meetings, seminars, conferences, retreats, and workshops amongst government agency stakeholders internally and externally.  Assist the Office Director and Deputy Director with special projects as needed. 

• Worked with senior managers on annual evaluations and option year submissions for personal services contractors.  Ensured the appropriate office received an evaluation and recommendation for salary increase.  

•       Provided expert advice to management and coordinated the development of services for related administrative programs and financial operations.   

Manager, Administrative Assistant Team.  Onsite at USAID’s Bureau of Global Health.  March 2006 to March 2010 

Responsibilities included: 

Supervising 21 administrative assistants, identifying training needs and scheduling, coordinating and providing or arranging for training to administrative staff on Bureau procedures and guidelines. 

•       Provided directions and guidance to administrative assistants’ staff, organized the workflow to ensure the most effective use of time and resources, developed and implemented a system of work review, met with staff individually to discuss needed improvements, and provided coaching and support.

•       Handled all personnel issues for supervisors, including evaluating performance and recommending awards, ensuring that the practices and procedures used by the administrative assistants were consistent with those of USAID by providing written guidance on Bureau policies and procedures. 

•       Developed yearly administrative work plan and goals during yearly performance evaluation.

•       Implemented procedural improvements to administrative assistants’ activities to increase productivity, evaluated issues concerning the efficiency and effectiveness of administrative support functions, and investigated administrative errors to resolve problems that may affect organizational operations. 

•       Coordinated bimonthly mission mailings, validating and certifying staff time and attendance and serving as timekeeper for Bureau staff using automated timekeeping system WebTA and managing acquisition and disbursement of office supplies and equipment for administrative staff. 

•       Provided daily updates to Global Health Notices on the Bureau website, arranging, coordinating, and providing logistical support for Bureau meetings, and reviewing and editing all internal and external correspondence for compliance with Agency guidelines and formats. 

•       Responded to inquiries and administrative problems brought to the Contract Director by staff members, advising senior level staff on administrative procedures or tasks, back stopping the Assistant Administrator’s secretary which included managing the calendar, reviewing and monitoring all outgoing correspondence for accuracy, grammar, and ensuring USAID guidelines and procedures for correctness.