Under Secretary for Management

Under Secretary for Management
United States Department of State · Public domain · source
Post	Under Secretary for Management
Body	United States Department of State
Incumbent	Vacant
Department	United States Department of State
Style	The Honorable
Reports to	United States Secretary of State
Seat	Harry S Truman Building
Appointer	President of the United States
Constituting instrument	Foreign Service Act of 1924
Formation	1953
First	Robert H. Moore

Under Secretary for Management is a senior United States Department of State official responsible for administration, resource management, and logistics for United States diplomatic missions, consular operations, and domestic operations. The office coordinates with United States Congress appropriations committees, federal budget processes, and interagency partners such as the Department of Defense, the United States Agency for International Development, and the General Services Administration. The Under Secretary leads workforce policy, property management, security programs, and information technology modernization affecting personnel in Washington, regional bureaus, and overseas posts.

Role and Responsibilities

The Under Secretary oversees policy and operations related to Foreign Service, civil service hiring practices, property portfolios including embassies subject to the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, and global security programs coordinated with the Bureau of Diplomatic Security. Responsibilities include budget formulation before Office of Management and Budget review, financial management aligned with Congressional Budget Office scoring, and ensuring compliance with statutes such as the Foreign Service Act of 1980 and provisions of the Antideficiency Act. The office works closely with the Inspector General of the Department of State, Office of the Legal Adviser, and the Government Accountability Office on audits, investigations, and corrective action plans. Internationally, the Under Secretary interfaces with counterparts in the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the European External Action Service, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan), and other diplomatic services on logistical coordination for multilateral venues like the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

History and Establishment

Origins trace to administrative reforms during the Cold War era and postwar expansion of American diplomacy, reflecting needs identified after World War II and the establishment of new multilateral institutions such as the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund. The position crystallized amid mid-20th-century reorganizations of the United States Department of State under secretaries including Dean Acheson and John Foster Dulles, formalized by statutes and internal reorganization plans. The role evolved through crises such as the Iran hostage crisis, the Lebanon hostage crisis, and security assessments following the September 11 attacks, prompting expanded authority over security, construction, and information systems. Legislative milestones affecting the office include amendments to the Foreign Service Act and appropriations measures enacted by majorities in the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives.

Organization and Office Structure

The Under Secretary heads an executive office comprising deputy under secretaries and directors from units such as the Bureau of Administration, the Bureau of Budget and Planning, the Office of Management Policy, Rightsizing, and Innovation, and the Office of the Chief Financial Officer. The office coordinates with regional bureaus like the Bureau of African Affairs, the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, and functional bureaus including the Bureau of Consular Affairs and the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. It liaises with federal entities such as the Department of Homeland Security, the National Security Council, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency for crisis response, and partners with the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and multilateral development banks on shared programs. Field structure includes management counselors at posts and international cooperative arrangements with missions to organizations like the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

Appointment and Tenure

The Under Secretary is nominated by the President of the United States and requires confirmation by the United States Senate, typically following hearings before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Terms are not fixed; occupants serve at the pleasure of the President and may be career Foreign Service professionals or political appointees. Historical confirmations have featured questions about management experience, adherence to laws such as the Ethics in Government Act, and past performance in roles at the Office of Management and Budget or large agencies like the Department of Defense or United States Agency for International Development. Successors have sometimes been appointed during transitions linked to presidential inaugurations and cabinet realignments.

Notable Officeholders

Noteworthy occupants include career and political leaders who influenced construction, security, and personnel policy, such as Robert H. Moore, who served early in the postwar era; others have come from backgrounds tied to the Foreign Service Institute, the United States Foreign Service, the Treasury Department, or corporate management including executives from Booz Allen Hamilton-affiliated firms. Some Under Secretaries later served as ambassadors to posts like United Kingdom, France, or Saudi Arabia, or took positions in international institutions such as the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund. Officeholders have engaged with crises involving embassy bombings, evacuation operations during Somalia and Yemen contingencies, and renovation projects in capitals including Haiti and Afghanistan.

Initiatives and Major Programs

Major programs overseen include the global embassy construction and security program managed by the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, the consular modernization efforts tied to biometric systems and the Visa Waiver Program, and enterprise resource planning modernization coordinated with the Chief Information Officer of the Department of State. Initiatives have addressed workforce diversity in coordination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, property rationalization aligned with the General Services Administration real estate policies, and environmental sustainability measures consistent with commitments under accords like the Paris Agreement implemented across federal facilities. Crisis management initiatives involve coordination with the U.S. Africa Command, U.S. Central Command, and the Regional Security Office at posts.

Oversight and Accountability

Oversight mechanisms include audits and recommendations from the Government Accountability Office, inspections by the Office of Inspector General (United States Department of State), reviews by the Congressional Oversight Panel via appropriations legislation, and statutory reporting obligations to congressional committees such as the Senate Committee on Appropriations and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Accountability tools encompass corrective action plans, suspension of programs per findings under the Antideficiency Act, and ethics reviews under the Office of Government Ethics. In high-profile cases, investigations have involved interbranch cooperation with the Department of Justice and public hearings before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Category:United States Department of State