Business and Operations Management Support Program Analyst

ARA; Arlington (VA); Hybrid; USD 88,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA) Mission Concepts and Capabilities division seeks a Business and Operations Management Support Program Analyst to provide executive-level support to the Department of War Science and Technology front office.

This hybrid Mark Center role requires on-site work, with at least one day per week in the office. The analyst will focus on congressional reporting, legislative tracking, and analysis of programmatic impacts arising from legislation, develop

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in a relevant technical field or business.
• Minimum of 5 years recent and relevant experience.
• Secret security clearance.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, unstructured verbal interactions, briefings, and meeting moderation.
• Excellent Word, PowerPoint, and Excel skills.
• Demonstrated experience in conceiving and implementing new projects with no pre-existing process, and with limited to no direct guidance from the client or supervisor.
• Demonstrated ability to meet short turnaround timeliness and perform in high-pressure environments.
• Ability to develop decision-quality materials for leadership with internal and external audiences, ranging in sizes from a few individuals to hundreds.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze legislation and assess programmatic impacts.

Responsibilities

• Analyze program plans, identifying risks, and recommend alternatives.
• Create new processes and recommend business process improvements.
• Develop decision‑quality briefs, talking points, and written materials for various audiences.
• Aggregate, review, and verify component inputs for congressional testimony and responses to questions for the record.
• Track congressional marks and analyze legislative information.
• Assist in developing and coordinating responses to congressional inquiries and statutory reporting requirements.
• Develop and disseminate implementation status reports and program metrics.
• Support senior leader engagements and cross‑DoW coordination, serving as a liaison between senior executives, technical directors, and key stakeholders.
• Develop congressional correspondence, memos, white papers, briefings, reports, testimony, and responses to questions for the record.
• Coordinate inputs with subject matter experts, Legislative Affairs, General Counsel, and other offices.
• Research and analyze legislation to assess programmatic and operational impacts to S&T efforts.

Skills

Communication

Analytical thinking

Briefings/meetings

Education

Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field or business

MBA (Desired)

Tools

Word

PowerPoint

Excel

Job description

The Mission Concepts and Capabilities (MCC) division of Applied Research Associates, Inc (ARA) is seeking a Business and Operations Management Support Program Analyst to provide executive‑level support to the Department of War Science and Technology front office. This role emphasizes Congressional reporting, legislative tracking, and analysis of programmatic impacts arising from legislation. The analyst will develop decision‑quality materials, coordinate congressional and legislative products, support senior‑leader engagements, and manage cross‑DoW correspondence and documentation. This hybrid Mark Center role requires on‑site work, with at least one day per week in the office. The successful candidate will have very strong communication and analytical skills, five years of recent experience, a business degree, and a Secret clearance.

What You’ll Do

• Analyze program plans, identifying risks, and recommend alternatives.
• Create new processes and recommend business process improvements.
• Develop decision‑quality briefs, talking points, and written materials for various audiences.
• Aggregate, review, and verify component inputs for congressional testimony and responses to questions for the record.
• Track congressional marks and analyze legislative information.
• Assist in developing and coordinating responses to congressional inquiries and statutory reporting requirements.
• Develop and disseminate implementation status reports and program metrics.
• Support senior leader engagements and cross-DoW coordination, serving as a liaison between senior executives, technical directors, and key stakeholders.
• Develop congressional correspondence, memos, white papers, briefings, reports, testimony, and responses to questions for the record.
• Coordinate inputs with subject matter experts, Legislative Affairs, General Counsel, and other offices.
• Research and analyze legislation to assess programmatic and operational impacts to S&T efforts.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in a relevant technical field or business.
• Minimum of 5 years recent and relevant experience.
• Secret security clearance.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, unstructured verbal interactions, briefings, and meeting moderation.
• Excellent Word, Powerpoint, and Excel skills.
• Demonstrated experience in conceiving and implementing new projects with no pre-existing process, and with limited to no direct guidance from the client or supervisor.
• Demonstrated ability to meet short turnaround timeliness and perform in high-pressure environments.
• Ability to develop decision-quality materials for leadership with internal and external audiences, ranging in sizes from a few individuals to hundreds.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze legislation and assess programmatic impacts.

Desired Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA), or a graduate degree in: science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or other related field.
• TS/SCI clearance eligibility.
• Experience as a Congressional Affairs Analyst supporting senior level executives, technical directors, and staff assistants in accomplishing Congressional reporting requirements, streamlining communications, analyzing the impacts of legislation, and developing proposals.
• Experience coordinating, reviewing, and managing official correspondence.
• Strong business operations analytical skills, including reviewing program plans, identifying risks, and recommending alternatives.
• Editorial proficiency, including grammar, logic flow, formatting, and compliance with DoW standards.

Compensation & Benefits

Pay Ranges: From $88,000.00 - $110,000.00 per year based on years of experience, degree and any special skills and knowledge that you may bring to the position. We mostly reserve the upper half of our compensation bands for internal growth. During all call with one of our recruiters or hiring managers, they can further clarify the salary range and total compensation. ARA offers competitive benefits that address our employees’ needs now and in the future. Learn more about each of our benefits at https://www.ara.com/benefits/

Company Information

Applied Research Associates, Inc. is an employee-owned international research and engineering company recognized for providing technically superior solutions to complex and challenging problems in the physical sciences. The company, founded in Albuquerque, NM, in 1979, currently employs over 2000 professionals. ARA offices throughout the United States and Canada provide a broad range of technical expertise in defense technologies, civil technologies, computer software and simulation, systems analysis, environmental technologies, and testing and measurement. The corporation also provides sophisticated technical products for environmental site characterization, pavement analysis, and robotics. At ARA, employees are our greatest assets. The corporation realizes that employee ownership generates greater creativity and initiative along with higher performance and customer satisfaction levels. ARA gives its employees the tools, training, and opportunities to take more active roles as owners. The culture is challenging; innovation and experimentation are the norm. Employees are eligible for contributions which not only add to the company’s success, but also their own through the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). The motto, “Engineering and Science for Fun and Profit” sums up the ARA experience. For additional information and an opportunity to join this unique workplace, please visit our website at www.ara.com.