Senior Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act Program Manager

Harkcon, Inc.; Albuquerque (NM); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Harkcon, Inc. seeks an experienced Senior FOIA/Privacy Act Program Manager to lead a team supporting a federal national security customer. The role oversees the accurate, timely processing of FOIA/PA requests, appeals, and litigation-related matters, with on-site work in Albuquerque, NM and limited telework possible.

You will supervise FOIA professionals, ensure QA, manage case workups, and liaise with legal counsel and government leadership. A DOE Q clearance or recent equivalent is required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in law, public administration, business, management, political science, information management, or another relevant field.
• 10+ years of management or supervisory experience.
• 10+ years of professional FOIA experience.
• 5+ years supporting FOIA appeals and litigation matters.
• Experience leading federal FOIA or Privacy Act personnel and workloads.
• Thorough knowledge of FOIA, Privacy Act, exemptions, and federal processing procedures.
• Experience reviewing records, applying exemptions, and redactions.
• Excellent writing and interpersonal skills; ability to communicate with senior government leaders.
• United States citizenship; DOE Q clearance or active within past five years.
• Ability to work full-time on-site in Albuquerque, NM area.

Responsibilities

• Lead and supervise a team processing FOIA/Privacy Act requests.
• Assign and prioritize cases by age, complexity, deadlines, and customer direction.
• Oversee full request lifecycle from intake to case closure.
• Monitor workload, aging cases, deadlines, and processing delays.
• Review final response packages for legal, technical, and editorial accuracy.
• Verify exemptions, redactions, and supporting documentation.
• Maintain FOIA case-management system records.
• Provide guidance on complex requests involving classified or sensitive information.
• Coordinate with counsel, program offices, records custodians, and security personnel.
• Support FOIA appeals, litigation, and high-visibility requests.
• Develop operating procedures, quality controls, and performance metrics.
• Prepare workload reports, status summaries, and briefings for leadership.
• Identify process improvements to increase timeliness and quality.
• Recruit, train, and retain cleared FOIA professionals.
• Maintain continuity during vacancies and workload surges.

Skills

Leadership

FOIA Expertise

Team Leadership

Executive Communication

MS Office

Federal Programs

Citizenship

On-site Adaptability

Senior Stakeholder Management

Clearance Navigation

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher in relevant field

Tools

FOIAXpress

MS Office Suite

Job description

Harkcon, Inc. is seeking an experienced Senior Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act Program Manager to lead a team supporting a federal national security customer.

The Program Manager will oversee the accurate, timely, and secure processing of complex Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act requests. The successful candidate will bring substantial experience managing federal disclosure programs, supervising FOIA professionals, and addressing appeals and litigation-related matters. This is a hands-on leadership position. The Program Manager will manage personnel and performance while contributing substantive FOIA expertise, quality assurance, customer communication, and complex case resolution.

Security Requirement

Current or recent DOE Q or Top Secret clearance

Location

Work will be performed at the customer's location in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Limited telework may be authorized, but not guaranteed.

*** This position is contingent upon award of a contract to Harkcon ***

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and supervise a team processing Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act requests.
• Assign and prioritize cases based on age, complexity, sensitivity, deadlines, and customer direction.
• Oversee the full request lifecycle, including intake, scope clarification, search coordination, document review, redaction, consultations, referrals, response preparation, and case closure.
• Monitor workload, production, aging cases, statutory deadlines, and potential processing delays.
• Review final response packages for legal, technical, and editorial accuracy.
• Verify that exemptions, redactions, responsive records, correspondence, and supporting documentation are complete and consistent.
• Ensure case information and supporting records are accurately maintained in the customer's FOIA case-management system.
• Provide expert guidance on complex requests involving classified, controlled, proprietary, personal, or otherwise sensitive information.
• Coordinate with legal counsel, program offices, records custodians, security personnel, classification authorities, and other stakeholders.
• Support FOIA appeals, litigation-related matters, and high-visibility requests.
• Develop and maintain operating procedures, quality controls, workflow guidance, and performance-monitoring practices.
• Prepare workload reports, status summaries, performance metrics, briefings, and recommendations for government leadership.
• Identify process improvements that increase timeliness and quality while protecting sensitive information.
• Recruit, train, coach, and retain qualified FOIA professionals.
• Maintain continuity during vacancies, leave, workload surges, and changing customer priorities.
• Promptly elevate performance, schedule, quality, or security concerns to Harkcon and customer leadership.

Required Qualifications

Applicants must meet all the following requirements:

• Bachelor's degree or higher in law, public administration, business, management, political science, information management, or another relevant field.
• At least 10 years of management or supervisory experience.
• At least 10 years of professional Freedom of Information Act experience.
• At least five years of experience supporting FOIA appeals and litigation-related matters.
• Demonstrated experience leading federal FOIA or Privacy Act personnel and workloads.
• Thorough knowledge of the Freedom of Information Act, Privacy Act, applicable exemptions, disclosure requirements, and federal processing procedures.
• Experience reviewing records, applying exemptions, preparing redactions, and developing final response packages.
• Experience conducting quality assurance for complex or sensitive FOIA matters.
• Strong experience communicating issues, risks, and recommended solutions to senior government leaders.
• Excellent analytical, organizational, writing, editing, and interpersonal skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and related collaboration tools.
• United States citizenship.
• Current DOE Q clearance or a DOE Q or Top Secret clearance held within the past five years.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DOE Q clearance and access to secure federal facilities.
• Ability to work full-time in the Albuquerque, New Mexico area and report on-site when required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Current active DOE Q clearance.
• Experience supporting the Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, or another federal national security organization.
• Experience using FOIAXpress or a comparable commercial FOIA case-management system.
• Experience processing classified records and other specialized controlled information.
• Experience addressing requests involving multiple agencies, laboratories, field offices, or organizational equities.
• Experience working directly with agency counsel, FOIA officers, classification officials, and records custodians.
• Knowledge of federal records management, information security, controlled unclassified information, and personally identifiable information requirements.
• Experience leading backlog-reduction, surge-support, or high-volume FOIA processing efforts.
• Experience developing executive briefings, program metrics, workload analyses, and process-improvement recommendations.
• Demonstrated success recruiting, training, and retaining cleared FOIA professionals.

Harkcon, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity-Affirmative Action Employer - Minority / Female / Disability / Veteran / Gender Identity / Sexual Orientation / Age