What does a desk officer do?
Desk officer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real desk officer resumes:
- Manage and track status of requests for information and responses between multiple offices in NSA and request originators.
- Utilize JWICS, SIPRNET M3, and DoD PERNET databases to research backgrounds and develop leads for counterintelligence and counterterrorism operations.
- Manage confidential information and documentation, including financial data, and credit card information and payroll checks.
- Educate both incoming USAID and other USG staff about USAID's programs in Afghanistan.
- Monitor cctv and fire system.
- Travele overseas in support of DoD elements.
- Liaise between field offices and HQ support departments.
- Coordinate repair, maintenance and modernization efforts for destroyers in the Atlantic AOR.
- Prepare and present regional projects activities to HQ colleagues through meetings and official presenations.
- Prepare reports and analyses regarding USAID policies and positions on difficult or complex matters.
- Provide all the technical requirements to fill information gaps on HUMINT operations design to support IC projects.
- Draft policy and scenario papers, including policy recommendations, for senior level USG interagency discussions ahead of the elections.
- Coordinate DHS Cyber assessment initiatives/processes.
- Monitor and direct counterintelligence collection, analysis, and production directly relate to AOR.
- Manage confidential information and documentation, including financial data, and credit card information and payroll checks.
Desk officer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 17% of Desk Officers are proficient in Intelligence Community, Government Agencies, and Policy Issues. They’re also known for soft skills such as Empathy, Leadership skills, and Physical strength.
We break down the percentage of Desk Officers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Intelligence Community, 17%
Collaborate with leadership within the National Intelligence Community for administration, policy coordination, and fiscal resource allocation.
- Government Agencies, 10%
Analyzed intelligence and coordinated response operations with multiple government agencies and military assets.
- Policy Issues, 9%
Prepared documents on various policy issues and recommended policy actions to senior policy makers.
- National Security, 9%
Participated in daily meetings with other intelligence personnel to coordinate war-fighter support and national security needs.
- HUMINT, 8%
Supported Human Intelligence (HUMINT) efforts by enabling focused collection and analysis efforts to support the new mission offices.
- DOD, 7%
Collected and disseminated 22 intelligence information reports ensuring DoD's top decision makers were kept informed.
Common skills that a desk officer uses to do their job include "intelligence community," "government agencies," and "policy issues." You can find details on the most important desk officer responsibilities below.
Empathy. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a desk officer to have is empathy. Their role and responsibilities require that "police officers need to understand the perspectives of a variety of people in their jurisdiction and be willing to help the public." Desk officers often use empathy in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "assisted government attorneys,case agents, and government agencies in managing and understanding the prosecution of vcinvestigations. "
Leadership skills. Another essential skill to perform desk officer duties is leadership skills. Desk officers responsibilities require that "police officers must be comfortable with being a highly visible member of their community, as the public looks to them for help in emergencies." Desk officers also use leadership skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "monitored national cbrne events and provided detailed analysis and plume modeling to noc and s&t; leadership. "
Physical strength. This is an important skill for desk officers to perform their duties. For an example of how desk officer responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "police officers must be strong enough to physically apprehend suspects and to assist people in precarious situations." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a desk officer: "responded to and investigated vehicle accidents, larceny, dwi/dui, assaults, physical/verbal domestics and various other law enforcement responses. ".
Good judgment. desk officer responsibilities often require "good judgment." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "police and detectives must be able to determine the best way to solve an array of problems." This resume example shows what desk officers do with good judgment on a typical day: "developed top-notch customer service and communication skills while maintaining sound judgment and professionalism. "
Communication skills. Another common skill required for desk officer responsibilities is "communication skills." This skill comes up in the duties of desk officers all the time, as "police and detectives must be able to speak with people and to express details in writing about an incident." An excerpt from a real desk officer resume shows how this skill is central to what a desk officer does: "drafted functional specifications for acquiring commercially available or united states government (usg) owned data communications capabilities for management review. "
The three companies that hire the most desk officers are:
- Pacific Architects and Engineers
8 desk officers jobs
- Prescient Edge7 desk officers jobs
- KBR4 desk officers jobs
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Compare different desk officers
Desk officer vs. Patrolman
In the military, a law enforcement specialist is in charge of preventing and investigating crimes within the military bases. Although the extent of their responsibilities highly depends on their area of assignment, it usually includes patrolling different places, responding to distress and other emergencies, conducting interviews on witnesses and suspects, and monitoring security systems. There are also instances when they must keep guard of facilities and properties. Moreover, as a law enforcement specialist, it is essential to be proactive and alert in dealing with different situations due to the nature of the job.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a desk officer are more likely to require skills like "intelligence community," "government agencies," "policy issues," and "national security." On the other hand, a job as a patrolman requires skills like "patrol," "public safety," "non-emergency calls," and "crime scenes." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Patrolmen tend to reach lower levels of education than desk officers. In fact, patrolmen are 12.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.5% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Desk officer vs. Law enforcement specialist
A ranger is responsible for protecting and conserving natural resources and environmental conditions. Rangers coordinate with environmental institutions and landowners to identify land conservation strategies to prevent destructible threats of wildfires and calamities. They also monitor the operations within the forests and parks, evaluating efficient development through scientific methodologies and research studies. A ranger creates reports of cost estimates for conservation efforts, authorizing various land operations upon inspection to mitigate the risks of pollution and other hazardous circumstances.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, desk officer responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "intelligence community," "policy issues," "national security," and "humint." Meanwhile, a law enforcement specialist has duties that require skills in areas such as "treasury," "physical security," "patrol," and "field training." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Law enforcement specialists earn lower levels of education than desk officers in general. They're 11.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Desk officer vs. Ranger
A Patrol Sergeant oversees and performs security operations on an assigned shift. They conduct vehicular patrol of an assigned area, investigate the scenes of accidents, and make arrests, when required.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a desk officer is likely to be skilled in "intelligence community," "government agencies," "policy issues," and "national security," while a typical ranger is skilled in "patrol," "customer service," "reservations," and "natural resource management."
Rangers make a very good living in the finance industry with an average annual salary of $34,400. On the other hand, desk officers are paid the highest salary in the telecommunication industry, with average annual pay of $66,159.rangers typically earn lower educational levels compared to desk officers. Specifically, they're 14.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Desk officer vs. Patrol sergeant
Types of desk officer
Updated January 8, 2025
