Oumar Kouraogo
Upper Marlboro,USA
Summary
Dynamic Applications Development Team Lead at the U.S. Department of State, adept at project management and strategic planning. Spearheaded the integration of iPad-based solutions, enhancing security and reducing costs. Proven team leader with a focus on stakeholder engagement and compliance, driving successful IT service delivery and optimizing vendor relationships.
Overview
11
11
years of professional experience
Work History
Applications Development Team Lead, INR/TIO
U.S. Department of State
Washington, USA
06.2024 - Current
- Lead and manage a cross-functional team of 12 developers and 4 government contracts, overseeing project execution and ensuring the timely delivery of IT solutions.
- Oversee quality assurance, user feedback cycles, and defect remediation during development and production.
- Advise senior leadership on IT strategy and application delivery priorities.
- Integrate iPad-based electronic briefing books into Bureau offices to enhance security, reduce paper, and printing costs.
- Lead requirements gathering and oversee the development of an electronic briefing book application and a SharePoint-based check-in/out system for tablets, increasing security, accountability, and compliance.
- Act as Branch Chief on occasion, overseeing division operations, setting project priorities, and ensuring resources align with organizational goals, demonstrating strong decision-making skills, and the ability to manage complex workflows.
- Direct the planning, design, and deployment of IT systems, ensuring alignment with both technical and business objectives.
- Provide strategic technical guidance to senior management and cross-functional teams, advising on critical decisions, and ensuring alignment with organizational priorities.
- Develop and implement policies and procedures that ensure IT service delivery aligns with best practices and security standards.
- Oversee vendor relationships and optimize procurement processes, ensuring cost-effective solutions, and successful delivery of IT services directly transferable to managing relationships with international stakeholders and partners.
- Develop detailed project timelines that include milestones and deliverables.
- Resolve conflicts between team members while maintaining high morale.
- Collaborate with product owners on feature prioritization based on customer feedback.
- Facilitate collaboration between development team members and other departments.
- Assign tasks, manage workloads, and ensure deadlines are met.
- Lead daily stand-up meetings to review progress and discuss roadblocks.
- Create user stories, define acceptance criteria, and document requirements.
- Coordinate installation of software systems and collaborate with user experience team on design and implementation of new features.
- Resolve customer issues by establishing workarounds and solutions to debug and create defect fixes.
- Review project requirements to identify customer expectations and resources needed to meet goals.
Intelligence Watch Officer, INR/Watch (Currently on Reserve)
U.S. Department of State
Washington, USA
05.2024 - Current
- Contribute to the 24/7 operations of INR Watch, supporting intelligence needs for senior U.S. officials. Government officials, including the Secretary of State.
- Draft concise summaries of raw intelligence, and publish them in INR Watch’s flagship product, Night Owl Notes (NON), which is shared across the intelligence community (White House, NSC, DoD).
- Demonstrate strong critical thinking and analytical skills, ensuring the accurate interpretation of intelligence for timely decision-making.
- Adapt quickly to a fast-paced, high-pressure environment, demonstrating flexibility, resilience, and effective teamwork.
- Assess and prioritize hundreds of intelligence reports from various sources, identifying key information relevant to current policy decisions, threat reporting, and diplomatic issues.
- Identify critical threat reports from other agencies, alerting Diplomatic Security to a potential risk to the U.S. Personnel and overseas missions, showcasing vigilance and attention to security risks.
- Coordinate with other departments to ensure proper response to incidents, emergencies, and requests for assistance.
- Conduct daily briefings and debriefings to ensure accurate information exchange between watch teams.
Partnerships Development & Finance Director
Global Emergency Response and Assistance
Passaic County, USA
01.2014 - Current
- Oversee grant budgets exceeding $900K; manage reporting, payroll, yearly taxes, and federal compliance for four staff members.
- Lead cross-border humanitarian programs in Côte d'Ivoire, Nicaragua, and Burkina Faso.
- Coordinate international partnerships and adjust program strategy in real time.
- Develop and implement locally tailored resource mobilization strategies.
- Monitor the donor database to ensure a consistent inflow and security of donations.
- Advise on partnership due diligence per IRS 501(c)(3) standards.
- Designed short-term financing strategies to meet working capital needs while optimizing returns on idle cash balances.
- Monitored cash flow, prepared monthly financial statements, and analyzed trends to ensure appropriate use of funds.
- Managed the preparation of all external financial reporting including audited financial statements.
- Coached staff on best practices for managing finances including budgeting techniques, expense tracking methods.
- Established policies and procedures related to accounting systems, internal controls, budgeting, forecasting, and purchasing.
DevOps Engineer
Booz Allen Hamilton
Chantilly, USA
09.2022 - 05.2024
- Designed hybrid AWS and Microsoft cloud architecture aligned with Zero Trust security principles.
- Built CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins and AWS CodePipeline; executed Infrastructure as Code deployments.
- Developed migration strategies to ensure continuity during significant technology refresh cycles.
- Conducted system testing and enhancements to boost performance and user experience.
- Documented AWS cloud solutions architecture and design patterns for future reference.
- Provided technical oversight and quality assurance for all cloud migration artifacts.
Help Desk Lead (Contractor)
U.S. Department of State
Washington, USA
05.2022 - 05.2024
- Exhibited meticulous attention to detail while addressing client-specific needs.
- Participated in high-priority projects involving extensive data transfers.
- Spearheaded onboarding and training programs for new hires, enhancing process understanding.
- Managed onboarding and IT setup for new hires, reducing onboarding time and increasing user satisfaction.
- Provided VIP user support and ensured data integrity through PowerShell scripting.
- Led migration and backup of Exchange accounts while delegating tasks to Tier 1 teams.
- Oversaw operational infrastructure, ensuring 24/7 secure communications and continuity.
- Responded to over 200 customer support tickets monthly, achieving a 98% satisfaction rate.
Diplomatic Security (Contractor)
U.S. Department of State
Washington, USA
02.2021 - 05.2022
- Mitigated security breaches by expertly managing confidential information and documents.
- Developed comprehensive security solutions for US diplomats and foreign dignitaries at Department of State Headquarters.
- Coordinated special events with local law enforcement agencies, including Metro PD and Secret Service.
- Maintained surveillance equipment including CCTV cameras and alarm systems.
- Conducted physical security checks and patrols of assigned areas.
- Responded quickly to emergency situations involving safety or security issues.
- Investigated suspicious activities, incidents, and reported violations of security protocol.
- Inspected buildings regularly for signs of intrusion or tampering with locks or windows.
Sr. Sales Consultant/Finance Manager
Enterprise Holdings
Elmwood Park, USA
06.2017 - 01.2021
- Achieved rank of #1 Sales Consultant in NY/NJ/CT for April 2019, May, June, and July 2020.
- Matched prime and subprime customers with appropriate vehicles to secure bank financing.
- Coordinated complex decision-making processes to resolve customer objections effectively.
- Maintained an up-to-date database of leads, customers and prospects utilizing CRM tools.
- Managed the entire sales process from prospecting, lead generation, qualification, negotiation and closing.
- Engaged in cross-functional collaboration with marketing teams to develop promotional materials for campaigns.
- Created monthly reports summarizing sales performance metrics such as revenue, volume, margin.
Specialist
Apple
Short Hills, NJ
12.2015 - 01.2017
- Facilitated equipment setup, programming, and personal information entry for customers.
- Resolved computer issues and identified requirements for additional technical support.
- Ensured confidentiality of customers' personal and financial information to protect operations.
- Achieved high sales in computers, phones, and accessories.
Advocacy Assistant
Caritas International
United Nations Headquarters, USA
09.2014 - 12.2014
- Summarized Security Council meetings, General Assembly sessions, OCHA updates, and UN events for Permanent Representative.
- Represented Caritas at NGO Security Council Working Group to influence international policy.
- Assisted in preparing reports, presentations, and official correspondence for senior officials.
- Participated in General Assembly and Security Council meetings to contribute insights and analysis.
Education
Master of Science - Foreign Service
Georgetown University, Walsh School of Foreign Service
05-2025
Certificate - Cybersecurity
George Washington University
07-2021
Bachelor of Science - Diplomacy and International Relations
Seton Hall University, School of Diplomacy, And International Relations
South Orange, NJ05-2016
Bachelor of Arts - Economics
Seton Hall University, School of Diplomacy, And International Relations
South Orange, NJ05-2016
Certificate - Security
CompTIA
Skills
- Project management and strategic planning
- Risk assessment and mitigation
- Team leadership and building
- Stakeholder engagement and communication
- Security best practices and compliance
- Application development and integration
- Continuous deployment and integration
- DevOps methodologies
- Training and mentoring programs
- Cloud computing solutions
- Customer support and service excellence
- Client-focused strategies
- Performance optimization techniques
- Creative problem-solving approaches
- Technical documentation skills
It Projects
- Elk Stack Project, https://github.com/Oumazing/OK-Cybersecurity-Project-I, Deployed containers using Ansible and Docker., Deployed Filebeat using Ansible., Deployed the ELK stack on a server., Diagrammed networks and created a README file., Created Linux scripts., Created a GitHub Repository to store Linux scripts, Network Diagrams, Filebeat and Metricbeat Logs.
- Red Team Vs. Blue Team, Firefox, Hydra, Nmap, John the Ripper, Metasploit, Curl, MS Venom, Performed penetration testing with Kali Linux., Conducted log and incident analysis with Kibana., Performed system hardening and configuration., Created reporting material, communication, and documentation., Diagrammed networks and captured network traffic.
Committees
Enterprise Holdings, Social Impact Committee Member, 05/2020, 01/2021, Represented over 300 employees across multiple divisions., Advocated for better training and cultural education of hiring managers.
Special Awards
- Franklin Award State Department, 12/2023
- Franklin Award State Department, 10/2024
Languages
English
Full Professional
French
Full Professional
Arabic
Elementary
moore
Native/ Bilingual
diula
Native/ Bilingual
Timeline
Applications Development Team Lead, INR/TIO
U.S. Department of State
06.2024 - Current
Intelligence Watch Officer, INR/Watch (Currently on Reserve)
U.S. Department of State
05.2024 - Current
DevOps Engineer
Booz Allen Hamilton
09.2022 - 05.2024
Help Desk Lead (Contractor)
U.S. Department of State
05.2022 - 05.2024
Diplomatic Security (Contractor)
U.S. Department of State
02.2021 - 05.2022
Sr. Sales Consultant/Finance Manager
Enterprise Holdings
06.2017 - 01.2021
Specialist
Apple
12.2015 - 01.2017
Advocacy Assistant
Caritas International
09.2014 - 12.2014
Partnerships Development & Finance Director
Global Emergency Response and Assistance
01.2014 - Current
Master of Science - Foreign Service
Georgetown University, Walsh School of Foreign Service
Certificate - Cybersecurity
George Washington University
Bachelor of Science - Diplomacy and International Relations
Seton Hall University, School of Diplomacy, And International Relations
Bachelor of Arts - Economics
Seton Hall University, School of Diplomacy, And International Relations
Certificate - Security
CompTIA
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