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Ascension is seeking a highly organized, responsive, and analytically minded First Step Act Inquiry and Program Support Analyst to support the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ administration of First Step Act (FSA) Time Credits.

This position serves at the intersection of customer support, case research, program operations, knowledge management, records management, and project coordination. The Analyst will help BOP receive, research, track, document, coordinate, and resolve inquiries concerning FSA Time Credits while also supporting the program management documentation needed to maintain visibility, accountability, and timely decision-making.

This is an important operational role because FSA Time Credit issues can affect inmate release determinations, prerelease placement, supervised release eligibility, congressional and legal inquiries, litigation exposure, and public confidence. BOP therefore requires a centralized inquiry capability capable of maintaining accurate case records, meeting established response timelines, and identifying recurring issues that may require policy clarification, training changes, system improvements, or corrective action.

The successful candidate should be a detail-oriented researcher and organized planner who can manage multiple requests simultaneously, distinguish routine matters from issues requiring escalation, document research and decisions clearly, and operate effectively in an environment involving sensitive information and multiple organizational stakeholders.

Ascension is particularly interested in candidates who are self-driven, comfortable working with limited supervision, skilled at following established policies and procedures, and capable of identifying problems before they affect deadlines or customer service.

Summary of the Contractor Role

The First Step Act Inquiry and Program Support Analyst will provide day-to-day operational support to BOP’s National Inquiry Resolution Center and associated program management activities.

The Analyst will receive and track inquiries; research relevant information; coordinate with appropriate BOP personnel and subject matter experts; maintain complete case records; prepare responses; monitor aging and response deadlines; and escalate complex or time-sensitive matters according to established procedures.

BOP’s draft SOW establishes service-level goals ranging from same-day acknowledgement for congressional or executive-level inquiries to one- to three-business-day acknowledgement for other inquiry types, with target resolution periods generally ranging from five to ten business days. The inquiry operation must also be prepared to manage fluctuating workloads that may exceed 100 inquiries per week.

The position also provides broader program-office support. During periods of lower inquiry volume, the Analyst will maintain project documentation such as meeting minutes, action-item trackers, decision logs, risk and issue logs, schedules, training rosters, reporting files, and other administrative or governance records.

The Analyst will contribute directly to BOP deliverables including:

• D-04 – Project Schedule
• D-06 – Monthly Program Status Report
• D-10 – Corrective Action Tracking Report
• D-11 – Risk Management Report
• D-14 – Inquiry Management Report
• D-16 – Governance Meeting Summaries

The role therefore requires more than traditional customer service. The successful candidate must be able to research, analyze, document, coordinate, track, and communicate while maintaining accuracy, confidentiality, and traceability.

Day-to-Day and Recurring Responsibilities

• RECEIVE and review First Step Act Time Credit inquiries assigned to the inquiry resolution function.
• TRIAGE incoming inquiries by subject, urgency, complexity, stakeholder type, required expertise, and applicable response deadline.
• CATEGORIZE cases within the Government-designated case management or inquiry tracking system.
• RESEARCH routine and moderate-complexity inquiries using approved BOP policies, procedures, business rules, knowledge resources, case information, and other authorized sources.
• COORDINATE with BOP personnel and designated subject matter experts when information or interpretation is required to complete an inquiry.
• DRAFT clear, accurate, professional responses using approved templates and established response protocols.
• DOCUMENT the research performed, coordination conducted, determinations received, response provided, and supporting information associated with each case.
• MAINTAIN complete and traceable case records consistent with BOP records management, security, and privacy requirements.
• MONITOR acknowledgement, research, escalation, and resolution deadlines to support compliance with established inquiry service-level goals.
• ESCALATE complex, sensitive, urgent, congressional, executive, legal, policy-related, or unresolved inquiries through established escalation procedures.
• IDENTIFY recurring inquiry themes, trends, potential systemic issues, and areas requiring policy clarification, training updates, system changes, or corrective action.
• UPDATE Frequently Asked Questions, response templates, knowledge articles, reference materials, and other knowledge-management resources based on approved changes and recurring inquiries.
• VALIDATE inquiry records for completeness, accuracy, consistency, and appropriate documentation before closure.
• COMPILE inquiry statistics including volume, response times, complexity, aging, backlog, trends, escalations, and recurring issues for the monthly Inquiry Management Report.
• SUPPORT preparation of monthly program status reporting by maintaining accurate underlying inquiry, action, issue, and performance data.
• TRACK risks, issues, corrective actions, milestones, owners, due dates, and resolution status.
• MAINTAIN action-item trackers, decision logs, risk and issue logs, program schedules, training rosters, deliverable trackers, and related program-office documentation.
• PREPARE agendas, meeting materials, briefing information, meeting minutes, governance summaries, and follow-up documentation.
• FOLLOW UP with action owners and stakeholders to obtain required information and close outstanding actions by established deadlines.
• SUPPORT maintenance of the integrated project schedule by tracking assigned activities, milestones, dependencies, deliverables, and review dates.
• ANALYZE inquiry and operational information to help identify workload trends, recurring deficiencies, process bottlenecks, and opportunities for continuous improvement.
• PROTECT sensitive Government and inmate-related information and follow all applicable DOJ/FBOP security, privacy, acceptable-use, and records-management requirements.
• PERFORM additional program support, records maintenance, administrative coordination, or reporting assignments consistent with the position when inquiry volume permits.