Special Advisor and Arabic Interpreter
Resume:
Sahar Salem
**** ******** ************, ** ***** E-mail: **********@*****.*** U.S. Tel: 215-***-****
Active Top Secret Clearance (TS/SCI)
PROFILE
United States Federal Government employee who worked for the Department of the Army
assigned as the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstructions Liaison, Special Adviser,
Special Assistant, Arabic Language Specialist and Security Analyst. Responsible for carrying out
the entire overall mission in my assigned area of operation; while collecting critical classified
and unclassified information from US and Iraqi officials to help make effective policy changes.
EXPERIENCE
Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) 2011-October 2013
Special Advisor –Government of Iraq Liaison /Special Assistant to the Inspector General (IG)/
Translator/Security Analyst
• Directed and advised the SIGIR delegation while traveling to Iraq.
• Represented SIGIR’s interests, concerns, and relationships in front of the Government of
Iraq (GOI) and among other agencies within the U.S Embassy in Baghdad. I reported to
the Special Inspector General and was responsible for identifying problems and issues
that have significant regional or national impact. As a member of the agency's executive
team; I implemented the IG’s Management Agenda within my specific area of
responsibility
• Accompanied the IG on all missions in Iraq, serving as liaison between SIGIR leadership
and the Government of Iraq’s (GOI) leadership (Prime Minister’s Office; the Ministry of
Justice, Defense, Interior, and Finance; the Council of Representatives Speaker etc.)
• Coordinated all IG’s meetings in Iraq with senior GOI leadership
• Served as SIGIR’s lead cultural advisor and assistant
• Planned, budgeted and assisted in execution of all IG convoy movements in Iraq
• Wrote and drafted letters on behalf of the IG to GOI leadership and officials
• Expanded and Maintained ongoing foreign contacts and relationships between SIGIR and
GOI leadership
• Drafted reports on all SIGIR meetings with the GOI leadership and officials for use in the
SIGIR Quarterly Report
• Responsible for writing security and rule of law sections of the SIGIR Quarterly Report
to the U.S. congress
• Daily analyzed and reported on Iraqi political, religious and military developments
• Reviewed and edited Arabic versions of all SIGIR Quarterly Reports to congress
• Provided daily reports to the IG on local and regional developments affecting Iraq and the
GOI
• Translated official U.S. and GOI reports, letters, and documents from Arabic to English/
English to Arabic
• Worked with SIGIR investigators on sensitive cases dealing with fraud and waste
• Worked with SIGIR Auditors authenticating information
Resume: Sahar Salem E-mail:
**********@*****.***
• Maintained active Top Secret security clearance
Global Linguist Solutions/L-3 Communications 2010 - 2011
Advisor to U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), Baghdad, Iraq
• Analyzed and reported on Iraqi political and military situations
• Advised U.S. Forces – Iraq (USF-I) commanders and senior U.S. civilian officials on
communications with the Government of Iraq (GOI)
• Managed sensitive aspects of USF-I relations with the GOI Ministries of Defense (MOD)
and Interior
• Monitored, analyzed, and reported on local and regional media developments for USF-I
general- and field-grade officers
• Translated official U.S. and GOI reports from Arabic to English and English to Arabic
• Assisted USF-I with training of Iraqi Army public affairs personnel in message
formulation and dissemination
• Accompanied USF-I officers on missions throughout Iraq, serving as liaison with MOD
• Maintained active Secret security clearance
• Outstanding performance organizing and coordinating US withdrawal/ End of Mission
ceremony with the GOI- recognized by MG Bartel- USF-I Director of Operations and BG
Story-USF-I Deputy Director
The Men’s Wearhouse 2003 - 2010
Assistant Manager Multiple locations in PA, NJ, and NY
• Supervised multimillion dollar Men’s Wearhouse Branch locations in PA, NJ, and NY
• Supervised rental divisions ($500,000+ in annual sales revenue)
• Supervised, Trained and scheduled all employees at three separate locations
• Designed, implemented, and monitored inventory criteria, leaving the company with top
inventory recodes, top sale records and top management skills acknowledged by the
company
• Outstanding performance recognized by several awards, including Top Management
Team (2008), Top Sales Team (2006), Top Store Team (2005), and Top Customer Service
Team (2003)
.
EDUCATION
Rosemont College
Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, 2008
• Organized Rosemont College Darfur relief effort, raising the highest amount of money in
the history of the College’s charitable engagements
• Coordinated classes with Villanova College, tutoring and teaching Arabic
• Held a Full-Time job while in college and managed to graduate with a 3.2 GPA
SKILLS
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Resume: Sahar Salem E-mail:
**********@*****.***
• Fluency in speaking, reading, and writing Arabic at a professional level
• Extensive educational and professional study of and exposure to Middle Eastern and
Central Asian politics and culture
• More than three years of experience in simultaneous interpretation and translation
• Capable of building and maintaining firm foreign government relationships
• Expert in all MS Office tools and a number of DoD database applications
CORE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• Collected critical information and official Iraqi government letters for the Inspector
General's Auditors which resulted in findings that helped save millions of US tax payers
dollars
• Delegated with Iraqi leadership staff members regularly which helped enhance foreign
relationships for the Special Inspector General’s Office.
• Mediated between the United States Forces and the Government of Iraq and the
Government of the Kurdish Region which resulted in resolving regional and internal Iraqi
division of Joint Operation Centers.
• Developed streamlined strategic plans along with Generals serving in the military in Iraq
for a safe transition to withdraw forces from Iraq while carrying out all plans for a End of
Mission Ceremony.
• Worked with the Inspector's Investigators on interrogations that lead to at least five
convictions
REFERENCES
• Stuart Bowen (The Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction) 703-***-****
• Zouhair Albitar (DOD CIV Mentor) 713-***-****
• Arturo Cosme (Store Manager- Men’s Wearhouse branch) 610-620-435
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