Media Specialist, Analyst

Ivan Tchomakov

** ********** ******* **, ***** 1606, Bulgaria

+44-793-***-****/ +359-*********- *************@*****.***

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

Over a career of more than 35 years, including 17 years of service for the US Government as media analyst as well as seven years as personal assistant to several ambassadors at the Bulgarian Mission to the UN in New York and the Bulgarian Embassy in Washington, DC, I believe I have acquired skills, knowledge, and experience that may be useful to your company.

SKILLS

Fluent in Bulgarian (native), English;

General knowledge of Russian, Macedonian;

Critical thinking;

Experience using US government analytic tradecraft;

Communications, interaction with management, peers, and customers;

Advanced computer skills;

Team player and team leader;

Time management and planning

WORK HISTORY

US Embassy London (January 2017-June 2018)

US Embassy Vienna (February 2008-January 2017)

Position: Media Analyst/Supervisor

As media analyst and information collection expert I managed the monitoring of political, military, and economic events in Bulgaria and Macedonia and frequently oversaw pan-European and pan-Balkan collection and media analysis projects.

As part of my job I produced dozens of analytic and contextual products conforming to strict US Government tradecraft standards. My analyses and reports covered areas such as media behavior, military subjects, predictive analysis on political developments, demographic issues, and organized crime.

Several products authored by me were used as exemplars in analytic training courses. I received several awards for my analytic work, and some of the material produced by me reached the highest levels of US government.

My analytic efforts extended beyond the two embassies I worked for, as I was engaged in joint projects with officials from other US and foreign organizations. I also carried out extensive research and prepared analyses in response to requests by US government offices.

My job frequently involved identifying, monitoring, and analyzing potentially important events as they unfolded and alerting US government customers to possible developments and alternate scenarios.

To perform my job I monitored and periodically evaluated a large set of continually covered traditional and social media sources and routinely searched for new sources, including traditional and social media.

To perform my monitoring and collection duties I relied on a team of five to eight contractors (translators)whose work I directed on a day-to-day basis. Much of the information collected by them served as the backbone to my analyses and reports.

In 2017, together with my immediate superior, I oversaw and coordinated the training and day-to-day operations of a newly established team of media analysts. The 16-member team became fully operational in under six months, for which I received a special award. As part of this effort I routinely put together the input of some or all team members into joint products, edited products, and prepared training and duty schedules, and organized emergency coverage of major unfolding events, such as armed conflicts and terrorist acts.

In the beginning of 2014 I was appointed supervisor of the media analysts covering East Europe and the Balkans. As such I was required to monitor and rate their performance and to implement corrective measures where necessary. I continued working in that capacity after a new team of media analysts took over in London following the decommissioning of the Vienna office.

US Embassy,Vienna, Austria

Position: Independent Contractor-Translator/Sofia, Bulgaria

July 2000-January 2008

As an independent contractor-translator I monitored Bulgarian print and electronic media, produced a summary of the day's press highlights, monitored TV and radio programs, and translated an average of between 2,000 and 3,000 words per day from Bulgarian into English. This job also involved routine reassessment of sources and searching for new sources, including in the then newly emerging social media.

Freelance Translator/Sofia, Bulgaria

September 1999-September 2000

I worked as a translator for some of Bulgaria's largest translation agencies as well as for EU- and US-funded projects and programs.

Bulgarian Embassy/Washington, DC

Position: Consular Officer, Personal Assistant to Ambassador/Translator

August 1997-September 1999

I was transferred to Washington from a position with the Bulgarian Mission to the UN at the request of Ambassador Filip Dimitrov, permanent representative of Bulgaria to the UN and Bulgaria's first democratically elected conservative Prime Minister, when his transfer from New York to Washington was announced.

In Washington, I performed the functions of consular officer (acting vice consul) and personal assistant to the ambassador. In the latter capacity I ran the ambassador's office, organized events, and maintained communications with US Government agencies. I also acted as interpreter and translator for visiting members of the Bulgarian Government at meetings with top-ranking US officials.

Bulgarian Mission to the UN, New York

Position: Translator, Personal Assistant to Ambassador, Protocol Officer

September 1995-August 1997

I worked as translator and personal assistant to the ambassador organizing his schedule, arranging meetings, assisting in the organization of visits, and managing his and the Mission's official correspondence. I translated most of the official statements by Bulgarian diplomats and as assistant chief of protocol I served as liaison officer with the US Department of State's Office of Foreign Missions, the UN Protocol, the City of New York, and various US agencies.

Football Inc., Sofia, Bulgaria

Position: Managing Director, Commentator

September 1991-August 1995

Together with the editor-in-chief I was responsible for running Football, then the highest circulation weekly newspaper in Bulgaria. In particular, I was responsible for sales, acquisitions, communications with suppliers, advertisers, and printers, managing cash flows, and investor relations. I managed a full-time staff of more than 30 journalists, photographers, graphic designers, and technical personnel as well as about 300 freelancers. I also wrote regularly commentaries and reports on such topics as corruption and mismanagement in Bulgarian soccer organizations.

Bulgarian Mission to the UN/ New York

Position: Translator, Personal Assistant to Ambassador, Protocol Officer

July 1988-August 1991

In early 1988 I was nominated by the Bulgarian news agency BTA to take a set of competitive exams for overseas positions with the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I won the competition – translation tests, a test on current international affairs, and an interview – coming ahead of about 30 candidates. I was offered and accepted the job in New York and once there performed the functions described in the section above that refers to the same employer. At the end of my three-year contract I opted for a better paying job at a private Bulgarian newspaper I had helped found in 1988.

Football Inc./ Sofia, Bulgaria

Position: Commentator

April 1988-July 1988

I was invited to join the staff of the weekly private newspaper Football, which was being established at that time. This was a senior position just below the rank of editor-in-chief and those who held it served as section chiefs and members of the newspaper's Managing Board. I covered major soccer events, served as duty editor, maintained contacts and exchange with foreign media outlets, and managed a number of full-time and freelance reporters.

Bulgarian news agency BTA/ Sofia, Bulgaria

Position: Reporter/Translator, Foreign Desk

June 1985-March 1988

In early 1985 I joined the Foreign Desk of the BTA after a competitive exam. My duties included translating news items into English for use by international news agencies, editing, mentoring junior colleagues, and writing summaries and articles. In 1987, I started my own Monday soccer column that did not require approval from communist party censors. This column became the BTA's most quoted product by major international news agencies. This established me as a member of the sports journalist community and led to my subsequent employment with the Football weekly newspaper.

Translation Office of Sofia Municipal Utilities Company/Sofia, Bulgaria

Position: Translator

December 1982-June 1985

Several months before my graduation I began working as a translator for the Translation Office of the Sofia Municipal Utilities Company, a state-run firm that provided a range of services from plumbing to translations. This was the only translation office in Sofia and one of several in the country that was authorized to translate official documents. While there, I gained experience in translating texts in areas as diverse as medicine, early personal computers, politics, and technology.

MILITARY SERVICE

Private, Corporal, Sergeant Junior Grade, Signals

September 1976-October 1978

EDUCATION

Master of Arts/English and Bulgarian Language

University of Sofia

Sofia, Bulgaria/1978-1983

High School diploma

English Language School

Sofia, Bulgaria/1972-1976

Junior High School diploma

St Loyola High School

Poona, India/1969-1972

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