Australian Security Intelligence Organization - Coursework Example

Staffing plan for Australian Security Intelligence Organization Name Instructor’s Name Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) 3 Role requirements 6 Training needs 9 Recruitment and training 9 Recruitment process and practice 10 Training and development 11 Conclusion 15 Reference 17 Introduction A staffing plan is a tool used to forecast the amount of human resource that is anticipated to be required for achieving the objectives of a firm. A business strategy is usually employed as the foundation for designing the plan in order to offer an analytical look (Chalk, Rosenau, & Corporation, 2004, pp. 36). The plan is not usually intended to act as a log of each change of personnel that occurs throughout the year but a means of ensuring enough and appropriate human forces is available (Pfiffner & Phytian, 2008, pp. 110). The plan captures the yearly net change in the full time equivalent (FTE) counts. It monitors the staffing mix in addition to mapping out the intended reclassification, demotions and promotions. The staffing plan usually occurs at the level of business plan. An approved staffing plan usually guides the personnel decisions for an entire specified year. To avoid unforeseen circumstances, not all personnel decisions should deviate from the approved staffing plan. This paper develops a staffing plan for Australian Security Intelligence Organization. Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) This is a national security intelligence service of Australia. The organization gathers information and produces intelligence that is essential for warning the government about situations or activities that could endanger the national security of Australia (ASIO, 2010). Security is defined under the ASIO Act as the protection of the territory and border integrity of Australia from serious threats in addition to protecting Australia and its people from sabotage, espionage, politically motivated violence, attacks on defence system of Australia, the promotion of communal violence and acts of foreign interference (Chalk, Rosenau, & Corporation, 2004, pp. 39). The organization has been impacted on by dynamic and diverse nature of the security environment of Australia in recent years (Pfiffner & Phytian, 2008). The defining feature of ASIO activities has been the threat of terrorist attacks on Australian interests both within Australia and abroad. Attacks by terrorist in Bali, Jakarta and Baghdad have caught Australians in attacks directed at others and new threats continue emerging without warning (Pfiffner & Phytian, 2008). These attacks and threats have impacted on the complexity, volume and tempo of ASIO’s work (Ranstorp, 2007). The functions and powers of Australian Security Intelligence Organization are determined by Australian parliament, which set out its legislation. This ensures that Australian Security Intelligence Organization operates within strict legislative framework while carrying out its roles and functions. The agency is authorized to carry out investigations into and to collect intelligence on the Australian citizens’ activities. This is carried out within stringent oversight and accountability framework (Chalk, Rosenau, & Corporation, 2004). This framework is founded on the Australian Security Intelligence Organization Act, which ensures that there is a balance between the rights of individuals and the collective right to security, by the public. The Australian Security Intelligence Organization is guided by the Australian Security Intelligence Organization Act 1979, the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979, the Inspector General of Intelligence and Security Act 1986 and the Intelligence Services Act 2001 in carrying out its roles and functions (ASIO, 2010). The following is the organization chart for the Australian Security Intelligence Organization as at January 2006 (ASIO, 2010). Prior to October 2005, staffing level of Australian Security Intelligence Organization was below 1860 it was agreed that this was to be increased to 1860 by 2010-11 (ASIO, 2010). By 2009-2010, the Australian Security Intelligence Organization staff was 1,711 and this is expected to be increased to 1,800 during the 2010-11 financial years (ASIO, 2010). Thus, 89 new staff members are expected to be recruited during this period. The Australian Security Intelligence Organization is an equal opportunity employer but the identity of its officers is a secret (Chalk, Rosenau, & Corporation, 2004; Pfiffner & Phytian, 2008). The planned recruitment will mainly involve recruitment of intelligence professionals, surveillance officers, casual security assistants, protective security advisers/analysts, analysts – business liaison unit, ASIO general entry development program, intrusion analyst – network security monitoring team, senior IT security officers, IT security officers and intelligence professional (Price & Forrest, 2009). Role requirements The following table provides a detailed breakdown of the roles to be played by new recruits at Australian Security Intelligence Organization (Pfiffner & Phytian, 2008). It has the position, the responsibility to be carried out, skills required, the number of new staff who will be required to carry out the role, the approximate start date and the duration of employment (Chalk, Rosenau, & Corporation, 2004). Role Responsibility Skills required Number of staff required Estimated start date Duration of employment Intelligence professional Gathering information Producing intelligence Joining the evidence from the gathered information and produced intelligence Advising the government on matters of national security Role specific competencies and ability to hold high level security clearance One January 2011 Full time Surveillance officers Monitoring activities in the field Provision of specialized assistance to ASIO investigations Observation of targets of national security relevance Role specific competencies and ability to hold high level security clearance Ten January 2011 Full time Casual security assistants Provision of security assessment Role specific competencies and ability to hold high level security clearance Ten January 2011 One year Protective security advisers/analysts Provision of security assessment Advising the government Ensuring that the security of partner organization is up to scratch Protection of people Role specific competencies and ability to hold high level security clearance Twenty January 2011 Full time Analysts – business liaison unit Joining the evidence from the gathered information and produced intelligence Advising the business liaison unit concerning security Role specific competencies and ability to hold high level security clearance Six January 2011 Full time ASIO general entry development program Offering advice concerning human resources, training, recruitment, finance, payroll and psychology Role specific competencies and ability to hold high level security clearance Twelve January 2011 Full time Intrusion analyst – network security monitoring team Using computer technology to gather information and produce intelligence To prevent any intrusion in the security information stored on ASIO computers. Seasoned IT professional and ability to hold high level security clearance Four January 2011 Full time Senior IT security officers Using IT to analyse the information gathered using computer technology and producing intelligence Advising the IT department team and partner organizations on how to monitor and prevent threats to intelligence information Seasoned IT professional and ability to hold high level security clearance Nine January 2011 Full time IT security officers Implementing the advice provided by the Senior IT security officers IT professional and ability to hold high level security clearance Twenty seven January 2011 Full time Training needs The following table details the training needs that will enable the newly recruited staff to a level of skill required to carry out their duties (Ranstorp, 2007). Role Training need Time frame needed Intelligence professional Intelligence development 12 months Surveillance officers Surveillance training 6 months Casual security assistants Surveillance training 6 months Protective security advisers/analysts Intelligence development and Surveillance training 12 months Analysts – business liaison unit Surveillance training 12 months ASIO general entry development program Intelligence development and Surveillance training 12 months Intrusion analyst – network security monitoring team Surveillance training 6 months Senior IT security officers Intelligence development 12 months IT security officers Intelligence development 12 months Recruitment and training The people and resources branch of the corporate management and liaison division is responsible for management of recruitment and training functions at ASIO (Chalk, Rosenau, & Corporation, 2004). Employees from across ASIO participate in assessment centres, referee interviews, selection panels or other aspects of recruitment (Parliament of Australia Joint Committee, 2010). In addition, all areas of ASIO are involved in the training process to ensure that the learning and presentation experiences are relevant and current (ASIO, 2010). The complexity of the role of ASIO in preventing attacks or harm to Australians requires that a mix of staff with varied specialized technical, interpersonal, investigative, analytical and language skills in addition to cross cultural awareness and sensitivity are hired (ASIO, 2010). To manage risks and at the same time remain flexible and responsive requires that resources allocation at ASIO be continually fine-tuned across essential corporate requirements and high priority investigations (Hocking, 2003). Recruitment process and practice ASIO continuously seek quality personnel to fill various positions, which include intelligence analysts, data entry and checking officers, linguists, human resources personnel, administrative staff, surveillance officers, technical specialists and information technology. During the 2010-11 financial year, ASIO aims at recruiting eighty-nine professionals as outline above. This expected to increase its staff to 1800 from 1,711. This is a continuation of a five-year recruitment process that begun in 2005, which aims at increasing the staff to 1,860 (ASIO, 2010). Following the recommendation by an external Human resource consultant in 2003 that ASIO need to implement an improved initial screening process of applicants and to restructure the staffing section and increase resources for responding to recruitment targets, the recruitment process will be outsourced (Parliament of Australia Joint Committee, 2010). This will involve activities such as eligibility testing, psychometric testing and initial screening. The outsourcing of these services is expected to improve the calibre of applicants who progresses for further consideration by ASIO staff. This will also ensure efficient use of resources at ASIO (ASIO, 2010). ASIO is currently running a series of advertisement campaigns aimed at attracting talented applicants from varied cultural backgrounds to fill the afore mentioned positions (Hocking, 2003). Different recruitment and advertising companies are partnering with ASIO in development of innovative advertising campaigns to ensure that the approach employed is fresh (ASIO, 2010). This is intended to draw the attention of Australians who are talented but may not be considering a career with ASIO (Parliament of Australia Joint Committee, 2010). ASIO is also undertaking advertisement initiatives such as targeted advertisement campaigns in respective industry publications and internet advertisement via career and graduate web sites (Ross, 2000). Many resources are expected to continue being directed toward security vetting to ensure that the applicants have a suitable security clearance and can work in a sensitive environment (Chalk, Rosenau, & Corporation, 2004). To attain top-secret positively vetted clearance all recruits will undergo a nine months vetting process. Training and development Training and development of human resources at ASIO will continue focusing on building and improvement of analytical, leadership, management and operational capabilities (Sennewald, 2003). Work group job specific trainings will also continue to be arranged to ensure that the employees at ASIO are equipped with current methods of carrying out their duties (Chalk, Rosenau, & Corporation, 2004). The work group trainings will complement the corporate sponsored and funded training activities. Investment in training and development of staff is expected to account for 3 percent of ASIO budget (ASIO, 2010). The training programs are expected to increase innovations in addition to motivating the employees to carry out their duties efficiently and effectively. The organization plans to continue with mentoring and on job training for both experienced and new staff. To ensure that the training courses are relevant, staff will continue being rotated regularly in training section (Hocking, 2003). Various courses that offer current practical expertise will be offered. In addition ASIO plans to bring visiting course officers to introduce the most current experience to certain specific course as a presenter, advisor or facilitator. In ASIO training, requirements vary dependent on the different job families (Jackson, 2009). Thus new staff takes longer time between the times of course commencement and the time that it takes them to be assessed as fully effective (ASIO, 2010). Courses which take up to 12 months for training imply that employees recruited in such job families will take up to 2 years to become fully effective since much time will be required for recruitment, security vetting and finally training (Chalk, Rosenau, & Corporation, 2004). New staffs at ASIO undergo compulsory two day training within their first three months of commencement to ensure they familiarize themselves with ASIO (Hocking, 2003). The introduction to ASIO program equips new employees with an overview of the structure and function of ASIO, legislative framework, ASIO’s responsibilities and roles, accountability and ethics and security principles. The program is carried out by training section staff with assistance from senior officers or senior executive staff managers from different departments within ASIO. For specialized trainee intakes such as surveillance officers and generalist intelligence officers, the introduction to ASIO program is usually extended (ASIO, 2010). Staffs involved in administration at ASIO usually undergo general corporate and administrative skills training (Parliament of Australia Joint Committee, 2010). This include training in ASIO’s contract management, information technology systems, project management, presentation skills, selection pane skills, critical thinking, trainer training, effective reading and writing, interviewing and finance and budgeting (Jackson, 2009). This is expected to continue being offered to ensure that ASIO remains efficient in carrying out its various administrative duties. ASIO officers will also continue attending external courses such as “Introduction to Islam” and ‘Terrorism: International Political and Social Perspectives’ to ensure that they remain current in various issues affecting global security (ASIO, 2010). Within the 2010-11 financial years, ASIO officers will participate in counter terrorism training exercise, which will be carried out in Victoria and Northern Territory (ASIO, 2010). These exercises are expected to equip the officers with current methods of countering terrorism and to learn new methods being deployed by terrorists. Two hundred ASIO staff will undergo ethic and accountability program during 2010-11 financial year; SES officers will deliver this program (ASIO, 2010). It will also involve a session with the Inspector General of intelligence and security. The program is expected to cover various areas. First, the program will cover key principles of accountability and ethical standards within ASIO (Parliament of Australia Joint Committee, 2010). Second, the staff will be educated on the need for code of conduct and ethical standards. In addition, the participants will undergo training in the audit process within ASIO. The participants will also be informed about behaviours and actions, which are against the values and code of conduct of ASIO. New members of staff will undergo operational and analytical training (Jackson, 2009). This will involve generalists intelligence officers (GIO) traineeship, linguistic capability and on going training. GIO traineeship will involve ways of gathering intelligence and carrying out investigation on the ground. They will also be trained in cross-cultural awareness in order to enable them to work across cultural boundaries and with different agencies within Australia and internationally. During the training concepts and skills required for collection of intelligence and work analysis will be introduced and developed (ASIO, 2010). The training will involve formal training in information technology, critical thinking, ethics and accountability and management and leadership. The participants will also participate in a series of work placements, which will be directed toward equipping trainees with sound appreciation of ASIO and security intelligence work. The trainees will be assessed continually in various competencies during the training period, which will take twelve months. More resources will be deployed in the delivery of the traineeship. An on going training will continue to be offered to GIO in order to maintain and develop their analytical and operational capability (Parliament of Australia Joint Committee, 2010). This will involve intermediate and advanced training programs, which will involve both internal and external training (ASIO, 2010). The areas of training will involve intelligence gathering, cultivation and recruitment skills, human resource management, intelligence analysis and reporting skills (Hocking, 2003). Some of these trainings will be carried out in house while others will be done through cooperation between ASIO and its international partners within both Australia and overseas (Ranstorp, 2007). ASIO will also engage in joint training with services in training ASIO officers on how to handle evidence and collect intelligence in ways that enhance the validity of the evidence collected. More resources will be allocated toward development of language skills and expertise within ASIO staff members (Hocking, 2003). Several officers will be trained in relevant languages during the 2010-11 financial year. Those officers who complete their language trainings will be placed in positions where they are able to apply their language skills (Ranstorp, 2007). Three senior executive services will be offered within the 2010-11 financial year. These programs will focus on improving performance, management of organizational growth, budget and new policy proposals, ethics and accountability, the security environment and corporate governance (ASIO, 2010). In addition, senior executive service officers and senior officers will attend two time out days (Shanty, 2008). During these days, the officers will be involved in raising awareness about the current leadership and management issues across the organization (Hocking, 2003). Several senior officers will also attend focus groups to generate ideas that can be utilized in quality improvement in various areas such as linguistic capability, ethics and accountability, organizational growth and training and performance management (Jackson, 2009). Conclusion A staffing plan is a tool used to forecast the amount of human resource that is anticipated to be required for achieving the objectives of a firm. The plan captures the yearly net change in the full time equivalent (FTE) counts. It monitors the staffing mix in addition to mapping out the intended reclassification, demotions and promotions. To avoid unforeseen circumstances, not all personnel decisions should deviate from the approved staffing plan. This paper has developed a staffing plan for Australian Security Intelligence Organization. Australian Security Intelligence Organization gathers information and produces intelligence that is essential for warning the government about situations or activities that could endanger the national security of Australia. The functions and powers of Australian Security Intelligence Organization are determined by Australian parliament, which set out its legislation. The agency is authorized to carry out investigations into and to collect intelligence on the Australian citizens’ activities. This is carried out within stringent oversight and accountability framework. This framework is founded on the Australian Security Intelligence Organization Act, which ensures that there is a balance between the rights of individuals and the collective right to security, by the public. By 2009-2010, the Australian Security Intelligence Organization staff was 1,711 and this is expected to be increased to 1,800 during the 2010-11 financial year. Thus, 89 new staff members are expected to be recruited during this period. Both new and old employees of ASIO will undergo various trainings to ensure efficacy and efficiency in the organization. Reference Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO). 2010. Home. Available at http://www.asio.gov.au/ [Accessed 12 Oct. 2010] Chalk, P., Rosenau, W., & Corporation, R. 2004. Confronting "the enemy within": security intelligence, the police, and counterterrorism in four democracies. London: Rand Corporation. Hocking, J. 2003. Counter-terrorism and the criminalization of politics: Australia’s new security powers of detention, proscription, and control. Australian Journal of Politics and History, 49(3), 355-371. Jackson, B. 2009. Considering the creation of a domestic intelligence agency in the United States: lessons from the experiences of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. London: Rand Corporation. Parliament of Australia Joint Committee. 2010. Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. Available at http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/pjcis/index.htm [Accessed 12 Oct. 2010] Pfiffner, J. & Phytian, M. 2008. Intelligence and national security policymaking on Iraq: British and American perspectives. Texas: Texas A&M University Press. Price, J. & Forrest, J. 2009. Practical aviation security: predicting and preventing future threats. London: Butterworth-Heinemann. Ranstorp, M. 2007. Mapping terrorism research: state of the art, gaps, and future direction. Sydney: Taylor & Francis. Ross, J. 2000. Controlling state crime, 2nd Ed. London: Transaction Publishers Sennewald, C. 2003. Effective security management, 4th Ed. London: Butterworth-Heinemann. Shanty, F. 2008. Organized crime: from trafficking to terrorism, Volume 2. New York: ABC-CLIO. Read More