Telework Coordinator

The requirement for each agency to designate a Telework Management Officer (TMO) who serves within “the Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer or other comparable office with similar functions” was included in the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010.  The intent of this provision was to position management of every agency’s telework program into the circle of top leadership to ensure alignment with strategic decision-making.  This position is meant to be a high-level advisor to agency leadership, a resource on telework matters for managers and employees, and the responsible party for policy development and implementation related to the agency's telework program. The TMO is also designated to serve as the primary point of contact with OPM on telework matters on behalf of the agency.

Prior to the Act, most agencies implemented telework using a "Telework Coordinator" at the Department/Agency level, and individual "telework coordinators" at the subagency/subcomponent level. Today, the TMO position more closely resembles what was formerly designated as the Department-level "Telework Coordinator." This means the role within an agency of gathering telework data from various internal sources and then reporting it to OPM now ultimately falls to the TMO. However, the responsibilities of the TMO extend beyond operational day-to-day aspects of telework and delve more into policy, advising, and an overarching management of the entire telework program for an agency. Agencies retain the discretion to determine whether to continue to utilize "telework coordinators" to implement the day-to-day aspects of the agency telework program subject to the oversight of the TMO. However, each agency will have only one individual, the TMO, who is the single accountable person for the agency's telework program. Human Resources staff or agency employees that have questions or issues about telework should be encouraged to direct their concerns to the agency's TMO or the TMO’s designee.