This position is in PDS’s Office of Budget and Finance (OBF). OBF provides planning, oversight, management and stability of all financial activities including accounting, financial management, procurement, and budget operations. The OBF mission is to protect the organization’s assets through effective financial planning and management, enhance fiscal integrity, ensure accurate and comprehensive financial reporting and analysis, and enable the achievement of the PDS mission through the strategic allocation and optimization of resources.  

Serves as the acquisition management expert. Plans the overall acquisition program, including the preparation of annual plans and the scheduling of individual procurement actions and priorities to meet program objectives within established policies. Reviews acquisition requirements for adequacy and completeness, and resolves questions or problems prior to initiation of contractual actions. Serves as principal advisor to PDS management officials, program managers, and technical staff concerning acquisition policies, procurement planning, and procedures including supporting managers with the preparation of their statements of work.


Determines methods of acquisition, through formally advertised or negotiated solicitation, or application of simplified purchase procedures. Prepares solicitations, assuring that all applicable laws and policies are observed, and that specifications are clear. For formally advertised contracts, conducts bid opening, analyzes bids received and, makes necessary investigations to determine bidders’ qualifications. Makes formal awards without recourse to higher management approvals. For negotiated contracts, assures that technical evaluation factors and basis for award are clearly stated in the request for proposal. Participates with management and program staff in contract negotiation, determines competitive range, negotiates with contractors, and makes analysis leading to award.


For contract administration, plans and conducts post award conferences to assure understanding of contractual requirements. Establishes work schedule with contractor and tracks progress, developing and maintaining systems to evaluate performance related to delivery and cost. Identifies potential problem areas and initiates remedial action. Incorporates new or changed contract requirements, or settles issues that develop after contract placement.


Investigates problems, disputes, or other violations, makes final decision and determinations and findings for legal review. As required, prepares appeals cases for transmittal to an appeals board.  Settles a variety of claims, and makes final decisions on termination for convenience and for default.  Negotiates settlement agreements with contractors, including such items as cost claims, allowance costs, termination inventory, profit determination, etc.


Manages the procurement card program for small micro-purchase actions. Manages a simplified purchase procedure and makes determinations as to meet the requirement by either ordering against established supply schedules or through open market/small purchase procedures. Prepares a delivery order, or orders orally or by written telecommunication for orders against an established contract.  For open market purchase, determines such factors as the extent of competition, the specific firms to which the work will be offered, the methods of solicitation, the method of purchasing, and the terms and conditions of the purpose. Evaluates supplier (vendor) responsibility. Reviews quotes for price reasonableness, and determines if the requirements for competition have been met. For service or construction purchases, arranges for and attends technical review and pre-award conferences and walk-through, and serves as senior representative during these sessions.


Develops, implements and maintain a Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) certification and training program. Identifies mandatory formal training requirements. Issues COR designation letters as appropriate. Manages recurring on-the-job and refresher training.


Leverages automated data management tools such as electronic spreadsheets and databases to track the creation and issuance of important documents. These documents may include, but are not limited to authorizations to proceed (ATPs), Requests for Information, Proposals, and/or Quotes (RFIs, RFPs, RFQs).
Actively communicates with the Chief Financial Officer on the full range of contracting operations – from matters of strategic importance to the accomplishment of daily tasks.


Implements contracting policies and procedures that ensure the provision of quality customer service to PDS internal stakeholders. 

Required Qualifications (candidates must meet both requirements): 


Educational Requirements 
A 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor’s degree, that included or was supplemented by at least 24 semester hours in any combination of the following fields: accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, public administration, or organization and management.


Experience Requirements
At least 4 years’ experience in contracting or related positions. At least 1 year of specialized experience, which must have been professional experience at a level of difficulty comparable to the next lowest grade level. Specialized experience is progressively responsible professional or administrative experience related to the functions of purchasing and procurement, and space facilities management.  Such experience should have provided a comprehensive knowledge of the practice and procedures used in these processes, as well as knowledge of the administrative requirements needed to support these activities. 

Specialized experience includes (but is not limited to):
• Experience obligating appropriated funds in an automated financial management system.
• Experience generating reports from automated systems and conducting detailed analyses using data extracted from those systems. 
• Experiencing identifying open purchase orders that are ready for closeout (e.g., conducting research on aged purchase orders, working with program managers and vendors to obtain release of claims, etc.) and executing contract closeouts.
• Experience drafting, editing, and tracking letter contracts such as authorizations-to-proceed (ATPs).
• Experience reviewing purchase requests to ensure the accuracy and completeness. 
• Experience reconciling data discrepancies between a feeder system for purchase requests and an official system of record.
• Experience using automated tools such as spreadsheets to analyze and track information. 
Two years of general experience. General experience in executing administrative functions, including best practices such as filing, typing, electronic and paper record keeping. Candidate must possess strong math, analytical, organizational, and communication skills, which are essential qualifications for success. 
Working with general instruction, adapt and apply principles, concepts, processes, tools and methodologies to solve real-world problems. Must be a detail-oriented, team player, possessing negotiation skills and the ability to work independently as needed. An understanding of federal operations and processes is important. 
Additionally, must possess strong interpersonal skills, as candidates will be expected to work with a diverse number of stakeholders with varying levels of procurement knowledge. The candidate should expect to interact with a wide range of personnel that may include PDS executives, suppliers, shared service providers, and others. Prepare and/or contribute to technical reports, memos, analyses and briefings. Plan and manage assigned efforts. Support meetings, inter-team communication, and issue-resolution with external and internal stakeholder groups.

General experience includes, but is not limited to:
• Experience using Microsoft Word to create correspondence and reports.
• Experience using Microsoft Excel to produce analytical spreadsheets and trackers.

Preferred Qualifications:
• Specific knowledge of the Oracle Federal Financial system is preferred, but not required.
• Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) (Professional) or FAC-C Level III legacy certification is preferred, but not required.
• Specific knowledge of data visualization tools (e.g., Tableau) and techniques is preferred, but not required.

If the incumbent has the Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) (Professional) or the FAC-C Level III legacy certification, he or she may be promoted without further competition to AD-14 upon completion of one year of exemplary performance, and approval of the PDS Director.


If the incumbent does not have the Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) (Professional) or the FAC-C Level III legacy certification, he or she may be promoted without further competition to AD-14 upon attaining the FAC-C (Professional), completion of one year of exemplary performance, and approval of the PDS Director.

How you will be evaluated: Your application package includes your résumé and requested supporting documents. Please ensure your application package includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this position. Failure to provide sufficient evidence in your application package and requested supporting documents can result in a rejection of your application package.


Rating: Your application package will be rated and ranked among other applicants, based on your experience, education, training, performance appraisals, and awards relevant to the duties of this position. Your rating can be lowered if your application package is not supported by the requested documents.


Referral: If you are among the top qualified candidates, your application package will be referred to a hiring manager for consideration at which time you may be invited to participate in a selection interview. 


Interview Structure:  Those who are selected for interview will be interviewed via WebEx.

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PDS is funded by federal appropriations, and employees are entitled to participate in federal benefits plans, federal retirement systems, and the workers compensation program. Transferring federal employees will receive recognition of creditable federal service for leave accrual and retirement (if applicable) purposes. Benefits include:


Federal Employees Retirement Systems (retirement annuity)
Thrift Savings Plan (similar to a 401K program) 
Federal Employees Health Benefits (health insurance)
Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (life insurance)
Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program
Flexible Spending Accounts (for health care and dependent care)
Long Term Care
Public Transportation Subsidy (funding contingent)
Employee Assistance Program
Federal Occupational Health (access to health clinic and services)



PDS is an Equal Opportunity Employer and an E-Verify Participating Agency

U.S. Citizens and those authorized to work in the United States.

How to Apply:  You must provide a complete application packager which includes: (1) Resume must not 
exceed 5 (five pages), and should not cover more than the most recent 5 (five) years of experience, (2) Official college transcripts. Applicants must submit the following: List of three professional references that include name, address, telephone number, and a statement of how each reference is able to evaluate your skills to HR Specialist, Brigette Carrington, Office of Human Resources, Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia.  Job Announcement PDS#2023-TBD, 633 Indiana Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20004 as MS Word or PDS document attachments to the following email address:  [email protected]. The vacancy announcement # and title of the vacancy MUST APPEAR on the subject line of the email.