The Contracting Officer serves as the acquisition management expert and 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.
As Contracting Officer, the individual will serve 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.
Reviews acquisition requirements for adequacy and completeness, and resolves questions or problems prior to initiation of contractual actions. 

Additionally, the Contracting Officer;

• 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 contractor work schedules and tracks progress. 
• Develops and maintains 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 decisions 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 government purchase card (GPC) program for micropurchase actions and manages simplified acquisition procedures. Makes determinations to meet requirements 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, Requests for Proposals, and/or Requests for Quotations (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. 
• Provides procurement information, analysis, and assistance as needed to other branches within the Office of Budget and Finance in their effort to actively manage financial operations.
• Assists managers of the legal divisions with requirements identification, definition/clarification, and tracking.
• Assists division managers with contracting matters in preparation for milestone events such as the midyear program management reviews (PMRs) and end of fiscal year close.
  
  

The incumbent must possess the following:

• At least 4 years ’experience in federal budgeting, federal financial management, 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 federal budgeting and federal financial management.  Such experience should have provided a comprehensive knowledge of the practices 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, hands-on experience (versus having supervised or overseen) in the following activities:

• Design, develop, and manage data driven departmental and enterprise budget forecasts. Objectively evaluate division financial plans to recommend improvements.
• Provide data-driven, fact-based financial reports to the Chief Financial Officer and other senior officials as required.
• Using an analytical approach, create accurate, detailed tables, charts, and other exhibits for the annual budget request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
• Using an analytical approach, create accurate, detailed tables, charts, and other exhibits for the annual congressional budget justification.
• Using personnel and payroll data from the PDS Office of Human Resources (OHR), develop accurate annual personnel cost projections.
• Initiate transactions in an automated financial system of record. Provide quality assurance for transactions generated in an automated financial system of record by financial analysts.
• Generate data from automated financial management systems, conduct detailed analyses of the extracted data, and present conclusions in an informative, useful, and relatable manner. 
• Conduct periodic reviews and updates with managers to ensure efficient use of PDS funds.
• Reconcile data discrepancies between feeder systems and official systems of record.
• Use automated tools such as spreadsheets to analyze and track information. 
• In addition to the specialized experience as described above, the incumbent must also possess two years of general experience as described below.
  

General experience in executing administrative functions, including best practices such as electronic record keeping and document retention. Candidate must possess strong math, analytical, organizational, and communication skills, which are essential qualifications for success. 
Working with general instruction, adapting and applying principles, concepts, processes, tools and methodologies to solve real-world problems. Must be team player, but possess the negotiation skills and the ability to work independently as needed. An understanding of federal contracting operations and processes is important. 

General experience includes, but is not limited to:

• Effectively using Microsoft Word to create exhibits, reports, analyses, and other correspondence.
  
• Effectively using Microsoft Excel to produce analytical spreadsheets and trackers.
  

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.

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.

• 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.
  

How you will be evaluated
Your application package includes your cover letter, resume and requested supporting documentation. 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, 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 interviews will be required to interview via Web- X, Skype, or some other communications platform. 

Note: PDS reserves the right to interview prior to the closing date.

Salary:  $112,015 - $172,075  

AD-0560-13/14 (GS-13/14 Equivalent)

Promotion Potential: AD-14 (equivalent to GS-14)

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) 
• Parking Space Lottery
• Employee Assistance Program
• Federal Occupational Health (access to health clinic and services)

Telework: This position is eligible for telework in accordance with the organization’s policy.

For consideration applicants must submit the required documents listed below. Failure to submit will result in an incomplete application. Please upload the required documents as one PDF attachment. 

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.
For consideration, you must provide a complete application package, which includes:

• Resume must not exceed 5 (five pages) and should not cover more than the most recent 5 (five) years of experience.
• Most recent performance evaluation.
•  A list of three professional references with a brief description on how each reference is able to attest to your skills/experience. Please include the name, email and telephone number and the relationship (i.e. Direct Supervisor, Indirect Supervisor, Mentor etc.)
  

Please send your application package in MS WORD or PDF documents; please combine application documents in one PDF document, if able. Applications MUST be emailed to [email protected]. To ensure your application receives proper consideration, the subject line of your application email MUST include the job announcement number and the position title (i.e. PDS-2024-14: Contracting Officer).  

All application materials become property of PDS and will not be returned. PDS will not accept application packages by postal mail, fax, or personal delivery.

For applicants with disabilities, this organization provides reasonable accommodations which will be decided on a case-by-case basis. To request a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or interview process, please contact Teresa Oliver, Senior HR Specialist at (202) 824-2352 or at [email protected].