Summary
The Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (PDSDC) is interested in attracting the best talent for our organization. To be considered for this vacancy announcement, applicants should review the announcement in its entirety and follow the instructions within. To learn more about PDSDC, please visit https://www.pdsdc.org/.
This job is open to
Clarification from the agency
U.S. Citizens and those authorized to work in the United States may apply to this posting.
Duties
Major Duties:
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.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
https://www.pdsdc.org/careers.
Qualifications
The incumbent must possess the following:
- 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. 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 contracting activities:
- Obligating appropriated funds in an automated contract and/or financial management system.
- Generating data from automated systems, conducting detailed analyses of the extracted data, and presenting inferences and conclusions in an informative, useful, and relatable manner.
- Identifying open purchase orders that are eligible for de-obligation. This includes conducting research on aged purchase orders, working with program managers and vendors to obtain a release of claim, and executing contract closeouts.
- Drafting, editing, and tracking letter contracts such as authorizations-to-proceed (ATPs).
- Reviewing purchase requests to ensure the accuracy and completeness.
- Reconciling data discrepancies between a feeder system for purchase requests and an official system of record.
- Using 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 correspondence and reports.
- 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.
Desired Qualifications (not required):
- 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.
Education
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.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
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.
Required Documents
Please read the "How to Apply" section.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from
schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
How to Apply
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. Your application package should include the following:
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 PDSHRMailbox@pdsdc.org. 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.
Next steps
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 HR@pdsdc.org.
PDS is an Equal Opportunity Employer and an E-Verify Participating Agency
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