Mid Level Contract Specialist

Duties and Responsibilities

• The Mid-Level Contract Specialist shall provide advice, recommendations, and document support to multiple offices in all areas of the acquisition requirements phase. Mid-Level Contract Specialist support personnel shall coordinate with the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) on all requirement support services to include assisting in the development and preparation of pre-award Statement of Work (SOW), Statements of Objective (SOO) and other requirement documents. This effort includes assisting Program Offices in researching and drafting specifications and standards, including Performance-based Work Statements (PWS), developing performance measures, providing consultation and recommendations, and coordinating requirement documents.
• The Mid-Level Contract Specialist shall provide advice and recommendations for all elements in acquisition plans, including approaches, options, strategies, risks, contracting methods, competition, sources, cost, milestone schedule, etc. The Mid-Level Contract Specialist shall also research existing Government-wide contracts for available products and services, evaluate different approaches and sources for acquisition support, research available suppliers and compare the services and costs of obtaining support from the different providers, and assist with Economy Act and similar statutes applicability determinations.
• The Mid-Level Contract Specialist shall provide cost and pricing analysis and/or Audit Analysis (Government Accountability Office (GAO), Treasury Inspector General of Tax Administration (TIGTA), Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA)) services to support negotiations of new awards, modifications to existing contractual instruments, and procurement audit activities. These services may require the Mid-Level Contract Specialist to interface with the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) or other Government audit agencies, to prepare the required pricing, cost, or audit analysis reports. The Mid-Level Contract Specialist shall draft cost estimates for use by the program offices in preparing Independent Government Cost Estimates (IGCEs). This includes research and analysis of past purchases of similar products or services, current market value of the products or services, and other agency purchases of similar products and services. The Mid-Level Contract Specialist shall prepare cost and pricing analysis reports in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), DCAA pricing manuals, or other applicable policies (Policy, Guidance & Instruction - PGIs). The Mid-Level Contract Specialist shall support contract negotiations by providing expert pricing advice to the Contracting Officer (CO) or Source Selection Board Members.
• The Mid-Level Contract Specialist shall conduct market research to identify potential sources and contract vehicles. Potential sources should include socio-economic program participants (i.e., small businesses, small and disadvantaged businesses, HUB Zone businesses). Potential vehicles should include Government Services Administration (GSA) Schedule vendors, Government-wide Agency Contracts (GWAC), and other agency contracts. The Mid-Level Contract Specialist shall conduct market surveys and prepare written documentation of market research. The Mid-Level Contract Specialist shall support program offices in documenting small business capability analysis. The Mid-Level Contract Specialist shall prepare Requests for Information (RFIs) and Sources Sought for electronic posting at the Government Point of Entry (GPE).
• The Mid-Level Contract Specialist shall assist in acquisition planning to include acquisition plans, options, contracting methods, competition, source selection procedures, cost, and milestone schedule. The Mid-Level Contract Specialist shall research existing Government-wide contracts for available products and services, evaluate different approaches to and sources for acquisition support, research available suppliers and compare the services and costs of obtaining support from the different providers. The Mid-Level Contract Specialist shall develop document and risk assessments and recommend source selection planning information. The Mid-Level Contract Specialist shall prepare written documentation to support both informal and formal source selection procedures. If formal source selection procedures are used, the Mid-Level Contract Specialist shall help prepare Source Selection Plans (SSP), assist with identification of Source Selection Evaluation Board (SSEB) members, advise SSEB members on roles and responsibilities, ensure Conflict of Interest/Nondisclosure Forms are signed, prepare evaluation sheets, and prepare draft of Source Selection Decision Memorandum. Other actions may include preparing pre-award documents, Determinations and Findings (D&Fs), Justifications, and other necessary contract file documents.
• The Mid-Level Contract Specialist shall prepare Pre-Posting Synopsis, Request for Quotes (RFQs), Request for Proposals (RFPs), Combined Synopsis/Solicitations in accordance with regulations, policies and guidelines using applicable automated procurement systems. The Mid-Level Contract Specialist shall assure the solicitation includes all appropriate solicitation terms and conditions and recommend and prepare unique terms and conditions as required. Prior to release of solicitation, they shall verify provision and/or availability of funds and obtain legal concurrence and other approvals as required by applicable policy prior to releasing the solicitation by electronic posting, email or mail.
• The Mid-Level Contract Specialist shall work with evaluators and the Contracting Officer to identify pre-negotiation objectives and assist the Contracting Officer with communications with Offerors. The Mid-Level Contract Specialist shall interface with CORs, other customer points of contact, vendors and Contractors in order to obtain the data needed to prepare the final contractual document. The Mid-Level Contract Specialist shall prepare final contract award documents in the contract writing system. The Mid-Level Contract Specialist shall also prepare COR designation letters, assist in the evaluation process (as non-voting member) and complete written documentation to support formal source selection procedures to include assisting with preparing drafting of source selection decision memorandum. The Mid-Level Contract Specialist will obtain legal concurrence and other approvals as required by applicable policy before distributing the contract to appropriate parties. Personnel shall ensure applicable contract actions are accurately entered into the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS).
• The Mid-Level Contract Specialist shall prepare appropriate documentation for contract modifications, including the exercise of options and related documents, monitor contractor performance, including schedules and milestones, and proactively assist with the contract administration of contracts to include collaborating with the client to identify upcoming contract milestones such as contract expiration dates, scope changes, level of effort increases, etc. The Mid-Level Contract Specialist shall monitor contractor compliance with terms of the contract, including site visits and labor interviews, assist in the preparation of incentive and award fees where applicable, assist in the resolution of contractor performance problems, assist the COR as needed to process Contractor invoices, including contract funding status management, and support routine contract meetings.
• Consistent with the rules and time-frames established in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), the Mid-Level Contract Specialist shall prepare contract actions for closeout. This includes but is not limited to performing actions as stated in FAR 4.804, preparing the contract files, and all related activities. The Mid-Level Contract Specialist shall be skilled in properly closing out both firm-fixed price and cost reimbursement type contracts including incentive-type contracts.

Qualifications

• A Mid-Level labor category has 3 to 10 years of experience and a BA/BS or MA/MS degree. Coursework must have included at least 24 semester hours in any combination of the following fields: accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods or organizational management.
• The Mid-Level Contract Specialist is responsible for the full range of pre-award and post-award procedures to plan and conduct the acquisition process from the description of the requirements through final delivery. They will be required to conduct pre-solicitation communications and evaluate vendor bids/offers. They will be negotiating contract terms and conditions including pricing, delivery schedules and vendor incentives for good performance. In addition to reviewing requests and analyzing the requirements, recommending specific revisions to the statement of work or specifications, deciding on the type of contract, milestones and procurement plan. Performing cost/price analysis; evaluating contractor performance; resolving scheduling problems, verifying deliveries, and monitoring inspection and acceptance.
• A Mid-Level labor category typically performs all functional duties independently with some oversight.