Contract Specialist

Job Summary

The Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) is a cabinet-level agency within the District of Columbia government, committed to the safety, permanence, and well-being of children and families residing in the District of Columbia. Charged with protecting child victims and those at risk of abuse and neglect, CFSA fosters collaborations within its administrations and network of government agencies and community-based providers to deliver exceptional family-focused services to the community and its residents.

This position is located in the Contracts and Procurement Administration (CPA), Office of the Deputy Director for Administration (ODDA), Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA). The Contract Specialist is responsible for the full range of pre-award and post-award functions associated with a wide variety of contractual services which are normally advertised and negotiated. The incumbent ensures that the contracts are technically and administratively sound and in compliance with the existing laws, regulations, policies, and procedures.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Assist with procurement planning. Identifies within assigned major program(s) those large-scale subsystems, components, equipment, and services to be acquired by contract. Assist with developing procurement objectives for the program in terms of competition and price range and constructs the contractual vehicle including use of pricing arrangements, subcontracting policy, set-aside policies, and similar considerations for final approval. Prepares and maintains current acquisition plans, appropriate milestone charts, and related schedules.
• Assist in the planning of the negotiation strategy, coordinates strategy with negotiation team, and assists with the negotiations which are conducted with contractors to develop the contract prices and terms. Prepare contract documents final review and award.
• Works closely with internal and external stakeholders including Program Area, Fiscal, Human Resources, Office of Risk Management, Office of the General Counsel, and the Attorney General to help expedite the Contracting and Procurement process.
• Serves as an advisor to program officials in procurement planning meetings. Advises program officials of the procurement objectives to be used and assists with preparing the statements of work. Prepares determinations and findings and solicitation documents. Performs detailed analyses of all elements of cost in contractor proposals and makes competitive range determinations. Conducts preproposal conference(s) with prospective contractor(s) to arrive at a clear understanding of what is required under the proposed contract. Obtains appropriate data from business and technical officials. Issues necessary modifications to clarify questions concerning specification changes, language ambiguities, or clarification of contract clauses. Explores new or innovative contracting approaches to arrive at an equitable contract arrangement in the absence of or lack of meaningful or reliable cost and price information.
• Advises technical representatives on anticipated procurement requirements. Develops the contractual strategy and develops the procurement plan, considering a wide variety of pertinent issues such as funding, the results of delivery requirements, possible follow-up requirements or other contingencies.
• Performs contract administration. Responsibilities typically include incremental funding, preparation of rate and cost adjustments, redirection of effort, coordination of time extension, incorporation of change orders, issuance of stop work orders, issuance of cure notices or show cause letters, monitoring of Government property reporting, approval of progress payments, final payment, and contract closeout.
• Determines the availability of potential suppliers or develops new sources of supply. Assesses the impact on the market of large CFSA contracts.
• Reviews procurement requests to assure clarity, adequacy, and completeness. Determines need for clauses to cover special conditions, i.e., inspection and acceptance, revisions of statement of work or specifications, type of contract, milestones, and action to have all or part of a procurement set-aside for small business performance.
• Conducts the solicitation and analyzes contractor proposals, comparing previous history, actual expenditures, and established rates. Performs cost analysis, makes competitive range determinations, and develops a pre-negotiation position.
• Conducts pre-negotiation conferences with management and technical personnel and negotiates prices, terms and conditions, contract modifications and settlements in the pre-award and post-award phases of contracting.
• Reviews contract terms and technical specifications to identify any special requirements. Conducts post-award conferences with the contractor to clarify contractual requirements and special provisions. Monitors contractor technical performance over the life of the contracts. Reviews contractor submittals and certifies completed work for scheduled progress payments. Solves problem relating to change proposals, claims, and payments similar problems.
• Negotiates changes in price(s) terms and conditions, overhead rate agreements resulting from contract modifications, supplementary agreements, settlements from change orders as a result of defective specifications, relative to negotiation and pricing actions.
• Reviews completed official contract file to ensure: all contractual requirements are satisfied, there are no pending administrative actions to be resolved, all file documents are signed, no litigation actions are pending, and the contract is complete in every respect. Certifies to the supervisor that the contract is ready for final payment and ready to be closed.
• Counsels small and disadvantaged business firms on opportunities and procedures for obtaining contracts. Reviews agency's procurement requests to determine if procurement can be performed by small business. Recommends possible breakout of work for small business concerns and locates new sources for future contracts. Initiates action to have all or part of a procurement action set aside exclusively for small and disadvantaged businesses.
• Attends conferences and meetings in reference to contracts or audits.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Comprehensive knowledge of and ability to apply procurement laws, regulations, and procedures applicable to the acquisition and administration of extensive or unique services and equipment to develop and implement a multiyear procurement plan or system involving successive program stages.
• Comprehensive knowledge of contract types, methods, and techniques including cost and incentive contracting, award fee, cost sharing arrangements, processing of unsolicited proposals, multiple
• awards, special provisions relating to proprietary rights, and rights in data. Contracts are normally negotiated.
• Comprehensive knowledge of and ability to apply cost/price analysis techniques and budget preparation to conduct negotiations in the pre-award and post-award phases of contracting.
• Comprehensive knowledge of program objectives, technical and negotiation techniques to conduct negotiations and selection in the pre-award and post-award phases of contracting.
• Comprehensive knowledge of business practices and market conditions applicable to program and technical requirements to evaluate bid responsiveness, contractor responsibility and/or contractor performance.
• Comprehensive knowledge of contract administration and termination techniques to administer and close out contracts.
• Comprehensive knowledge of public information guidelines, practices, and procedures regarding disclosure and release of contract information.
• Skills in oral and written communication sufficient to present, justify, defend, and implement proper contractual approaches.
• Proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and other software used by the agency related to contracting.

Education/Experience

Relevant Bachelor's degree with at least five (5) years of directly related experience in procurement field is highly preferred.


Must possess at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the grade 11 level in the District of Columbia government service or its non-District equivalent. Specialized experience is experience which is directly related to the position and has equipped the individual with the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies to successfully perform the duties of the position. Examples include but are not limited to, performing contract administration to include preparing incremental funding, rate and cost adjustments, redirection of effort, coordination of time extension, incorporation of change orders, issuance of stop work orders, issuance of cure notices or show cause letters, monitoring of Government property reporting, approval of progress payments, final payment, and contract closeout; advising program officials and other concerned parties in procurement planning; conducting solicitation and analyzing contractor proposals; or other similar duties.

Licenses and Certifications: Certification from the National Institute of Government Purchasing or National Contract Management Association is preferred.


Work Environment: The work is performed in an office setting.

Tour of Duty: Monday Friday


Promotion Potential: None

Collective Bargaining Unit: This position is covered under a collective bargaining agreement.

Duration of Appointment: Career Services- Regular

Pay, Plan, Series &Grade: CS-1102-12

Position Designation: This position is designated as security sensitive per DPM Chapter 4, Suitability. The candidate/incumbent is subject to a criminal background check, traffic records check, and consumer credit check (as applicable), reasonable suspicion drug and alcohol test, and post-accident or incident drug and alcohol test.

Residency Preference: Applicants claiming "Residency Preference will be required to maintain residency in the District of Columbia for a minimum of (7) years. Failure to do so may result in forfeiture of employment.

EEO Statement: The District of Columbia Government is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified candidates will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, family responsibilities, matriculation, physical handicap, or political affiliation.

Closing Statement: Official Job Offers are made by D.C. Child and Family Services Agency.