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

Duties

Division Description: 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. The primary responsibility of the Contract Specialist is to provide procurement support to the managers of PDS's Trial, Special Litigation, and Investigations divisions. The incumbent may be required to provide support to other legal divisions on an ad hoc basis. The secondary responsibility of the Contract Specialist is to ensure that the comprehensive procurement and acquisition needs of PDS are met in a timely and cost-effective manner and in line with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and established PDS policies. Assist managers of the legal divisions with the pre-award process. This includes, but is not limited to: conducting market research, navigating the GSA schedule, developing requests for information (RFIs), requests for proposal (RFPs), and requests for quote (RFQs); developing and distributing statements of work/statements of objectives, entering purchase requests into an automated system for manager approval, and monitoring issuance of purchase orders. Assist managers of the legal divisions with the post-award process. This may include, but is not limited to assisting managers with monitoring invoice receipt, evaluating invoices for accuracy and completeness, ensuring timely delivery of invoices to accounts payable, and monitoring for on-time payment. Track payment matching in an automated financial system and identify potential funds deficiencies or de-obligation opportunities. Assist contractors providing expert service support to attorneys with navigating the System for Award Management (SAM) registration process. Assist the legal divisions and the procurement branch to actively manage unliquidated obligations/undelivered orders and the timely de-obligation of funds. Ensure proper contract closeout - including issuance to and return from the vendor of a completed release of claims form. Maintain effective internal controls as defined in organizational policies, audit-compliant work processes (including proper record and file management), and auditable work products. Provide acquisition advice and assistance to managers of legal divisions in the administration of contracts and interagency agreements and assist in resolution of issues that arise during the term of contract or agreement. Utilize an automated system to track purchases and expenditures, as well as provide expenditure information regularly for budget and control purposes. Maintain and develop reports on a comprehensive set of acquisition data including but not limited to: purchasing records and reports, electronic procurement and contractor files; statistical data on PDS contracting activities. Recommend policies and procedures for contracting and acquisition. Other Duties: Provide procurement information, analysis, and assistance as needed to the accounting branch in their effort to actively manage commercial and governmental accounts payable. Monitor the receipt of invoices from providers of expert services to the legal divisions and work with the legal divisions, accounts payable, and the contractor (when required) to facilitate timely payment. Assist managers of the legal divisions with requirements identification, definition/clarification, and tracking as part of the annual budget planning process. In coordination with the budget branch, assist managers of the legal divisions with budget execution through the course of the fiscal year - including budget allocation and phasing, and preparation for milestone events such as the midyear program management reviews (PMRs) and end of fiscal year close.

Requirements

Qualifications

(Candidates must meet both requirements): Educational Requirements A 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with a major in any field; or at least 24 semester hours in any combination of the following fields: accounting, business, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, public administration, or organization and management. Experience Requirements At least one 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 committing appropriated funds in an automated financial management system. Experiencing in 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 assisting program managers and selected vendors with initial registration and/or registration renewal in SAM. Experience drafting, editing, and tracking letter contracts such as authorizations-to-proceed (ATPs). Experience reconciling data discrepancies between a feeder system for purchase requests and an official system of record. Experience reviewing purchase requests to ensure the accurate commitment of funds. 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. 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 with a major in any field; or at least 24 semester hours in any combination of the following fields: accounting, business, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, public administration, or organization and management.

Contacts

• Address Public Defender Service for District of Columbia 633 Indiana Ave., NW Washington, DC 20004 US
• Name: Public Defender Service
• Email: [email protected]