PSC Recruiting & Contracts Manager

A large portion of BHA’s workforce is composed of U.S. Personal Services Contractors (USPSCs). BHA has more than 500 USPSCs full-time in Washington and in the field, and that number will continue to grow in support of BHA’s mission around the world. Macfadden is seeking a Personal Services Contracts (PSC) Recruiting & Contracts Manager, in support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA). The PSC Recruiting & Contracts Manager is a lead procurement position and will provide oversight of the PSC Recruiting & Contracts Team which includes Deputy PSC Managers, Team Leads and Recruitment/Contracts staff. BHA’s PSC Recruiting & Contracts Team manages the PSC pre-award and post-award contracts process, helping USAID/BHA recruit, hire, and contract outstanding experts to perform the challenging mission of responding to diverse types of disasters around the world. USAID/BHA’s talent needs constantly change as new disasters occur. The PSC hiring mechanism allows USAID/BHA to contract with individuals who have the expertise the office needs. The PSC Recruiting & Contracts Team, in accordance with US Government procurement regulations, prepares and posts PSC job solicitations, receives job applications, and assists USAID/BHA throughout the recruitment and contracts process to evaluate, interview and select candidates to be contracted by USAID/BHA under the PSC hiring mechanism.

The PSC Recruiting & Contracts Manager position is a unique opportunity for candidates seeking a career in procurement and contracting. This position plays a key role throughout the PSC pre-award and post-award contracts process, which is managed in accordance with US Government procurement regulations and the Procurement Integrity Act. The PSC Contracts Manager will work with BHA Offices/Divisions to develop solicitations for posting and will ensure completed package of PSC contracts documents are complete and ready for the approval and signature of the Contracting Officer. The PSC Recruiting & Contracts Manager reports directly to the Macfadden/PAE Program Manager and assists with many tasks across the team as outlined below.

Education:

· Master’s Degree with 8 years of experience; BA/BS required with 15 years of relevant experience; less than BA/BS, 20 years of relevant experience.

Required Experience:

· At least 8 years or more of US government procurement and/or contracting experience (FAR, ADS and AIDAR), including demonstrated understanding of and experience with applicable laws, rules, regulations, and procedures governing contracting operations

· Ability to obtain and maintain a US Government Security Clearance.

· Prior management experience supervising direct reports for at least 5 years

· Demonstrated prior experience and ability to exercise independent judgment in the full range of responsibilities: procurement planning, solicitation, analysis and evaluation of applications, negotiation and award of acquisition and assistance instruments, cost and price analysis, administration, termination, negotiation of changes.

· Demonstrated knowledge of federal contracting principles, laws, statutes, Executive Orders, regulations, and procedures applicable to pre-award and/or post-award actions sufficient to procure and/or administer contracts.

· Knowledge of the following is preferred:

• Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR)

• USAID Acquisition Regulations (AIDAR)

• USAID Automated Directive System (ADS)

· Demonstrated knowledge of mentoring and knowledge transfer to facilitate training for junior staff members.

· Must be able to work independently in a highly demanding environment and capable of handling tasks with varying deadlines. The ability to plan, organize and manage complex negotiations and meetings is very important. Strong organizational skills: ability to work independently with little supervision; ability to work calmly, tactfully and effectively under pressure and to demonstrate extreme flexibility to manage more than one activity at a time is essential.

· Demonstrated ability to work collegially with technical teams, peers, and supervisors with good interpersonal skills and past performance in working effectively in a team environment is required. Must be able to adhere to high standards of professional conduct and to maintain strict confidentiality and high ethical standards relating to all areas of acquisition and assistance.

· Demonstrated ability to provide strategic advice on highly complex, time sensitive procurements. Must be able to communicate complex and difficult policy and programmatic issues understandable by knowledgeable laypersons without oversimplifying and be able to transfer knowledge/mentor other team members.

· Demonstrated excellence in oral communication in English and strong writing skills. Proven ability to evaluate, and interpret policy directives and regulations, produce technical documents and to effectively communicate to internal and external stakeholders.

Preferred Experience:

· Experience working with USAID procurement and contracting actions, ideally with Personal Services Contracts (PSCs)

Required Skills:

Successful candidates must be reliable, highly organized, motivated, and able to excel in a deadline-oriented work environment. They will have:

· Advanced skills with Microsoft Office, (Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) and Google Applications such as Gmail, google calendars, google drive, etc., and internet applications.

Key Responsibilities:

The primary purpose of this position is to oversee the PSC Recruitment and Contracts Unit/Team and work as well as provide subject matter expert advice to staff in support of the recruitment and contracts actions for BHA PSCs.

The PSC Manager is responsible for all pre-award and post-award functions involving highly complex negotiated procurements of significant importance to BHA. The work includes support on all aspects of contract management relating to the hiring of USAID PSCs.

Continuous learning: The PSC Manager must continuously review and update their knowledge of the professional field of procurement, especially in terms of the frequently changing Federal and Agency-specific rules, regulations and policies governing contract documents.

Essential Functions:

• Articulate and communicate to the team the assignment, project, problem to be solved, actionable events, milestones, and/or program issues under review, and deadlines and time frames for completion.
• Identifying, distributing, and balancing workload and tasks among employees in accordance with established workflow, skill level and/or occupational specialization; adjusting to accomplish the workload in accordance with established priorities to ensure timely accomplishment of assigned team tasks; and ensuring that each employee has an integral role in developing the final team product.
• Monitor and report out on the status and progress of work, checking on work in progress and reviewing completed work to see that the instructions on work priorities, methods, deadlines, and quality have been met.
• Maintain program and administrative reference materials, project files and relevant back-ground documents and make available policies, procedures and written instructions to the team and maintain current knowledge to answer questions from team members on procedures, policies, directives, etc.
• Prepare reports for quarterly submission and maintain records of work accomplishments and administrative information, as required, and coordinate the preparation, presentation, and communication of work-related information
• Represent the team in requests for the purpose of obtaining resources (e.g., computer hardware and software, use of overtime or compensatory time), and securing needed information or decisions from Macfadden or BHA senior managers on major work problems and issues that arise.
• Work with PSC Deputies to coordinate the review of all contracts for accuracy prior to the submission of documents to the Contracting Officer for approval/obligation and signature.
• Supervise two PSC Deputy Managers responsible for the PSC Team Leads and managing all recruitment and contract staff and actions.
• Assist with Development and Maintenance of the PSC Applicant/Personnel Database.
• Assist with planning for orientations and onboarding and training of new staff.
• Assist PSC Deputy Managers with reviewing recruiting/contracts actions and documents for accuracy and completeness.
• Ensure strong and timely communication and management of the Unit’s productivity.
• Performs quality control checks to ensure that all recruiting, and contract documents are error-free and accurate.
• Ensures employee and PSC performance evaluations are completed on time.
• Monitors upcoming PSC recruiting and contracting process actions and deadlines and ensures all assigned recruitment and contracts tasks are completed in a timely manner.
• Liaises with BHA offices and with the OAA Contracting Officers.
• Responds to BHA and OAA inquiries on PSC recruitment and contract status, progress, and issues.
• Provides ad hoc and regular reports to OAA and/or BHA.
• Ensures assigned PSC recruitments and contracts are following USAID, USG and BHA regulations, laws, standards, and procedures.
• Maintains electronic and hard copy files and systems in compliance with USG, Agency, and office standards.
• Proposes ways in which PSC recruiting and contracts can be improved and/or processes can be streamlined and participates in trainings and other opportunities as relevant to the position and role.
• Other duties as assigned.

NOTE: The PSC Recruiting & Contracts Manager must be willing to occasionally work outside of regular office hours as needed to meet deadlines and participate in meetings with those located in different time zones.

Physical Requirements

This is primarily a sedentary position but performance of the job will require the employee to talk, hear, and use hands to complete tasks. The employee is occasionally required to reach with hands and arms. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision. The employee must occasionally lift or move up to 25 pounds.