Senior Specialist, Contracts; Principal Specialist, Contracts

Job Title : Senior Specialist, Contracts; Principal Specialist, Contracts

Grades: P6 or P7

Department : Contracts and Grants

Supervisor: VP, USG Contracts and Grants

Function of the Position:

The incumbent t akes an active lead role managing contracts and providing guidance to project delivery teams and field offices regarding Contract/Task Order terms and conditions. They administer various types of contracts/task orders from inception to closeout.

Roles and Responsibilities:

Contract Management

Support project delivery teams in the administration of a portfolio of contracts. Specific tasks include:

• Serve as primary point of contact and official representative of DAI to USAID and other clients on contractual matters.
• At project start-up carry out a thorough review of the contract, explain terms and conditions to project delivery teams, review and approve the contracts approvals matrix.
• Review and edit as required and approve draft documents and requests that are submitted to the Contracting Officer (CO) to include, but not limited to the following: International travel approvals, salary justifications, notification and approval of project local compensation plans, Third Country National/Cooperating Country National (TCN/CCN) Waivers, source/national waivers for restricted commodities, CO’s approval for restricted commodities, notification/approval of key personnel changes, purchase of non-expendable items that require prior CO approval, non-expendable disposition requests, annual inventory reports, limitation of funds/cost notification submissions, VAT report submissions at CO’s request, budgets/cost proposals for realignments/add-ons, specific requests for separate maintenance allowance, severance CCN leave payouts, allowances, and other documents for which the CO has the authority.
• Review and assist in finalizing responses for Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) and respond to any inquiries/questions from the CO’s office
• Negotiate terms of contracts, subcontracts and grants with minimum intervention from Supervisor.
• Per form necessary due diligence to ensure cost/price reasonableness for procurement/subcontract actions and compliance with applicable U.S. Government regulations and DAI’s policies.
• Issue subcontracts and task orders, grants, and amendments, and address other subcontract- and grant-related issues
• Provide post award administration of subcontracts, sub-task orders, subawards (grants) and purchase orders, including, but not limited to modifications, realignments, and interpretation of terms and conditions
• Assist the project teams on budget realignments/modifications to ensure compliance with existing terms and conditions, DAI policies, client’s cost principles
• Provide mediation between technical, contractual, finance and management personnel of the project
• Train and coach field and project management teams on DAI’s procurement and grant policies so that they can independently execute and review procurement and grant transactions in a compliant manner
• Carry out other contracts administration actions per the approved Contracts Administration Matrix.
• Review and approve any expat and TCN Independent Contractor Agreements (ICAs).
• Draft contract close-out related documents such as requests for quick closeout, excess fund review forms, etc.

Corporate Initiatives

• Perform an active role with cross departmental teams, participating in corporate initiatives and proposing innovative solutions to problems of medium complexity. Work with senior representatives from other departments on company-wide initiatives and issues.

Additional Responsibilities of the Principal Specialist (P7)

Assist Directors in providing overall leadership and high-level contractual expertise. Responsible for developing contracts templates, resource materials for use by mid-level members of the Contracts and Subcontracts teams and by the field and Delivery Teams. Provide input in the development and delivery of contracts-related training materials.

Business Development

• Provide overall guidance to Proposal Teams on complex contractual issues including:
  • Participate in new business strategies including discussions on identifying risks and analyzing these risks for a bid decision.
  • Review and analyze USAID solicitations to understand the terms and conditions and convey any unique or risky contract terms to Proposal and Project Managers.
  • Provide guidance to recruiters, proposal teams and Subcontract Negotiators on allowances and salary offers.
  • Prepare contractual clarification questions in response to requests for proposals.
• Provide guidance and support to Subcontract Negotiators in the selection of subcontract types, effective negotiations with subcontractors, analyzing budgets, effective negotiation of subcontract terms and conditions, and responding to BAFOs.
• Provide input to and advice on cost proposals for submission during Green team meetings.
• Interface and negotiate with government client to help resolve contract issues.

Additional responsibilities may be assigned as business needs evolve.

Minimum Qualifications

P6 : Minimum of 5 years of relevant professional work experience* and a college degree. Equivalent combinations of experience and education will be considered.

P7 : Minimum of 7 years of relevant professional work experience* in USAID contracts administration and a college degree. Equivalent combinations of experience and education will be considered.

• Working knowledge of CPFF, T&M, FP, and/or IDIQ contracts.
• Demonstrated experience with USAID projects.
• Demonstrated experience participating in contract creation and/or administration, preferably in an international environment.
• Strong organizational and work prioritization skills.
• Excellent written and oral communications skills with the ability to communicate policies and interpret regulations to provide clear guidance, and tailor communication style to effectively communicate with diverse audiences.
• Able to build and maintain strong working relationships with staff at all levels of the organization and external clients from diverse backgrounds.
• Demonstrated proficient in MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) and Adobe Acrobat.
• Able and willing to travel to any country where DAI operates, barring times with DAI Global Security has deemed travel unsafe.
• Able and willing to adjust work schedule, if needed, to support teams located in different time zones/countries.

Preferred Qualifications for P6, Required for P7:

• Knowledge of Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and AIDAR.
• Demonstrated experience negotiating with subcontractor representatives.
• Demonstrated ability to prepare budgets of medium complexity.
• Demonstrated experience using Oracle or a similar system to manage contract information.
• Experience with working with USAID/OTI/CDC contracts, cooperative agreements and grants.

* The following areas qualify as relevant work experience: contracts administration/management, negotiation, pricing, subcontracts and procurement. Project management or operations experience with an emphasis on contractual compliance is also relevant.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin.