Transversalidad

Duties

Serves as contracting officer with unlimited signatory authority for a significant system or program characterized by: (1) large funding levels and a commitment period extending over a

long period of time (approximated five years); (2) the magnitude and terms of the contract substantially impact on the economic well-being of the company or subsidiary of a corporation; (3) the agency head monitors progress due to criticality and visibility of the program; (4) the final product is a complete state-of-the-art system, such as a missile system or fire control system, to be used with other existing or concurrently procured systems to yield a major system such as a ship or aircraft, or other agencywide strategic or tactical weapons program, e.g., the agency airlift program. The specialist has complete authority for all contractual actions and phases of the program including initial planning, requirements definition, advanced and engineering development, testing, prototype procurement, initial production, full production, spare and repair parts, integrated logistics support, software support, technical data, off-line product improvement, sustaining engineering, training equipment and materials. Work includes a range of contract specializations such as negotiation, cost and price analysis, and administration. -- Plans, develops, and establishes the contractual strategy for the overall acquisition

program. Develops a prenegotiation position, determines the types of contracts and negotiation authority to be used, and prepares justification.

-- Functions as team leader during contract negotiations. Coordinates with the engineering and production departments, legal counsel, audit, and subordinate activities. Personally negotiates the majority of contracts. Assigns portions of the contract to subordinate activity contract specialists.

-- Directs the full range of contract administration actions required for the acquisition program, including the issuance of contract modifications, negotiation of changes, exercise of options, investigation and resolution of contractor delays, contractor performance appraisal, subcontractor surveillance, disposition of claims, and similar matters.

-- Serves as principal contracting advisor to the program management office, and represents the agency or department as the program's contractual authority at conferences and meetings.

Factor 1, Knowledge Required by the Position -- Level 1-8 -- 1550 Points

Mastery of procurement regulations and contracting principles including the latest procedures and techniques, e.g., sophisticated pricing arrangements, cost accounting, and life cycle costing sufficient to plan, develop, implement, maintain, and administer all contractual aspects of a systems acquisition program; to develop innovative contractual language, terms and conditions; and to serve as program contractual authority and advisor on the acceptability and applicability of contractual matters related to the assigned acquisition program.

Skill in managerial and coordinative activities sufficient to contract a variety of contractual actions occurring concurrently, in an overlapping fashion, or sequentially and to control several simultaneous interrelated contracts with different contractors.

Mastery of negotiation techniques to serve as the lead negotiator in developing prenegotiation strategy, in conducting negotiations for the acquisition of a system, and in directing or

performing postaward negotiations involving contract changes or modifications.

Knowledge of related disciplines and functions involved in the systems acquisition process, such as design or systems engineering, integrated logistics support, financial management, and their interrelationships with contracting.

Factor 2, Supervisory Controls -- Level 2-5 -- 650 Points

The supervisor delegates responsibility for contractual matters pertaining to the assigned systems acquisition program. The supervisor is available for consultation on program objectives,

budgetary constraints, and procurement policy interpretations. The employee is delegated unlimited authority for planning and carrying out the contractual activities required, including interpreting, extending, originating, or devising new contractual provisions, incentives, clauses, terms, and conditions. Contractual decisions and recommendations of the employee are

normally accepted as authoritative, although higher level agency or departmental review may be necessary for some phases of the systems acquisition, as directed by law. Because of the

employee's recognized technical expertise in contracting, the employee is able to obtain verbal advance approval from higher level governing bodies to proceed with contractual action in cases determined critical by the employee.

Factor 3, Guidelines -- Level 3-5 -- 650 Points

Guidelines include procurement laws, Federal regulations, and agency contracting directives and policies. These guides are only generally applicable to the work, as the state-of-the-art

technology generates unusual and unique contractual problems. Therefore, the employee

exercises initiative, resourcefulness, and experienced judgment in interpreting and applying such guides, as well as in developing and implementing solutions to problems that are unique and outside the scope of current written guidelines. For example, problems surface in previously undefined areas involving award-fee contracting, development of leasing agreements,

design-to-cost option clauses, use of fixed-price contracting on research and development requirements, for which the specialist must develop essentially new or modified techniques for obtaining effective results.

Factor 4, Complexity -- Level 4-5 -- 325 Points

The work involves planning, directing, and coordinating contractual actions involved in a sophisticated and technologically advanced systems acquisition program. Complexities in assigned systems acquisition programs include:

-- Requirements involving a number of separate elements; -- Long-term contractual efforts (e.g., up to five years); -- No previous cost history data;

-- Involvement of several different contractors and numerous subcontractors;

-- Coordinating the efforts of various subject-matter specialists engaged in the acquisition program (e.g., engineers, production specialists, legal advisors, auditors, logistics management specialists, and financial managers);

-- Requirement for concurrent, overlapping, or sequential contractual actions in order to maintain the acquisition schedule and to take advantage of technological advancements; -- Interrelated contracts with several different contractors where in a change in one contract

precipitates changes in the others.

Decisions at each phase of the acquisition process require the analysis of alternatives,

consideration of technological advances, evaluation of program and technical needs, evaluation of time constraints, and determination of cost. The employee is responsible for devising sophisticated pricing arrangements and for managing all contractual aspects of the systems acquisition process.

Factor 5, Scope and Effect -- Level 5-5 -- 325 Points

The primary purpose of the position is to plan, negotiate, and manage, as contracting officer, the procurement of a self-contained, highly sophisticated, technologically advanced special-purpose item, such as a missile system, fire control system, navigation system, guidance and control system, or similar systems. These systems will comprise a significant part of existing, newly-procured, or future major systems, such as a ship, aircraft, tank, or others. Work

performed, decisions made, and solutions devised affect the timely procurement of the system or program, and its interface with other systems or programs. Some decisions, such as contract award or termination, have a substantial impact on a company's financial, production, or staff resources.

Factor 6, Personal Contacts -- Level 6-4 -- 110 Points

Contacts are with all levels within the agency, and with other agencies, congressional staff members, corporate level officials of () major industrial firms, and high level foreign government officials. The employee represents the agency and in some cases the United States Government on interagency task forces at national and international conferences dealing with the contractual aspects of major systems acquisition programs. Such conferences are typically arranged in advance and are attended by top level representatives of external organizations.

Factor 7, Purpose of Contacts -- Level 7-4 -- 220 Points

Contacts are to serve as lead negotiator, responsible for planning and negotiating contracts and contractual changes for long-term major systems or programs. This involves meeting with program managers and technical specialists to plan the procurement strategy, conducting preaward and postaward meetings with offerors and contractors to explain requirements and provisions, leading negotiations, and resolving postaward problems including the resolution of

controversial problems on own authority throughout the preaward and postaward phase. The employee represents the agency or department on interagency task forces or conferences dealing with the contractual aspects of major systems acquisitions.

Factor 8, Physical Demands -- Level 8-2 -- 20 Points

The employee's work is sedentary in nature, although negotiations on a regular and recurring basis require longer than an eight hour day and include intensive negotiation sessions of four hours or longer without a rest period. The work requires above-average resistance to fatigue. Factor 9, Work Environment -- Level 9-1 -- 5 Points

Although the majority of work is performed in an office setting, the employee may visit contractor plants to review equipment and production runs, facility construction requirements, and to evaluate progress and performance.

TOTAL POINTS – 3855