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Ascension is seeking an experienced Federal Acquisition Project Manager to lead the day-to-day management and coordination of a multidisciplinary acquisition support team supporting the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Acquisition and Logistics Management (OALM).

The Federal Acquisition Project Manager will provide the operational leadership necessary to ensure acquisition support activities are properly staffed, scheduled, tracked, coordinated, documented, and delivered in accordance with contract requirements and Government priorities.

This role is designed for an organized, responsive, and highly accountable project management professional who understands the Federal acquisition environment and can successfully manage people, workload, deadlines, risks, deliverables, and Government stakeholder expectations simultaneously.

The ideal candidate understands that successful Federal acquisition support requires more than maintaining a schedule. The Project Manager must anticipate staffing and workload issues, establish effective management controls, maintain visibility into ongoing acquisition activities, identify risks before they affect performance, coordinate corrective actions, and provide clear and timely information to Government leadership.

The position is particularly well suited for a professional with experience managing Federal acquisition, procurement, contract administration, acquisition operations, or professional services contracts.

Summary of the Contractor Role

The Federal Acquisition Project Manager will serve as Ascension’s primary day-to-day management lead for the acquisition support workforce.

The individual will coordinate personnel assignments, monitor workloads and schedules, oversee onboarding and personnel continuity, track contract performance, manage risks and action items, coordinate meetings, and prepare recurring reports and management information for Ascension and Government stakeholders.

The Project Manager will support a Federal acquisition environment involving pre-award and post-award activities, acquisition planning, market research, solicitation development, source selection support, contract administration, strategic sourcing, category management, acquisition data analysis, stakeholder outreach, training, and transition activities.

The Project Manager is expected to create an operating environment in which acquisition specialists can concentrate on completing high-quality acquisition work while management maintains visibility into workload, staffing, schedules, risks, deliverables, and customer priorities.

The successful candidate should be:

• Detail-oriented, highly organized, and comfortable managing multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Self-directed and capable of working effectively with limited supervision.
• Skilled at anticipating problems, developing practical solutions, and escalating issues before they affect contractual performance.
• Comfortable communicating with Contracting Officers, Contracting Officer’s Representatives, acquisition professionals, program offices, executives, vendors, and contractor personnel.
• Experienced in managing professional services teams in deadline-driven Federal environments.
• Able to translate contract requirements into practical schedules, assignments, trackers, workflows, controls, and management reports.
• Professional and discreet when handling procurement-sensitive, proprietary, confidential, or personally identifiable information.

Contractor personnel provide acquisition support and advisory services only and will not negotiate contracts, make inherently governmental decisions, or obligate Government funds.

Position Day-to-Day Activities

• MANAGE daily contract operations and coordinate the execution of assigned acquisition support activities across the project.
• ASSIGN work to appropriate personnel based on qualifications, workload, acquisition complexity, deadlines, and Government priorities.
• MONITOR team capacity, workload distribution, schedules, milestones, and acquisition-related deadlines to identify potential performance issues.
• COORDINATE personnel onboarding, badging, suitability processing, Government-directed training, system access, and readiness to perform.
• MAINTAIN integrated project schedules, staffing plans, workload trackers, deliverable calendars, risk registers, issue logs, decision logs, and action-item trackers.
• TRACK progress against contract requirements, milestones, deliverables, Government priorities, and established acquisition lead times.
• IDENTIFY staffing, schedule, quality, dependency, customer, or performance risks and develop appropriate mitigation and corrective-action plans.
• ESCALATE significant risks, delays, resource constraints, or performance issues to Ascension leadership and the appropriate Government point of contact.
• PREPARE accurate biweekly status reports describing completed activities, work in progress, challenges encountered, estimated completion dates, and required management actions.
• COORDINATE information needed to support monthly invoicing, certified timesheets, activity descriptions, accomplishments, issues, and resolutions.
• LEAD internal project management meetings and coordinate required meetings with the Contracting Officer, COR, Government supervisors, acquisition personnel, and other stakeholders.
• FACILITATE kick-off, requirements, quarterly review, transition, staffing, workload, and performance-management meetings as required.
• DOCUMENT meeting decisions, action items, responsibilities, due dates, risks, and follow-up requirements.
• OVERSEE timely completion and quality control of contractor deliverables before submission to Government stakeholders.
• COORDINATE acquisition specialists supporting planning, solicitation, evaluation, award, administration, modifications, invoices, closeout, and related acquisition activities.
• SUPPORT acquisition management activities associated with NIH-wide and multi-agency contract vehicles.
• COORDINATE outreach, communications, training, vendor meetings, customer-support activities, and acquisition-related presentations when required.
• OVERSEE personnel performance, work quality, attendance, customer responsiveness, and compliance with established operating procedures.
• MANAGE personnel continuity and coordinate qualified replacement personnel when staffing changes occur.
• SUPPORT transition-in and transition-out planning, knowledge transfer, documentation inventories, staffing readiness, and turnover activities.
• ENSURE reports, presentations, management documentation, and other applicable deliverables satisfy Section 508 accessibility requirements.
• SAFEGUARD procurement-sensitive, proprietary, Privacy Act, confidential, and personally identifiable information.
• MAINTAIN clear, professional, and timely communication with Ascension leadership and Government stakeholders.
• RECOMMEND process, workflow, tracking, reporting, or technology improvements that increase visibility, efficiency, consistency, and acquisition program performance.