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ASCENSION is seeking a Purchase Card Compliance Reviewer to support the National Institutes of Health Purchase Card Program with transaction review, compliance monitoring, documentation analysis, audit support, records management, and reporting.

This position is well suited for an early- to mid-career professional who has experience in federal acquisition, Government Purchase Card administration, procurement review, financial compliance, internal controls, audit support, transaction analysis, or federal program operations.

The ideal candidate enjoys detailed analytical work and is capable of examining transactions and supporting documentation objectively, identifying exceptions or potential compliance concerns, communicating professionally with government personnel, and maintaining defensible records of how each review was completed.

This is not simply an administrative document-processing position. The reviewer serves as part of NIH’s control environment for a Purchase Card Program supporting approximately 950 Cardholders and 500 Card Approving Officials across 30 NIH Institutes and Centers. NIH reported more than $266 million in Government Purchase Card spending during FY2025.

The successful candidate should therefore be highly organized, analytical, persistent in following up on incomplete documentation, comfortable interpreting policies and regulations, and capable of managing multiple reviews simultaneously without sacrificing accuracy or documentation quality.

Position Summary

The Purchase Card Compliance Reviewer will provide analytical and operational support for NIH’s Government Purchase Card compliance program.

The reviewer will help evaluate purchase card transactions and cardholder files for adherence to applicable federal, HHS, and NIH requirements. Reviews may examine appropriate delegation of purchasing authority, integrity of the acquisition process, procurement compliance, receipt and acceptance documentation, records retention, and other internal-control requirements identified by NIH.

The position will support both targeted transaction reviews and more comprehensive Government Purchase Card file reviews. Responsibilities will include requesting and analyzing supporting documentation, monitoring the NIH Purchase Card Compliance Inbox, maintaining review trackers, documenting findings, following up with Cardholders and Card Approving Officials, and helping prepare standardized review reports and summaries.

The reviewer will work with transaction data and documentation maintained in government systems such as SharePoint, shared drives, Outlook, bank electronic-access systems, NBS, and nVision, as access is provided. NIH specifically requires contractor personnel to securely store and manage government information within authorized systems.

The position requires sound professional judgment. The reviewer must distinguish between a documentation deficiency, procedural issue, potential policy violation, and transaction requiring escalation while ensuring conclusions are supported by evidence.

ASCENSION’s Operations Research / Management Analyst I labor category is a strong contractual mapping for this role. That labor category requires a bachelor’s degree and two years of experience and covers operational analysis, reporting, research, performance monitoring, data analysis, and documentation of findings.

What You Will Do

The Purchase Card Compliance Reviewer is expected to:

• Review Government Purchase Card transactions and associated supporting documentation for compliance with applicable NIH, HHS, GSA, and federal requirements.
• Examine transaction records for indicators of policy exceptions, missing documentation, questionable purchasing activity, split purchases, inadequate approvals, receipt and acceptance deficiencies, or other potential compliance concerns.
• Request invoices, receipts, approvals, purchase documentation, justifications, and other supporting records from Cardholders and Card Approving Officials when additional documentation is required.
• Monitor the NIH Purchase Card Compliance Inbox and maintain timely, professional correspondence with Cardholders, Card Approving Officials, Institute and Center Purchase Card Coordinators, and Purchase Card Program personnel.
• Track assigned targeted reviews from initial notification through documentation receipt, analysis, findings development, Government review, and final disposition.
• Validate whether documentation received is complete and sufficient to support individual purchase card transactions.
• Document review procedures, evidence examined, conclusions, recommendations, and instances of non-compliance in a consistent and auditable manner.
• Apply Government-provided business rules and established review criteria when screening purchase card activity.
• Identify transaction trends or patterns that may warrant additional analysis, follow-up, or escalation.
• Support analysis of transaction data and risk-based identification of transactions requiring additional review.
• Maintain review trackers showing transaction status, documentation requests, outstanding responses, findings, corrective actions, and report completion.
• Prepare draft transactional review summaries and standardized correspondence identifying recommendations or non-compliance.
• Support completion of review reports within NIH’s required 45-calendar-day reporting period after receipt of required documentation.
• Conduct detailed Cardholder and Card Approving Official file reviews using NIH-provided review criteria, file documentation requirements, and Purchase Card Program guidance.
• Participate in virtual entrance conferences, review meetings, exit briefings, and debriefing sessions as assigned.
• Explain preliminary findings clearly and professionally to Cardholders, Card Approving Officials, and program stakeholders.
• Follow up on identified deficiencies to determine whether agreed corrective actions have been completed.
• Maintain electronic working papers and supporting documentation in NIH-authorized systems such as SharePoint, Outlook, or shared drives.
• Compile individual review findings for inclusion in Institute-level summaries, management reports, and program statistics.
• Contribute transaction and review statistics to ASCENSION’s monthly activity reporting.
• Assist with special reviews, data calls, disputed transaction research, convenience-check analyses, or similar Purchase Card Program activities when requested.
• Protect sensitive Government information and comply with NIH and HHS information security, privacy, records-management, and Rules of Behavior requirements.
• Escalate potential high-risk transactions, recurring deficiencies, unusual activity, or unresolved documentation issues through established review channels.
• Maintain an organized workload while managing multiple transaction and file reviews at different stages of completion.