Protect our Land, Ascend with Us!

Ascension LLC seeks an experienced Senior Contract Specialist to support the U.S. Navy’s Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Contracting and Logistics Department, Code 400. You bring advanced federal acquisition expertise, sound judgment, strong cost and price analysis skills, and the ability to improve the quality of procurement packages while mentoring other acquisition professionals.

Your work helps the shipyard obtain the supplies, services, equipment, and information technology needed to maintain, repair, and modernize LOS ANGELES and VIRGINIA Class submarines. You help deliver timely, compliant acquisitions and reliable contract administration in a mission-critical naval environment.

Role Summary

You provide acquisition support from planning and market research through solicitation, evaluation, award preparation, administration, and closeout. You handle complex procurement actions, review contract documentation for regulatory accuracy, analyze pricing, and recommend solutions to acquisition and performance problems. You report through Ascension’s contractor Program Manager and collaborate with Government contracting officers, contract specialists, contracting officer representatives, and program offices.

The ideal candidate is organized, self-directed, customer-oriented, and precise in written analysis. You anticipate incomplete requirements, pricing inconsistencies, compliance issues, and schedule risks; propose practical solutions; and manage competing priorities with minimal contractor supervision. You communicate clearly under pressure, protect sensitive procurement information, and share knowledge constructively.

You use Microsoft 365, advanced Excel, Adobe Acrobat, electronic contract writing systems, federal acquisition databases, and established acquisition milestones and peer-review processes. Your analyses and draft documents support Government decisions; the Government retains approval, award, signature, and other inherently governmental authorities.

Work Schedule and Duration

Work is full-time, normally 40 hours per week, less Government holidays and shipyard curtailment days. Coordinate your schedule within 6:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday–Friday, with a half-hour lunch and no more than eight work hours per day. Services are primarily onsite at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. Telework requires Government concurrence and remains subject to approval and withdrawal.

The notice identifies an anticipated base period of November 3, 2026–November 2, 2027. The requirement includes one option year, subject to Government exercise. Routine travel is not anticipated. Start date and continued assignment depend on award, onboarding, funding, and Government requirements.

Responsibilities and Expected Activities

Activities vary with the assigned acquisition workload and procurement milestones.

Analyze requirements packages, technical specifications, statements of work, sole-source justifications, and supporting documentation; identify gaps and coordinate corrections through the contractor Program Manager.

Conduct market research and recommend acquisition approaches, competition strategies, contract methods, sources, milestones, and risk controls for complex procurements.

Develop independent Government estimate support using historical purchases, current market data, and comparable agency acquisitions.

Evaluate fixed-price and cost-reimbursement proposals and contract pricing using Excel lookups, pivot tables, formula-based conditional formatting, and complex nested functions.

Build and validate pricing analyses and calculators that support source selection, contract adjustments, and contracting officer representative invoice reviews.

Draft requests for quotations, requests for proposals, combined synopsis and solicitations, justifications and approvals, and supporting acquisition documentation with appropriate terms and conditions.

Coordinate documentation of funding availability and applicable legal concurrence before Government release or approval of acquisition actions.

Prepare source selection plans, evaluation sheets, conflict-of-interest and nondisclosure documentation, and draft source selection decision memoranda for Government review.

Support proposal evaluations, develop pre-negotiation objectives and recommended negotiation strategies, and assist contracting officers with authorized discussions.

Prepare award packages for stand-alone contracts, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts, basic ordering agreements, blanket purchase agreements, task orders, and delivery orders; draft COR designation letters and record award data.

Draft option exercises, SF-30 modifications, and other post-award documentation; analyze performance discrepancies and support Government resolution of performance issues, claims, and closeout actions.

Review contractor teammates’ procurement packages for accuracy, completeness, and FAR, DFARS, and local policy compliance before submission to the Government contracting officer.

Mentor acquisition personnel, deliver on-the-job training, and develop job aids and presentations that improve technical proficiency and recurring procurement processes.

Maintain complete electronic contract files, track procurement milestones and action status, document hours as required, attend progress meetings, and support orderly transfer of ongoing actions and records at transition.