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Ascension is seeking an accomplished Senior Federal Acquisition Specialist to provide senior-level Federal acquisition advisory, analytical, and operational support to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Acquisition and Logistics Management (OALM).

This position is intended for an experienced Federal acquisition professional who understands how to move complex procurement actions efficiently and compliantly through the complete acquisition lifecycle—from requirements definition and acquisition planning through solicitation, evaluation, award, contract administration, modification, closeout, and related acquisition support activities.

The Senior Federal Acquisition Specialist will work closely with Contracting Officers (COs), Contracting Officer’s Representatives (CORs), program offices, technical evaluators, acquisition leadership, and other stakeholders to strengthen the quality, timeliness, consistency, and audit readiness of NIH acquisition activities.

Ascension is looking for professionals who combine deep knowledge of Federal acquisition regulations and contracting practices with excellent judgment, customer service, analytical ability, written communication, and organizational discipline. The ideal candidate is comfortable working on multiple complex procurement actions simultaneously, identifying problems before they affect acquisition milestones, and developing practical recommendations for Government decision-makers.

This position may also function as an acquisition subject matter expert and senior resource to less-experienced acquisition personnel.

Contractor personnel provide acquisition support and recommendations but do not have authority to obligate Government funds, execute contracts on behalf of the Government, or independently perform inherently governmental contracting functions.

Summary of the Contractor Role

The Senior Federal Acquisition Specialist supports NIH in executing timely, well-planned, transparent, competitive, and compliant acquisitions that enable biomedical research, public health initiatives, information technology programs, professional services, equipment procurements, and other mission-critical requirements.

The position provides senior support across the acquisition lifecycle with particular emphasis on complex procurement planning and execution. Responsibilities may include reviewing and developing acquisition strategies; analyzing Statements of Work (SOWs) and Performance Work Statements (PWSs); performing market research and small-business analyses; reviewing Independent Government Cost Estimates (IGCEs); preparing solicitations; supporting source selections; conducting cost and price analyses; preparing award documentation; supporting post-award administration; processing modifications; monitoring contract performance; supporting invoice and funding reviews; responding to acquisition inquiries; and assisting with contract closeout.

The successful candidate must be a detail-oriented, organized, analytical, and self-directed Federal acquisition professional who can operate effectively in a high-volume environment with limited day-to-day supervision. The individual should be able to distinguish urgent issues from routine activities, manage competing acquisition milestones, communicate changes promptly, anticipate regulatory or documentation concerns, and present sound recommendations to senior Government personnel.

The Senior Federal Acquisition Specialist is expected to help NIH reduce procurement delays, strengthen acquisition documentation, maintain effective internal controls, improve Procurement Administrative Lead Time (PALT), preserve procurement integrity, and maintain acquisition files capable of withstanding management, legal, or audit review.

Day-to-Day and Anticipated Responsibilities

• ADVISE COs, CORs, program offices, and other stakeholders regarding Federal acquisition strategies, contracting approaches, competition, acquisition risks, socioeconomic considerations, milestones, and procurement alternatives.
• REVIEW complex and non-complex procurement requests involving services, supplies, equipment, systems, and information technology requirements.
• ANALYZE Statements of Work, Performance Work Statements, specifications, acquisition strategies, acquisition plans, FITARA documentation, justifications, cost estimates, and supporting procurement documentation for completeness and regulatory compliance.
• RECOMMEND appropriate acquisition strategies, contract types, procurement methods, competition approaches, schedules, sources, and risk-mitigation actions.
• CONDUCT market research and market surveys and prepare supporting documentation, including small-business capability and socioeconomic program analyses.
• PREPARE and review Requests for Quotes, Requests for Proposals, combined synopsis/solicitations, acquisition plans, procurement memoranda, evaluation documentation, pricing analyses, award documentation, correspondence, and other acquisition artifacts.
• VALIDATE solicitation packages for required clauses, provisions, approvals, funding documentation, legal concurrence, clearances, and supporting records prior to release.
• PERFORM cost and price analyses and prepare clear, defensible pricing reports and supporting documentation.
• SUPPORT technical evaluation teams and source-selection activities by coordinating evaluation processes, maintaining required documentation, identifying inconsistencies, and helping ensure evaluations follow approved source-selection procedures.
• ASSIST Contracting Officers during exchanges, discussions, negotiations, debriefings, protests, and other pre-award activities while preserving the Government’s responsibility for inherently governmental decisions.
• PREPARE contract award packages, task orders, delivery orders, purchase orders, modifications, and supporting contract-file documentation.
• ENTER and maintain acquisition information in approved Government acquisition and contract-writing systems and support required Federal procurement reporting.
• MONITOR acquisition schedules, procurement milestones, funding status, option exercise dates, deliverables, invoice activity, PALT metrics, and other performance indicators.
• SUPPORT post-award contract administration, including modifications, performance monitoring, invoice issues, funding actions, correspondence, contract-file maintenance, post-award meetings, and contract closeout.
• IDENTIFY acquisition problems, documentation deficiencies, schedule risks, compliance concerns, and potential bottlenecks before they negatively affect procurement outcomes.
• DEVELOP corrective-action recommendations and practical solutions that improve acquisition efficiency while maintaining FAR, HHSAR, NIH policy, procurement-integrity, and internal-control requirements.
• RESPOND to acquisition-related information requests, including support for protests, congressional inquiries, Freedom of Information Act requests, data calls, and other authorized acquisition inquiries.
• MAINTAIN complete, accurate, organized, and audit-ready acquisition and contract files.
• COMMUNICATE acquisition status, schedule changes, risks, issues, dependencies, and required Government actions clearly and promptly to appropriate stakeholders.
• COLLABORATE with Government acquisition personnel, program managers, technical personnel, legal counsel, financial personnel, vendors, and other cross-functional stakeholders.
• MENTOR or provide senior technical guidance to mid-level and junior acquisition personnel when requested.
• PROTECT procurement-sensitive, proprietary, personally identifiable, and other non-public Government information in accordance with applicable regulations and NIH requirements.