Senior Procurement Specialist

ROLE

We are seeking a Senior Procurement Specialist to support the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) Office of Acquisition in Norfolk, VA. In this role, you will provide senior-level federal contracting support across the full acquisition lifecycle to ensure MARAD’s ship operations and mission programs are backed by accurate, compliant & timely contract actions.

This is a part-time opportunity ideal for retired federal Contracting Officers and other experienced federal acquisition professionals.

Apply today!

I. Acquisition Planning & Pre-Award

• Provide senior-level acquisition support for MARAD contracts supporting Ready Reserve Force (RRF) vessels, training ships, and other fleet needs throughout the contract lifecycle.
• Conduct market research and recommend acquisition strategies, contract types, competition approaches, and schedules.
• Develop core acquisition documents such as Statements of Work (SOWs), Performance-based Work Statements (PWSs), Quality Assurance Surveillance Plans (QASPs), and related pre-award documentation.

II. Pricing & Cost Analysis

• Provide expert support during proposal evaluations, including price, cost, and technical analysis.
• Document evaluation results clearly for the source selection record.
• Perform advanced pricing and data analysis using Microsoft Excel pivot tables, lookup functions, conditional formatting, and nested formulas to support ship management services contracts.
• Build Excel tools and calculators that help Administrative Contracting Officers (ACOs) and Contracting Officers’ Representatives (CORs) review invoices and approve fixed-price and cost-reimbursable charges.
• Develop Independent Government Cost Estimates (IGCEs) using historical purchases, current market data, and comparable acquisitions at other agencies.

III. Solicitation & Source Selection

• Prepare Requests for Quotations (RFQs), Requests for Proposals (RFPs), and combined synopsis and solicitations with appropriate terms and conditions.
• Recommend special clauses, confirm funding, and coordinate legal review before solicitation release.
• Support informal and formal source selections by preparing Source Selection Plans, evaluation tools, and draft Source Selection Decision Memoranda (SSDMs), and by assembling complete source selection records.
• Coordinate with evaluators and the Contracting Officer (CO) to set pre-negotiation objectives and support discussions and communications with offerors.

IV. Award, Administration & Closeout

• Draft award packages for task orders, delivery orders, and stand-alone contracts, and prepare COR designation letters and related documents.
• Enter award data into the Federal Procurement Data System – Next Generation (FPDS-NG) and the Voice of Acquisition (VOA) system, and distribute executed contracts to stakeholders.
• Prepare documentation to exercise options and process post-award contract modifications.
• Help resolve contractor performance issues, investigate contract discrepancies, and support contract administration and closeout.

V. Systems, Data & Training

• Use the ESC-PRISM contract writing system, FPDS-NG, and SharePoint to manage acquisition data and e-contract records.
• Train contracting, program, and financial staff to process contracting documents and requisitions in ESC-PRISM.
• Instruct staff on generating acquisition data reports from ESC-PRISM and FPDS-NG.
• Coach staff on storing, viewing, and retrieving records in SharePoint.
• Prepare acquisition documents, pricing tools, reports, and briefings using Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

VI. Policy & Stakeholder Support

• Contribute to MARAD acquisition policies, procedures, and internal templates.
• Monitor changes to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Transportation Acquisition Regulation (TAR), Transportation Acquisition Manual (TAM), and related guidance, and help implement updates.
• Participate in acquisition team meetings and provide senior-level acquisition advice to MARAD stakeholders.

• At least five (5) years of operational experience in Federal Contracting.

• Expert knowledge of Federal contracting law, regulation, policies,…