Acquisition & Program Management Best Practices & Training SME

OCT Consulting LLC is a boutique management and strategy consulting company that provides support to Federal Government clients. We provide consulting services in the areas of Strategy, Process Improvement, Change Management, Program and Project Management, Acquisition/Procurement, and Information Technology.

Responsibilities and Duties

OCT Consulting has grown significantly within the last 3 years and continues to grow. We are looking to bring onboard a senior acquisition and program management subject matter expert (SME) to support the best practices and training function related to a government client’s high-level acquisition and program management review board. This review process is led from within the procurement line of business; the “review team” directly supports the high-level “Committee” (i.e., the acquisition and program management review board) ahead of a formal 2-hour Committee session where a given program is reviewed. The Committee reviews procurements/programs with a lifecycle value of $500 million or more. You will be expected to develop a best practices repository of document templates and examples; develop training materials related to acquisition and program management best practices; and lead group training, 1:1 coaching, and other learning and development (L&D) sessions for programs, the review team, the Committee, and other stakeholders around the Department. This review process and best practices / training function is new to the given Federal government agency. In addition to your duties regarding best practices and training, you will also be expected to directly participate as a member of the review team / SME, as needed. Additionally, you will be expected to support the continued development of existing review strategy, evaluation frameworks, processes, and procedures. Serving as a best practices / training SME, you will work side-by-side with the programs that you evaluate to share best practices, iterate on their submissions to the review Committee, and serve as the key point of contact (POC) to help programs to understand what stellar acquisition and program planning “looks like”. The goal of the review team and the high-level Committee that you serve is to evaluate very large government procurements to ensure optimal program management best practices. This role requires leadership skills, empathy, extroversion, proactivity, and deep program management and Federal acquisition expertise to ensure that programs, the review team, and the Committee are set up for success throughout the review process and beyond as programs manage critical acquisition and program functions.

Responsibilities and duties include:

• Develop a robust repository of “in-house” (i.e., agency-specific) best practice templates and examples of relevant acquisition and program management documents (e.g., Acquisition Plans, SOWs, Program Management Plans, LCCEs or Program Budgets, Program Milestone Schedules, Risk Registers, Market Research, Analyses of Alternatives, etc.) that can be used to guide both programs and the review team in submitting and reviewing documents. The purpose of this task is to ensure that all stakeholders have examples of what “good” looks like. This task supports the implementation of a key Committee-level goal – advising programs on planning and program management best practices. As part of this exercise, conduct an analysis of the current best practice templates / submission documents repository to determine the “As Is” state and identify areas of potential improvement. Using this assessment, develop the in-house set of agency-specific templates and examples needed to complete the best practices repository, tailoring documents to the unique needs of various bureaus (e.g., the needs of IT vs. construction / building operations). The best practices repository should, at minimum, include at least one agency-specific template and one example of each required and optional submission document, as well as other helpful acquisition and program templates and examples. The individual should also source external best practice templates and examples, as needed.

• Ensure that programs coming before the Committee are well-trained on best practices. The individual will work with programs to refine their documentation prior to the start of their EBRC cycle, providing advice and guidance in regularly scheduled meetings. The Lead will additionally provide training to the review team so that they are knowledgeable about what quality documents look like. The individual will conduct a study of leading training practices employed by similar organizations to determine how to best implement a training and education program with respect to this unique acquisition and program review process. Using these results, the individual will then create a Best Practices Training Plan that outlines how s/he will train programs, the review team, and other key stakeholders on acquisition and program management best practices.

• Evangelize the use of these best practice templates and examples across the Department to all relevant stakeholders, even those beyond the direct oversight of this review process. Continuously educate key stakeholders on the purpose, value proposition, and processes behind the acquisition / program management review process and Committee. Educate relevant stakeholders, as needed, on various aspects of the Committee and on the role played by the training function, review team, Committee, program, and Liaison Office.

• Operating within the team of reviewers, the person will evaluate documents submitted to the acquisition / program management review Committee, directly participating in the review process. Notably, these planning documents will pertain to both the acquisition process and the sustainment of the program beyond acquisition. Currently, the team of reviewers is a group of 5-10 Federal employees from a diverse set of Bureaus. The team will likely expand to include contractors, and you would serve as a SME on the team and directly contribute to the evaluation of documents submitted to the Committee. This review team, Committee, and review framework are new to the given Federal agency, and so we are in a ramp-up period as we advance past the initial pilot reviews. At run-rate, the current expectation is to conduct 6-10 program reviews per year. Notably, there will be some peak times where many review documents need to be reviewed quickly.

• As part of your responsibilities as a SME and participant on the review team, you will participate in developing key issues lists, informational memos, and other relevant writeups and outputs of evaluation which will be formally sent upwards to the Committee ahead of each of the Committee’s formal 2-hour meetings / program reviews. You will serve as a SME to help guide the review team on the creation and synthesis of these evaluation outputs. As you go about your work, it will be expected that you continuously evolve and improve the frameworks and processes underpinning these review outputs.

• Answer questions from Committee members regarding the review team’s evaluation of acquisition and program management documents. Schedule and lead meetings / briefings, as needed, to ensure that Committee members are adequately briefed ahead of their 2-hour formal meetings. Be available to attend Committee sessions if/when needed. Note that Committee members are generally at the Assistant Secretary and Deputy Assistant Secretary level.

• Work side-by-side with programs to ensure that they know exactly what documents and information must be submitted to the Committee. Answer questions from programs regarding their submissions and help them to understand “what good looks like” in terms of a quality set of submission documents.

• Continue to refine a preexisting “Analytical Framework Breakdown” (AFB) that serves as the evaluation criteria for submission documents. Solicit feedback on the AFB from relevant stakeholders and ensure that any changes to the AFB are properly communicated and applied at future reviews.

• Working with the Committee’s Liaison Office, continue to evolve review processes and procedures related to the 45-day review cycle.

Requirements

Qualifications and Skills

• Must have a minimum of thirty (30) years of work experience providing senior-level acquisition and program management support to the Department of State, DHS, DOD, DOE, DOC, and/or other Federal agencies.

• Previous Federal government experience at the SES level, and/or previous experience as a senior executive in public sector consulting managing large-scale programs and acquisitions.

• The ideal candidate will have overseen Federal acquisitions with a value of over $500 million and managed programs of similar size and complexity.

• Strong leadership skills and gravitas; you should be capable of inspiring and motivating others to complete review processes under tight timelines.

• Possesses extensive experience in developing and reviewing acquisition and program management documents and best practices.

• Significant experience directly developing best practice templates and examples related to large-scale acquisition and program management in the Federal arena.

• Extensive experience directly developing training plans, curriculums, and various types of L&D materials related to large-scale acquisition and program management in the Federal arena.

• Extensive experience leading trainings on acquisition and program management to groups of varying sizes (e.g., 1 to 100); confidence and comfort in delivering key messages and answering questions.

• Exceptionally proactive in approach, and capable of making decisions in the face of significant uncertainty.

• Excellent organizational and detail-oriented working style; you should be capable of creating executive-level materials, as needed, without any direct oversight. You should be ready and willing to directly write training plans, training materials, best practice templates and examples, and other documents that are distributed to senior executives in the Federal government.

• Excellent communication skills, and the ability to work collaboratively in support of senior government stakeholders. Ability to confidently brief and lead meetings with senior government officials.

• Willingness to work on business development tasks (i.e., responding to RFPs and RFIs, giving capability presentations, etc.) in addition to client work.

• Proficiency in Microsoft suite of programs, as well as Google tools to manage Shared files.

• Ability to manage competing priorities and multiple taskings, and work in a fast-paced working environment.

• Openness to feedback and continuous self-improvement; self-awareness to understand the areas where you excel and those which will require further development.

• Highly intellectually curious and resourceful when approaching problems and determining solutions.

• Willingness to perform a broad range of tasks that include everything from high-level strategy creation; to developing best practices on quantitative and qualitative topics; to leading trainings; to directly (i.e., on your own) writing up materials; to administrative duties.

• Bachelor’s Degree (Preferred).

• Must possess or be able to obtain and retain a Moderate Risk Public Trust clearance; the investigation will involve a credit, fingerprint, and law enforcement agency check (Current Secret or higher clearance preferred).

Ability to Commute/Relocate

The position is primarily off-site but may require up to one day per week at the Federal client site in Rosslyn, VA (i.e., Arlington, VA) and/or on client site in Washington, DC..

Benefits

Benefits

The position includes competitive compensation and a full suite of benefits:

• Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance

• Retirement savings 401K plan provided by an industry-leading provider with 3% employer matching contributions.

• Paid Time Off

• Life Insurance, Short- and Long-Term disability benefits

• Training Benefits

Compensation to commensurate with experience, education, etc.

About OCT

OCT Consulting LLC is a certified SBA 8(a), minority-owned, small, disadvantaged business providing professional services and Information Technology solutions to the Federal government and commercial clients. Founded in 2013, we bring the advantage of agility in operations along with a management team with a track record of leading successful engagements at major Federal government agencies.

OCT is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. OCT is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status.