Senior Contract Specialist / Agreements Officer (Secret Clearance Required)

READY TO JOIN OUR TEAM?

Do you currently have a Secret clearance? Do you possess DAWIA Practitioner Level II Equivalency in Contracting alongside proven Other Transaction Authority (OTA) experience or an Agreements Officer warrant? Do you want to be part of a team committed to providing USSOCOM a "one-stop shop" for SOF software-intensive digital applications? If so, then we invite you to read on.

ABOUT THIS ROLE

St. Michael's is hiring a Senior Contract Specialist / Agreements Officer to support a Department of Defense (DoD) client. In this role, you will lead and support the development, implementation, and administration of non-traditional, rapid-acquisition mechanisms—with a primary emphasis on Other Transaction Authority (OTA) and Agreements Officer (AO) functions—as well as traditional financial, contractual, and technical aspects of software-intensive digital application projects across the acquisition lifecycle.

You will be in a client-facing role leveraging your deep knowledge of non-FAR statutory authorities, prototype/production OTs, commercial practices, and price/cost reasonableness techniques. Our core value of Teamwork will be paramount as you actively participate in Integrated Product Teams (IPTs), guiding technical program personnel, commercial tech vendors, non-traditional defense contractors, and traditional suppliers on non-FAR and rapid acquisition strategies.

WHO YOU ARE

• Active Secret Clearance
• Bachelor's degree in business or a related field
• DAWIA Practitioner Level II Equivalency in the Contracting field
• Minimum 10 years working in federal government acquisition programs, including:
• • Minimum 8 years of acquisition/contracting/agreements experience.
  • Key Requirement: Demonstrated, hands-on experience structuring, soliciting, awarding, or administering Other Transaction Authority (OTA) instruments (under 10 U.S.C. 4021/4022) or holding an Agreements Officer (AO) Warrant.
  • Deep working knowledge of non-FAR statutory strategies, including Other Transactions (Research, Prototype, and Production), Commercial Solutions Openings (CSOs), Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR/STTR), and Consortium Agreements.
  • Knowledge of pre- and post-award procedures sufficient to award and administer non-FAR OTs, firm-fixed-price, cost-reimbursement, and indefinite-delivery instruments.
  • Knowledge of statutory laws, policies, and regulatory framework governing non-FAR acquisitions as well as traditional federal procurement, including FAR, DFARS, and Special Operations Forces Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (SOFARS).
  • Familiarity with intellectual property (IP) rights, data rights, milestone payment schedules, and commercial terms tailored to engage non-traditional defense contractors.
  • Knowledge of contract data reporting tools, training, and database operations and maintenance.

Highly Preferred:

• Education: Master's degree in business or a related discipline.
• Warrant Status: Active or previous Agreements Officer (AO) Warrant issued by a DoD component.
• Experience: Minimum 6 years of contracting/agreements experience, with at least 1 year of OTA/contracting experience within USSOCOM.
• Consortium Experience: Experience working with OT Consortium Managers or executing rapid software prototyping under 10 U.S.C. 4022.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead Non-FAR & OTA Execution: Drive the pre-award and post-award planning, drafting, negotiation, and execution of Other Transactions (OTs), Consortium actions, CSOs, and non-FAR agreements to support rapid software development and digital capability delivery for USSOCOM.
• Agreements & Contracting Strategy: Formulate and execute tailored non-FAR and traditional acquisition strategies within cost, schedule, and performance baselines, aligning requirements with non-traditional vendor capabilities.
• Regulatory & Statutory Advisory: Conduct independent research across statutory authorities (e.g., 10 U.S.C. 4021/4022, FAR, DFARS, SOFARS) to provide expert Guidance and Courses of Action (COAs) to PCOs, Agreements Officers, program leaders, and IPTs.
• Pre-Award & Solicitation Drafting: Prepare pre-solicitation and agreement documentation, including OT Solicitations, Determinations and Findings (D&Fs), Small Business coordination (DD Form 2579), and Commercial Solutions Offerings.
• System & File Management: Draft solicitations, OT agreements, amendments, and contract awards in relevant writing systems (e.g., PD2 or successor systems) for PCO/Agreements Officer review and approval. Post notices to SAM.gov/FBO as required.
• Price / Cost Analysis & Valuation: Perform rigorous price and cost evaluations, price reasonableness determinations, and valuation of milestone-based deliverables, coordinating with DCAA, DCMA, or commercial benchmarks as needed.
• Negotiations & Term Structuring: Structure complex terms including intellectual property/data rights, cost-sharing provisions, milestone payment schedules, and follow-on production provisions; prepare negotiation positions (PNM/BCM) for PCO/AO approval.
• Post-Award & OT Administration: Perform post-award administration for both FAR contracts and non-FAR OT agreements, including agreement modifications, milestone verifications, post-award memorandums, and closeouts retained by USSOCOM.
• Audit-Ready Files: Establish and maintain complete, auditable, repeatable, and defensible contract and OT agreement files.
• IPT Collaboration & Industry Engagement: Actively participate in IPTs to advise technical program personnel, sales representatives, non-traditional defense contractors, and local suppliers on OT procedures, rapid acquisition flexibilities, and business issues.