Duties

The physical worksite for this position is located in Alexandria, VA. However, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is currently under a maximum telework posture due to the COVID-19 pandemic; therefore, this position is currently under a 100 percent telework schedule. The position's telework schedule will likely change in the future when USPTO moves away from its maximum telework posture. At that time, the incumbent may be expected to report to the physical work site in accordance with the updated status requirements of their supervisor. The nature and scope of future telework opportunities will be subject to the unit's telework policy, any applicable bargaining unit agreements, and supervisory approval.

As required by Executive Order 14043, Federal employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 regardless of the employee's duty location or work arrangement (e.g., telework, remote work, etc.), subject to such exceptions as required by law. If selected, you will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before appointment or onboarding with the agency. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request of the agency a legally required exception from this requirement. Contact the USPTO's Office of Equal Employment and Diversity at (571) 272-8292 or OEEOD@uspto.gov for information on requesting a reasonable accommodation.

The Procurement Officer serves as principal Contracting Officer for the USPTO overseeing a staff of 60 employees and an annual acquisition program of $1 billion. The incumbent has the procurement authority for the USPTO to enter into any contracts or purchase orders necessary to accomplish the mission of the USPTO. Maintains a system for delegation of procurement authority, and delegates procurement authority to appropriate officials within the USPTO. Additional but not limited essential duties for the Procurement Officer are as follows:

• Serves as the primary counsel to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Deputy Chief Financial Officer (Deputy CFO) on all acquisition related work.
• Directs the acquisition and procurement programs for the USPTO and serves as principal Contracting Officer for the Agency.
• Provides advice and guidance throughout the USPTO on acquisition related statutory/regulatory requirements, and keeps current with statutes, policies, regulations, trends, and initiatives.
• Collaborates with senior officials of the USPTO to develop transparent long-range acquisition plans and strategies for highly complex needs to accomplish the agency's mission and strategic goals. This includes setting acquisition strategies for high visibility Information Technology (IT) acquisitions with a focus on agile software development and performing contract analysis activities for requirements related to the significant mission delivery acquisitions, including IT goods and services with a focus on agile software development where selection involves tradeoff among non-price factors.
• Maintains liaison with business partners regarding the status of significant procurement actions and facilitates a culture of openness, accountability, and communication throughout the acquisition process and among the procurement team.
• Ensures the timeliness and quality of procurement actions, including: appropriateness of contract type selection; adequacy of competition sought and actually obtained; acceptability of contract solicitations and related clauses; reasonableness of competitive range determinations; reasonableness of contractor selection justifications; adequacy of contract file documentation; and adherence to procurement regulations and directives.
• Assures the proper performance of contract administration functions, including setting policy and procedures for Contracting Officer's Representatives (CORs).
• Establishes overall Office of Procurement policies and objectives, which align with and support the OCFO and USPTO missions.
• Responsible for maintaining a continuous improvement program for USPTO acquisition and procurement policy and operations. Collaborates with internal USPTO business partners to improve inter-connected processes, and ensure program officials are advised of their role in significant aspects of the acquisition process. Recommends policy changes to the CFO and Deputy CFO and oversees implementation and execution of policy and process changes.
• Provides management guidance to subordinate supervisors; resolves issues; keeps subordinates informed of USPTO, OCFO, and procurement operation goals, areas of emphasis, procurement trends, and work priorities
• Maintains liaison with the Department of Commerce Procurement office, the USPTO Office of General Counsel, and the Department's Office of Inspector General.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen or a National.
• Background and/or Security investigation, if selected for position.
• Your resume and question responses must demonstrate comprehensive, recent experience in the duties described.
• You must serve a one-year probationary period unless you previously completed one year in the Senior Executive Service.
• All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.
• Must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable (www.sss.gov) Suitable for Federal employment.
• Financial Disclosure Report (OGE-278) will be required upon appointment.

Qualifications

Experience must have been at a sufficiently high level of difficulty to clearly show that the candidate possesses the required professional/technical qualifications and executive core qualifications set forth below.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Please provide your narrative responses to the Professional Technical Qualification (PTQs) and Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) questions - Do not write "see resume".

Applicants are required to input narrative responses to the PTQs and ECQs in the text boxes as prompted by USAJobs. Each PTQ and each ECQ have a 10,000-character limit (to include spaces) and must be adhered to.

Applicants must use the USA Jobs text boxes for submitting their PTQs and ECQs. Uploaded documents addressing the PTQ's and ECQs will not be accepted.

Professional Technical Qualifications: Applicants must clearly demonstrate in their application materials that they possess technical attributes in the Professional/Technical Qualifications (PTQs). The PTQs for this position are:

Demonstrated your experience in developing and implementing a contracting strategy as principal contracting advisor for a large acquisition program, including experience contracting for agile software development; executing commercial acquisitions; evaluating business and industry practices and trends, sources of supply, cost data, and contractor performance; collaborating with program managers to refine requirements and identify best-value business solutions; and evaluating, streamlining, and improving acquisition and procurement business processes. Knowledge of statutes and regulations governing Federal acquisitions, sufficient to provide oversight and technical advice on the administration of a Federal acquisition program.

Demonstrated your experience in organizational planning and fostering change wherein risks are managed and plans are implemented consistent with the long-term interests of the Office and organization as a whole. Includes experience in building a shared vision with business partners and employees, translating the vision into action, and fostering an environment where differences in ideas are valued and leveraged to achieve the vision and mission of the organization. This is achieved with a proven ability to facilitate cooperation and motivate stakeholders to implement plans and visions.

Demonstrated your experience in Federal personnel policies and sound leadership practices, including experience managing the performance and career development of a large teams of professionals, with a demonstrated ability to communicate effectively across organizations, motivate employees, and effectively use the skills of subordinate supervisors and staff to manage the workload of the office and achieve program objectives. Inspires and fosters transparency, trust, and team commitment.

Please Note: Current career SES members, former career SES members with reinstatement eligibility, and SES Candidate Development Program graduates who have been certified by OPM, only need to submit a resume and narrative statement covering each of the PTQs requirements and do NOT need to address the ECQs.

For the following five Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs), you are required to submit a narrative response addressing your specific knowledge, skills, and abilities that demonstrate your possession of these qualifications. Be sure to provide specific examples of what you've done that demonstrates your possession of each ECQ. For more information about the Executive Core Qualifications please visit this site: : https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/senior-executive-service/reference- materials/guidetosesquals_2012.pdf

Leading Change - This core qualification involves the ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment.

Leading People - This core qualification involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to provide an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts.

Results Driven - This core qualification involves the ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to make decisions that produce high quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems and calculating risks.

Business Acumen - This core qualification involves the ability to manage human, financial and information resources strategically.

Building Coalitions - This core qualification involves the ability to build coalitions internally and with other Federal agencies, State and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals.
Applicants are encouraged to follow the Challenge, Context, Action and Result (C-C-A-R) model outlined in the Guide To SES Qualifications.
Challenge - Describe a specific problem or goal.

Context - Describe the individuals and groups you worked with, and/or the environment in which you worked, to address a particular challenge (e.g., clients, co-workers, members of Congress, shrinking budget, low morale).

Action - Discuss the specific actions you took to address a challenge.

Result - Give specific examples of measures/outcomes that had some impact on the organization. These accomplishments demonstrate the quality and effectiveness of your leadership skills.

Note: Submit only the documents requested. Additional documents will not be reviewed by the rating panel. Uploaded documents addressing the PTQ's and ECQs will not be accepted.

Education

There is no education requirement for this position.

Additional information

Probationary Period: You will be required to serve a one-year probationary period unless you previously completed the probationary period in the SES.

Mobility: Organizational and geographical mobility is essential in developing and managing SES leaders and generally is a key to advancement. Therefore, applicants are expected to be mobile and once appointed SES members may be reassigned at the discretion of the appointing authority.

If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System. If you are exempt from registration under Selective Service Law, you must provide appropriate proof of exemption. Please visit the Selective Service System website for more information.

This is a Non-Bargaining Unit position. This is a Public Trust position and has a risk level designation of "high" risk.

The incumbent may be required to submit to a drug test to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment and, if appointed, the incumbent may be subjected to random drug testing procedures.

Background Investigation: If selected for this position, you may be required to complete a Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306), which includes a fingerprint and credit check, to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation.

The USPTO participates in E-Verify. For more information on E-Verify, please visit http://www.dhs.gov/files/programs/gc_1185221678150.shtm

All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choice.

Relocation Expenses are not authorized and will not be paid.

Veteran preference does not apply to the Senior Executive Service.

More than one selection may be made from this announcement if additional identical vacancies in the same title, series, grade, and unit occur within 90 days from the date the certificate was issued.

The Ethics in Government Act of 1978, as amended, requires senior officials in the executive, legislative and judicial branches to file public reports of their finances as well as other interests outside the Government. If selected for this position you will be required to file a Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 278). The OGE 278 is available to the public. The primary purpose of disclosure is to assist agencies in identifying potential conflicts of interest between a filer's official duties and the filer's private financial interests and affiliations.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors. If you believe that you have been discriminated against and would like to file an EEO complaint, you must do so within 45 days of the date of the alleged discriminatory act. Claims of employment discrimination must be submitted to the attention of the USPTO's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity & Diversity via email (oeeod@uspto.gov) or phone (571-272-8292).