Job Description

Job Summary
The Procurement, Contracts and Materials Management (PCMM) is seeking a Senior Contracts Officer. This is a full-time (1.00 FTE),12-month, professional faculty position.

The Senior Contracts Officer, reporting to the Associate Director of Procurement and Contract Services, is a member of the Senior Associate Vice President of Administration’s unit within the Division of Finance & Administration (DFA) at Oregon State University (OSU). This position is responsible for leading the procurement and contracting activities related to the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) Regional Class Research Vessels (RCRV) primarily funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

We believe that a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints enrich our decision making and lead to better outcomes. To be successful in this role the incumbent must:
Be resourceful and results oriented, with demonstrated ability to problem solve.
Stay abreast of modern procurement and contracting best practices and industry standards.
Demonstrate technical writing skills applied to solicitations and contracts.
Have an understanding of the elements of a contract and the ability to apply them when writing a contract.
Have the ability to build and maintain collaborative relationships across a wide and diverse stakeholder group.
Demonstrate equity and inclusion to enable success for people with diverse backgrounds.
Be articulate with excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Have the ability to prioritize workload and proactively manage expectations in relation to agreed-upon deliverables, even when faced with competing priorities.
Have thorough knowledge of how rules, policy and law apply to procurements and contracts.
Know all applicable statutory obligations, plans and actions to ensure compliance.
Be able to work independently with minimal direct supervision.
Have the ability to work with current technologies supporting procurement and contracting responsibilities.
Why OSU?
Working for Oregon State University is so much more than a job!

Oregon State University is a dynamic community of dreamers, doers, problem-solvers and change-makers. We don’t wait for challenges to present themselves — we seek them out and take them on. We welcome students, faculty and staff from every background and perspective into a community where everyone feels seen and heard. We have deep-rooted mindfulness for the natural world and all who depend on it, and together, we apply knowledge, tools and skills to build a better future for all.

FACTS:

• Top 1.4% university in the world
• More research funding than all public universities in Oregon combined
• 1 of 3 land, sea, space and sun grant universities in the U.S.
• 2 campuses, 11 colleges, 12 experiment stations, and Extension programs in all 36 counties
• 7 cultural resource centers that offer education, celebration and belonging for everyone
• 100+ undergraduate degree programs, 80+ graduate degrees plus hundreds of minor options and certificates
• 35k+ students including more than 2.3k international students and 10k students of color
• 217k+ alumni worldwide
• For more interesting facts about OSU visit: https://oregonstate.edu/about

Locations:

Oregon State has a statewide presence with campuses in Corvallis and Bend, the OSU Portland Center and the Hatfield Marine Science Center on the Pacific Coast in Newport.

Oregon State’s beautiful, historic and state-of-the-art main campus is located in one of America’s best college towns. Corvallis is located close to the Pacific Ocean, the Cascade mountains and Oregon wine country. Nestled in the heart of the Willamette Valley, this beautiful city offers miles of mountain biking and hiking trails, a river perfect for boating or kayaking and an eclectic downtown featuring local cuisine, popular events and performances.

Total Rewards Package:

Oregon State University offers a comprehensive benefits package with benefits eligible positions that is designed to meet the needs of employees and their families including:
• Medical, Dental, Vision and Basic Life. OSU pays 95% of premiums for you and your eligible dependents.
• Free confidential mental health and emotional support services, and counseling resources.
• Retirement savings paid by the university.
• A generous paid leave package, including holidays, vacation and sick leave.
• Tuition reduction benefits for you or your qualifying dependents at OSU or the additional six Oregon Public Universities.
• Robust Work Life programs including Dual Career assistance resources, flexible work arrangements, a Family Resource Center, Affinity Groups and an Employee Assistance Program.
• Optional lifestyle benefits such as pet, accident, and critical illness insurance, giving you peace of mind and the support you need to thrive in all aspects of your life.

Future and current OSU employees can use the Benefits Calculator to learn more about the full value of the benefits provided at OSU.
Key Responsibilities
95% Procurement and Contract Management for the RCRV Project
Procurement Management:
Determine applicable rules and regulations a procurement is subject to.
Review and interpret federal, state and local regulations.
Manage the procurement and contracting services, ensuring compliance with applicable rules and regulations and consistency in their use.
Develop procurement plans, acquisition strategies, timelines, and milestones.
Design and draft solicitation, contract, and related procurement documents to meet programmatic requirements.
Review technical, product, design, or performance specifications to ensure fair and open competition.
Conduct solicitations, negotiations, and contracting processes for sourcing and contract initiatives.
Manage coordination, communication, selection, award and post-solicitation activities.
Interpret, advise, enforce, clarify, and recommend courses of actions, options and consequences to stakeholders and interested parties.
Review and analyze risk associated with proposed plans, specifications, contract terms and conditions.

Contract Management:
Draft, negotiate, create and amend contracts as needed to develop scope of work, streamline, improve and update content.
Identify and resolve contractual issues, conflicts or potential risks such as: compliance, conflicts-of-interest, intellectual property, payment terms, liability, and insufficient insurance. Provide follow through until resolution.
Guide project team, stakeholders, and external clients through drafting, soliciting, negotiating and finalizing contracts.
Advise and assist the project team and stakeholders in developing solutions to issues, working closely with other OSU units before, during, and after agreement negotiation and execution.
Interpret and clearly explain contract terms and conditions to project team and stakeholders.
Provide guidance and problem-solving support to resolve challenges related to contracts and/or contractor performance.
Manage contract quality and adherence through effective performance management and quality assurance.
Apply effective methodologies and negotiation techniques to contract conflicts.

Training and Support:
Participate in meetings to answer questions on procurement and contract-related activities and provide project support.
Provide training for project team and stakeholders on ethics and other areas within procurement purview.
Provide guidance on ethical procurement considerations.
Manage public records and audit requests protecting confidential information.
Collect required documentation for procurement and contracting activities and ensure ready access.
Develop knowledge bases for consequential procurement and contract matters that can be used by the project to navigate evolving content, requirements, interpretations, or risks of such matters, for example Domestic Preference, Build America Buy America, National Defense Authorization Act, and Funding Agency Terms and Conditions.

5% Other Duties As Assigned
Other duties as assigned by the Associate Director of Procurement and Contract Services.
Foster a collaborative and inclusive environment for staff, students, and contractors.
What You Will Need
Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration or field related to position duties.
Experience drafting and negotiating contract provisions to meet programmatic requirements while adhering to applicable rules and regulations.
Experience interpreting and applying laws, guidelines, and organizational policies as they pertain to contracting.
Excellent and clear analytical, interpersonal, oral and written communication skills.
Demonstrated ability to engage in flexible and critical thinking.
Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced, high-volume workplace.
Demonstrated ability to work independently and collaboratively to solve problems.
Demonstrated ability to work with a wide array of interpersonal and communication styles, as well as varying viewpoints and agendas.

This position is designated as a critical or security-sensitive position; therefore, the incumbent must successfully complete a criminal history check and be determined to be position qualified as per University Standard: 05-010 et seq. Incumbents are required to self-report convictions and those in youth programs may have additional criminal history checks every 24 months.