TABLE OF CONTENTS
APPENDICES
CHAPTER
I
ACQUISITION WORKFORCE
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
A. Background
The quality and effectiveness of the federal acquisition process depend on the
development of a capable and competent workforce. Congress recognized the need for a professional
workforce through the passage of the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement
Act (DAWIA) (10 U.S.C. §§ 1741-46) and of the Office of Federal Procurement
Policy (OFPP) Act (41 U.S.C. § 433)).
These acts established education, training, and experience requirements
for entry and advancement in the acquisition career fields for the Department
of Defense (DOD) and civilian agencies respectively.
OFPP Policy Letter 92-3, Procurement Professionalism Program
Policy – Training for Contracting Personnel, dated June 24, 1992, established policies for
skill-based training in contracting and purchasing duties for all executive
agencies. In response to the
Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996 (40 U.S.C. § 1401(3)), OFPP Policy Letter 97-01,
Procurement System Education, Training and Experience Requirements for
Acquisition Personnel, dated September 12, 1997, established career management,
education, and training requirements for contracting personnel in civilian
executive agencies.
OFPP Policy
Letter 05-01, Developing and Managing the Acquisition Workforce, issued
April 15, 2005, establishes the government-wide framework for creating a
federal acquisition workforce with the skills necessary to deliver best value
supplies and services, find the best business solutions, and provide strategic
business advice to accomplish agency missions.
The Letter expanded on those previous efforts to improve the development
of the acquisition workforce by more broadly defining the acquisition workforce
and to more closely aligns civilian and defense acquisition workforce
requirements.
Policy
Letter 05-01 supersedes and
rescinds Policy Letters 92-3 and 97-01.
This
Department of Transportation policy provides the framework for implementing OFPP Policy Letter 05-01 and
establishes procedures to be used by Operating Administrations (OAs) in
implementing this program.
B. Applicability
The
Acquisition Workforce Career Development Program is applicable to those
positions and career fields defined in the acquisition workforce. The DOT acquisition workforce is defined as:
·
All positions in the General Schedule
Contracting Series (GS-1102)
·
All warranted Contracting Officers regardless of
General Schedule series with authority to obligate funds above the
micro-purchase threshold
·
All positions in the GS-1105 Purchasing Series
·
Contracting Officer Technical Representatives
(COTRs), or equivalent positions.
·
Project and Program Managers, as identified by
the Chief Acquisition Officer (CAO).
·
Other positions designated by the CAO performing
significant acquisition-related functions.
FAA
employees are exempt from this program under P.L. 104-50. However, the FAA will
provide its affected employees with substantially similar training and
education requirements to maintain mobility.
C. Program Objectives and Policy Issuance
The primary objectives of the DOT Acquisition Workforce
Career Development Program are to improve the capabilities and management of
DOT’s Acquisition Workforce by: attracting, selecting, developing and retaining
a highly qualified, diverse workforce capable of performing current and future
DOT acquisition functions; preparing future key leaders; providing career
guidance and opportunities for broadening experiences and progression and
ensuring effective use of training and education resources.
The program will create a professional, agile and motivated
workforce that consistently makes smart business decisions, acts in an ethical
manner, and delivers timely and affordable capabilities to meet the mission of
the Department. Rather
than focusing just on traditional contracting functions, the program is
designed to enhance the quality of the whole acquisition workforce, both by
attracting highly qualified new personnel and by improving the skills and
knowledge of current personnel.
Operating Administration (OA) Chief Acquisition Officers (CAOs) will be
responsible for implementing the standards established in this policy.’
D. Roles and Responsibilities
1.
Senior Procurement Executive (SPE): The SPE shall carry out all functions of the Chief Acquisition Officer (CAO) and agency head with respect
to implementing this program. The SPE is responsible for:
a.
Developing
and maintaining an acquisition career management program to ensure DOT has a competent, professional workforce to
accomplish its mission.
b.
Appointing
an Acquisition Career Manager.
c.
Ensuring
that, to the maximum extent practicable, acquisition workforce policies and procedures established are uniform in their
implementation throughout the Department.
d.
Delegating
authorities as appropriate to effectively administer the acquisition workforce career development program.
e.
Establishing
mandatory warrant and training requirements.
f.
Defining the members of the DOT acquisition workforce.
g.
Provide
input to DOT’s Human Capital Strategic Plan regarding the acquisition workforce.
h.
Assessing
the current skills inventory of the workforce.
i.
Issuing any changes to this policy as necessary.
j.
Chairing the Procurement Management Council (PMC) to
discuss any agency wide acquisition workforce issues
(i.e., budgets, training quotas, and requirements).
k.
Issuing
any waivers, as appropriate, as a condition of hiring in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management
(OPM) qualification standard for the GS-1102 series.
2.
Acquisition Career Manager (ACM)
The ACM function shall be located in the Office of the Senior Procurement
Executive (OSPE).
The ACM is responsible for:
a.
Managing
the acquisition workforce, including identifying training requirements and other workforce development strategies.
b.
Administering
the agency’s certification program.
c.
Serving
on the Interagency Acquisition Career Management Committee (IACMC) and ensuring that workforce development policies and
opportunities meet the needs of the acquisition workforce.
d.
Providing
coordinated input to the SPE and Chief Human Capital Officer regarding short and long term human capital strategic planning for
training, competency fulfillment, career development, accession, recruitment
and retention, and other facets of human capital management affecting the
acquisition workforce.
e.
Developing
and maintaining agency policies and procedures for workforce management consistent with those established by OFPP, as
appropriate.
f.
Coordinating with functional advisors to ensure fulfillment
of the requirements of OFPP Policy
Letter 05-01.
g.
Recommending
to the SPE waivers to the GS-1102 education and training provisions of OFPP Policy
Letter 05-01, as needed and in accordance with the qualification standards.
h.
Coordinating
with OA representatives to ensure accurate and consistent department wide data on those serving in DOT’s acquisition workforce is
maintained in the Acquisition Career Management Information System (ACMIS).
3. Operating
Administration Chief Acquisition Officer:
The OA CAO is responsible for:
a.
Designating members of the acquisition workforce
b.
Ensuring
the acquisition workforce has the necessary competencies, training and certifications.
c.
Identifying a training budget for the acquisition
workforce.
d.
Developing and implementing policies and procedures
specific to the OA.
e.
Disseminating
acquisition workforce information to its acquisition workforce members.
f.
Ensuring the fulfillment of the continuous learning
requirements to for each employee to whom this policy is applicable.
4. Supervisors of Acquisition Workforce
Members: Supervisors are responsible
for:
a.
Assessing
and approving achievement of competencies developed by the Federal Acquisition
Institute (FAI) and Defense Acquisition University (DAU).
b.
In
conjunction with the employee, developing and updating a career development
plan (such as an Individual Development Plan (IDP)) which shows completion of
mandatory and continuing education requirements and identifies how the
requirements of this policy will be met.
c.
Scheduling employees in accordance with OA training
prioritization policy.
d.
Approving data entered into the Acquisition Career
Management Information System (ACMIS).
e.
Ensuring the fulfillment of the continuous learning
requirements are met for their employees.
5. Acquisition Workforce Members: Workforce members are responsible for:
a.
In conjunction with their supervisor, developing and
updating a career development plan (such as an IDP) that incorporates core
competencies, education, training, experience and continuous learning
requirements.
b.
Improving their core acquisition, functional, and
leadership competencies throughout their careers through education, training,
and experience.
.Attaining and remaining current in core competencies,
education, training, experience and continuous learning requirements, as
reflected in their career plan and as appropriate.
c.
Ensuring that education, training, and skills currency
requirements is accurately reflected in their personnel file, with approval by
the supervisor, and in the Acquisition Career Management Information System
(ACMIS).
E.
Acquisition Career Management Information System (ACMIS)
In
accordance with Section 37(d) of the OFPP Act, as amended, (41 U.S.C. 433(d))
each executive agency must collect, maintain and utilize information to ensure
effective management of the acquisition workforce. ACMIS will be used to track acquisition personnel
training and determination of equivalencies.
OAs are required to have complete, current records (e.g., warrant,
education, training, certification, and skills currency information) in ACMIS
for all acquisition workforce personnel.
The employee is responsible for initiating any action to modify his or
her records in ACMIS. The employee’s
supervisor is responsible for approving the data entered. Prior to deployment of the government-wide
ACMIS, each OA is responsible for keeping adequate training, education and
continuous learning records for members of the acquisition workforce.
F. OA
Policy
If
OAs choose to supplement this policy, the policy must be coordinated with the
Office of the Senior Procurement Executive (OSPE). OAs must make their policies
available to all affected employees in writing or electronically.
G. Performance
Incentives
The
DOT Acquisition
Incentives Award Program, required under Clinger-Cohen, was established to
link incentives to the measurable achievements of the acquisition workforce.
Under this program, acquisition workforce members can be encouraged and
rewarded for accomplishments that produce measurable improvements.
CHAPTER
II
QUALIFICATION STANDARDS FOR THE
CONTRACTING CAREER FIELD
A. Background
The Contracting
career field includes the positions of contract negotiator, contract
specialist, contract termination specialist, contract administrator,
procurement analyst, administrative contracting officer, procuring contracting
officer, contract price and/or cost analyst, contracting officer, and
termination contracting officer. As
business advisors, contracting specialists create effective, efficient, and
proper business arrangements, have a strategic focus on acquisition, and
leverage federal spending to accomplish the mission of their respective
Departments and agencies.
Individuals
develop, manage, supervise, or perform procedures involving the procurement of
supplies and services; construction, research, and development; acquisition
planning; cost and price analysis; solicitation and selection of sources;
preparation, negotiation, and award of contracts; all phases of contract
administration; and termination or closeout of contracts. Within the limits of their delegated
authority, individuals are required to have knowledge of the legislation,
policies, regulations, and methods used in procurement and contracting as well
as knowledge of business and industry practices, sources of supply, cost factors,
cost and price analysis techniques, and general requirements characteristics.
B. Qualification Standards for Contract
Series (GS-1102)
The
Clinger-Cohen Act, P.L. 104-106, gives the Administrator of OFPP responsibility
for establishing GS-1102 employment qualification standards for acquisition
workforce positions in non-DOD agencies.
One of the changes in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
qualification standard for GS-1102 (Contract Specialist) is the implementation
of a positive education requirement.
These requirements are as follows:
1. Basic GS-1102 Qualification Standards for
GS-5 through GS-12
- 4-year course of study
leading to a bachelor's degree with a major in any field; OR
- At least 24 semester hours in any combination of the
following fields: accounting, business, finance, law, contracts,
purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative
methods, or organization and management.
Appendix A of the Office of Management and Budget Federal
Acquisition Certification in Contracting Program (OMB
FAC-C) memo provides guidance on meeting the business course
requirements for the GS-1102 Qualification Standard.
Exceptions: Employees in GS-1102 positions will be
considered to have met the standard for positions they occupied on January 1, 2000. Employees who occupied GS-1102 positions at
grades 5 through 12 will be considered to meet the basic requirements for other
GS-1102 positions up to and including those classified at GS-12. This includes positions at other agencies and
promotions up through grade 12. However,
employees must meet specialized experience requirements when seeking another
position.
2. Basic GS-1102 Qualification Standards for
GS-13 and Above
- Completion of all mandatory
training prescribed by the head of the agency for progression to GS-13 or
higher level contracting position, including at least 4-years experience
in contracting related positions.
At least 1 year of that experience must have been specialized
experience at or equivalent to work at the next lower level of the position,
and must have provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform
successfully the work of the position
AND
b. A
4 year course of study leading to a bachelor’s degree, that included or was
supplemented by at least 24 semester hours in any combination of the following
fields: accounting, business, finance,
law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing,
quantitative methods, or organization and management. Appendix A of the OMB
FAC-C memo provides guidance on meeting the business course requirements
for the GS-1102
Qualification Standard.
Exceptions:
Employees in GS-1102 positions will be considered to have met the standard for
positions they occupied on January
1, 2000. This also applies to positions at the same grade in the
same agency or other agencies if the specialized experience requirements are
met. However, they will have to meet the basic requirements and specialized
experience requirements in order to qualify for promotion to a higher grade,
unless granted a waiver under Paragraph 3.
3. GS-1102 Position Waivers
Normally,
individuals must meet education and experience requirements established in the
OPM 1102 qualification standard at the appropriate level before being assigned
to an acquisition position at that level.
Unless previously certified, all personnel appointed, promoted,
assigned, reassigned, or detailed in excess of 120 days to an acquisition
position shall be reviewed for certification within 30 days of the effective
date of the action. In cases where the
potential assignee does not meet the certification standards, the OA has 24
months after assignment to qualify the individual to meet the standards or to
process a waiver.
Position
waivers will be processed in accordance with the OPM 1102
qualification standard. The SPE is
authorized to waive any or all of the qualification standard requirements for
GS-13s and above. This waiver
authorization may not be further delegated.
GS-12s and below must meet the qualification standard for their grade
level when applying for a new position.
The SPE must certify that the applicant possesses significant potential
for advancement to levels of greater responsibility and authority, based on
demonstrated analytical and decision making capabilities, job performance, and
qualifying experience. All requests for waivers must be endorsed by the HCA
prior to being forwarded to the SPE. The selecting official and the HCA shall
use the qualification
standard waiver form in Appendix A to request a waiver. The employee’s
personnel record and their record in ACMIS shall be modified to reflect that
the employee has a waiver to the education requirement for that particular
position.
The
human resource specialist makes initial qualification determinations. However,
the involvement of subject matter experts may be necessary to determine which
courses satisfy the 24-semester credit hours requirement. The HCA (or designee)
will serve as a subject matter expert, working with the ACM and the OA human
resource specialist, reviewing transcripts to determine which courses satisfy
the 24-semester credit hours requirement. Whenever it is not obvious from the
course title or number that a course falls within one of the Appendix B
business
related disciplines, it may be necessary to review the course syllabus or
other descriptive course information. If the OA human resource specialist and
the HCA (or designee) cannot agree on which courses satisfy the 24-semester
hours requirement, the matter will be referred to the SPE for resolution.
C. Tuition
Assistance
OAs are
strongly encouraged to budget for tuition assistance to help their employees in
acquisition positions meet the positive education requirement, including a
full-time course of study leading to a degree, in accordance with 5 U.S.C.
4107.
D. CLEP
and DANTES Examinations and the American Council on Education
College
credit may be obtained through the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) or
through Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES)
Program. These credits must be awarded by an accredited college or university
to be considered as credit toward the degree requirement or the 24-semester
hour requirement. The following website has information on CLEP exams: http://www.collegeboard.com/. The
following website offers information bulletins on DANTES: http://www.dantes.doded.mil/.
Students
may also be eligible to receive college credit through a national program
sponsored by the American Council on Education (ACE). ACE’s purpose is to help
people obtain academic credit for learning they have acquired outside of
colleges and universities. ACE evaluates and makes credit recommendations for
formal education programs and courses sponsored by non-collegiate
organizations. These credits must be awarded by an accredited college or
university to be considered as credit toward the degree requirement or the
24-semester hour requirement. Some of the classes offered by the Defense
Acquisition University (DAU) are ACE certified. The ACE advisory service can be
reached on (202) 939-9470. The website
address is: http://www.acenet.edu.
CHAPTER III
CERTIFICATION AND TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
A. Background
The
development of a highly-qualified, well-trained workforce is critical to
ensuring that DOT accomplishes its mission goals. Investment in the development of the
acquisition workforce will improve the ability to meet mission needs and
continue being effective stewards of taxpayer dollars. In addition to the implementation of federal
acquisition certification programs, DOT has established an Acquisition
Certification Program for individuals performing simplified acquisitions.
B. Federal Acquisition Certifications
OFPP’s
vision for the federal acquisition workforce is the development of common certification
programs that generally reflect a government-wide standard for education,
training, and experience leading to the fulfillment of core competencies in a
variety of acquisition-related disciplines.
To promote the development of core acquisition competencies
government-wide and to facilitate employee mobility, FAI, in consultation with
OPM, will develop federal acquisition certification programs that shall be
accepted by, at a minimum, all civilian executive agencies. These certifications will generally serve as
one means to demonstrate that an employee meets the core education, training,
and experience requirements, as appropriate, for that acquisition-related
discipline (e.g., contracting, program management, etc.).
1.
Federal
Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C)
OFPP Policy Letter 05-01 established a requirement for federal
acquisition certification programs.
Section 8(b) of this Letter required the Federal Acquisition Institute
(FAI) to develop, and the Chief Acquisition Officers Council (CAOC) to approve,
a Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C)
program. The FAC-C
Program was approved by the CAOC in December 2005. The goal of the certification program is to
standardize the education, training, and experience requirements for
contracting professionals in civilian agencies, which will improve workforce
competencies and increase career opportunities.
The program mirrors, as closely as possible, the requirements that the
Department of Defense established for its contracting workforce under the
Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA). The certification will be accepted by, at
minimum, all civilian agencies as evidence that an employee meets the core
education, training, and experience requirements to be a contracting
professional (generally the GS-1102 series).
Members of the workforce
issued new Contracting Officer (CO) warrants on or after January 1, 2007, regardless of GS series
must be certified at an appropriate level to support their warrant
obligations. New CO warrants are defined
in Policy Letter 05-01 as warrants issued to employees for the
first time at a department or agency.
All COs, regardless of job series and
GS-1102s must meet the requirements stated in this policy not later than September 30, 2009. This requirement does not apply to:
·
Senior level officials responsible for
delegating procurement authority;
·
Contracting Officers whose warrants are
generally used to procure emergency goods and services; or
·
Contracting Officers whose warrants are so
limited as to be outside the scope of this program, as determined by the CAO
The certification program
is available to all members of the federal acquisition workforce. The priority for DOT implementation is as
follows:
·
All warranted COs
in the GS-1102 Contracting Series;
·
All warranted COs
regardless of GS series with authority to obligate funds above the
micro-purchase threshold;
·
Other GS-1102s;
·
Other eligible individuals.
a. FAC-C
Requirements for Education, Training and Experience
Achievement of the FAC-C
is based on three requirements:
education, training, and experience and the requirements are cumulative,
(i.e., a person must meet the requirements of each previous certification
level). The FAC-C
requirements do not change the education requirements in the OPM Qualification
Standard for GS-1102 (Contract Specialist).
Maintenance of a FAC-C
is a function of continuous learning, which is addressed in Chapter V. Federal certification levels are directly
associated with warrant limits established in DOT’s warrant policy (See Chapter
IV).
Current information on
certification requirements and courses is available online at www.fai.gov.
b. Ways to Meet FAC-C Requirements
The education, training, and experience standards for certification
are usually met in traditional ways.
However, there are alternate means of satisfying the standards, as
follows:
(1) Education and Experience Exception
(Grandfathering)
Individuals in GS-1102 positions will be
considered to have met the education and experience standards for the positions
they occupied on January 1,
2000. This also applies to
positions at the same grade level in the same agency or other agencies if the
specialized experience requirements are met.
(2) Training
(a)
Completion. In order to become FAC-C certified, every acquisition professional must
document satisfactory completion (training certificates and/or school
transcripts) of core training classes (DAU/FAI training, DAU/FAI-equivalent
courses or fulfillment.) The core
training classes identify sets of professional business and technical
competencies that are essential for effectively performing Contracting
duties. These competencies are the
foundation for all Contracting-related work and are the focus for training and
development to help manage individuals' acquisition careers. Training requirements are cumulative, so all
training requirements for lower level certifications must also be met. When the training curriculum is modified, FAI
will publish a list of predecessor classes that will allow an individual to
associate past training with new requirements.
A full list of the currently core (required) courses and their
predecessor courses is available on www.dau.mil/catalog and www.fai.gov. See the list of approved equivalent training courses.
(b)
Fulfillment. Fulfillment is the
process by which acquisition workforce members may satisfy mandatory
training requirements based on alternative training, previous experience,
education, certification by another
recognized organization, or other developmental activities. The FAC-C fulfillment process will follow the fulfillment
process for DOD agencies so that the DAWIA certification and FAC-C programs are closely aligned:
Individuals must submit
evidence to their supervisor as to how the required competencies for a
particular certification level were attained.
Supervisors must review the evidence and agree
that the individual meets the competencies.
Appendix C provides course competencies for contracting
classes. Individuals must meet all
the competencies for a course to satisfy the requirement for that course.
·
Alternative training: In order for an individual to be certified
based on competencies obtained
through courses that were not DAU/FAI or DAU-equivalent, the individual must
provide for each competency the dates of training, course descriptions, provider
names, and competencies achieved.
·
Experience: If the individual is using job experience, he
or she must provide the agency name, dates,
location, position title, and the duties performed that provided the relevant
competencies.
·
Education: If the individual obtained competencies
through academic courses provided at an
accredited institution, he or she must provide the dates of each class, course
descriptions, provider names, and competencies achieved.
·
Certification by a recognized organization: Acquisition certifications by organizations outside
the federal government are eligible for full or partial consideration under the
DAWIA and FAC-C programs.
(c)
Electives. Electives may be any
training opportunity related to the employee's job or necessary for career
development or for cross training.
Electives may include no cost distance learning or other training
opportunities, inclusive of assignment-specific courses. Employees are encouraged to take courses that
add to their knowledge base or enhance existing skills; electives should
generally be increasingly more complex throughout an employee’s career progression. There are no DAU equivalency requirements for
electives.
(d)
The following provides general guidelines OAs may wish to use in prioritizing training needs.
·
To obtain a Contracting Officer’s Warrant.
·
To obtain certification at the employee’s
current grade level.
·
To be eligible for certification when an
employee is in a career ladder position (e.g., a GS-05 to a GS-09 career
ladder).
·
To become eligible for the next higher career
level (outside the employees current career ladder).
·
Other employees who may not immediately be
required to obtain training, but who are involved in the acquisition process
(e.g., COTRs).
2. DAWIA
Certification
Individuals who have attained a Defense
Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) certification at any time during
their careers are eligible for a FAC-C at the same certification level provided
that continuous learning requirements have been maintained and can be
documented. The employee is responsible
for providing the necessary documentation of the DAWIA certification and the
appropriate continuous learning history to ensure validity and currency of the DAWIA certification.
3. Federal Acquisition Certification –
Program and Project Managers
Program and Project Managers identified
by the SPE as part of DOT’s acquisition workforce and subject to the Policy Letter 05-01
will be included in ACMIS not later than July 1, 2007 so that
workforce data may be captured for future training and development planning.
Certification and training requirements
for individuals designated as Acquisition Program and Project Managers will be
implemented upon CAOC approval of FAI recommended certification program
policies.
4. Federal Acquisition Certification – Other
Acquisition-Related Functions
Certification requirements for other
acquisition-related functions will be implemented upon CAOC approval of FAI
recommended certification program policies.
C. DOT Simplified
Acquisition Certification Program
The DOT Simplified
Acquisition Certification Program is available to all purchasing (GS-1105) and
non-1102 personnel exercising authority limited to actions at or below the
simplified acquisition threshold. While
the Program consists of three components: education, training, and experience,
achievement of a DOT Simplified Acquisition Certificate is based ONLY on
mandatory training and experience requirements.
The DOT Simplified Acquisition Certificate is issued as a Level I or II
with each level having its own requirements for issuance. This certification is not transferable to
other agencies; however, it is evidence that an employee meets the established
core education, training, and experience requirements to be a contracting
professional exercising simplified acquisition authority.
Maintenance of a DOT
Simplified Acquisition Certificate is a function of continuous learning, which
is addressed in Chapter V. Simplified
Acquisition certification levels are directly associated with warrant limits
established for GS-1105/Non-1102s.
Education, training, and
experience requirements for DOT Simplified Acquisition certification are as
follows: