Acquisition Lead (SETA) Job Listing at SAIC in Chantilly, VA (Job ID 2615431)

Description

Description

SAIC has an immediate opening for Key Personnel contract position Acquisition Lead (SETA) to support a government customer in Chantilly, VA. This lead serves as the senior acquisition authority and strategic enabler across the full contract acquisition portfolio and as a key program office member along with Program Manager and Deputy Program Manager (PM/DPM) and Systems Engineering Lead. The Acquisition Lead provides cross-program strategic enablement to an embedded domain team ensuring acquisition coherence, standards compliance, and strategic alignment across a broad IT portfolio.

The Acquisition Lead directly leads a centralized pre-award acquisition group while providing functional acquisition oversight, mentorship, and professional development across all pre and post-award acquisition personnel on contract. 

A defining near-term responsibility is leading the government customer's early-stage Executive Order 14402 compliance efforts, which mandates Firm Fixed Price (FFP) as the default and preferred procurement method for federal contracts. The Acquisition Lead will serve as the organization's primary authority on EO 14402 interpretation, portfolio impact assessment, and transition strategy development. This includes building the acquisition framework, award fee redesign strategy, and requirements maturity roadmap necessary to execute a compliant and mission-safe transition from the current Cost Plus Award Fee (CPAF) contract portfolio to FFP over time.

The successful candidate must demonstrate the ability to operate effectively in a strategically ambiguous environment, build acquisition structure and strategy where frameworks are still emerging, and educate and influence a broad stakeholder community through complex acquisition policy, contract type transition strategy, and evolving regulatory requirements.

Throughout the contract life cycle, the successful candidate is expected to deliver:

Strategic Acquisition Leadership & Cross-Program Enablement

• Serve as the senior on contract acquisition authority, providing cross-program strategic leadership and functional oversight.
• Function as a peer member of the contract's senior leadership.
• Develop and maintain a multi-year acquisition portfolio roadmap, aligning planned procurements, contract renewals, expansions, and terminations with milestones, funding cycles, and mission priorities.
• Advise the government on acquisition pathways and contract vehicle selection across the full spectrum of procurement approaches.
• Collaborate with the Systems Engineering Lead to ensure acquisition and SE staff within domain teams are aligned on requirements development, SOW/PWS quality, and technical evaluation support.
• EO 14402 Compliance & CPAF to FFP Transition Leadership
• Serve as the team's primary authority on Executive Order 14402 to advise the government on compliance requirements, timelines, and portfolio implications.
• Conduct a comprehensive portfolio assessment of all current vendor contracts to evaluate FFP transition readiness.
• Develop and maintain a prioritized, risk-informed transition roadmap that sequences contract type conversions.
• Design and implement Award Fee structures for contracts remaining on CPAF during the transition period to actively direct vendor behavioral change, incentivize performance maturity, and build requirements necessary to support FFP conversion.
• Develop a joint requirements maturity and acquisition transition roadmap in coordination with the Systems Engineering Lead.
• Educate and guide government stakeholders, COTRs, domain team managers, and embedded acquisition staff on EO 14402 requirements, transition strategy, award fee mechanics, and the operational implications of contract type evolution across the portfolio.

 

Pre-Award Acquisition Lifecycle Leadership

• Lead centralized pre-award acquisition group, which functions as a surge-and-sustain task force, maintaining portfolio awareness and deploying into domain teams when vendor contracts require renewal, expansion, or termination.
• Guide the government through the Acquisition Planning, Solicitation, and Award phases in accordance with the FAR, DFARS, NAM, applicable DoD 5000-series directives, and IC acquisition policies and procedures.t
• Lead the development of all applicable acquisition documentation.
• Design Quality Assurance Surveillance Plans (QASPs) and define Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) during pre-award to establish the performance monitoring framework that sustaining post-award embedded staff will execute.
• Lead source selection activities to include evaluation criteria development, cost realism analyses, price reasonableness determinations, and technical evaluations in support of the SSEB and SSA.

 

Post-Award Transition & Embedded Staff Oversight

• Develop structured transition plans to hand off awarded contracts and post-award responsibilities to embedded SETA staff assigned to each COTR.
• Provide functional acquisition oversight across all post-award embedded staff, serving as the escalation authority for complex post-award issues and ensuring consistency.
• Support COTR designation and onboarding for new contracts and maintain awareness of post-award execution health across the vendor portfolio, identifying performance issues and compliance risks that require strategic intervention.

 

Workforce Development, Mentorship & Team Leadership

• Develop and execute an individual development plan (IDP) framework for all acquisition staff.
• Actively mentor acquisition staff on regulatory compliance, source selection procedures, contract type strategy, and award fee mechanics, with particular emphasis on EO 14402 compliance and FFP transition readiness.
• Develop and maintain SOPs, templates, and training materials to build team capability and ensure consistency across all acquisition efforts.
• Serve as primary escalation point for complex or high-visibility acquisition challenges and coordinate with SAIC program management on hiring needs, team structure, and workforce planning.

 

Customer Engagement, Compliance & Reporting

• Independently engage senior government stakeholders to advise on acquisition strategy, policy compliance, and portfolio management, communicating complex acquisition concepts clearly to non-acquisition audiences including senior leadership, program managers, and domain team managers.
• Review all J&As, In-Scope Determinations, sole-source justifications, and waiver requests for legal sufficiency and regulatory compliance before government submission.
• Produce and present executive-level briefings capturing acquisition portfolio status, EO 14402 transition progress, source selection status, and recommended courses of action.
• Provide consistent acquisition portfolio reporting to government leadership, the COTR, and the PM/DPM, proactively identifying risks and recommending solutions to enhance program quality and compliance posture.

Qualifications

Mandatory Requirements

• U.S. Citizen
• Active Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) clearance with current Poly
• Within a STEM (ref: DHS STEM list), Business, or Acquisition-related field of study:  Bachelor's and 15 years of experience in acquisition, contracting, or program management; or Master's and 13+ years of experience.
• DAWIA Level II Certification in Contracting or Program Management required; DAWIA Level III is highly desirable.
• NCMA Certified Professional Contracts Manager (CPCM) or Certified Federal Contracts Manager (CFCM) accepted in lieu of DAWIA Level II.

 

Experience Requirements

• Expert-level knowledge of the FAR, DFARS, NAM, applicable DoD 5000-series directives, and IC acquisition policies, with demonstrated ability to interpret and apply evolving regulatory guidance across a complex portfolio.
• Demonstrated experience leading IT source selections from pre-solicitation through award in a government or SETA environment, including development of all associated acquisition documentation.
• Experience with OTAs, BAAs, IDIQs, and other non-traditional acquisition vehicles.
• Demonstrated experience with CPAF contract administration and award fee plan design, evaluation, and strategic application, including working knowledge of EO 14402 and contract type transition strategy from cost-reimbursement vehicles to FFP.
• Experience designing QASPs and performance monitoring frameworks during pre-award to enable effective post-award oversight.
• Experience mentoring and providing functional leadership to acquisition staff across a large, complex program or portfolio.
• Experience with IC acquisition cycles, requirements processes, and source selection procedures.
• Demonstrated ability to operate in ambiguous, fast-paced, and evolving environments, building acquisition strategy and structure in early-stage or transitional program contexts.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to present complex acquisition topics to executive-level audiences and educate non-acquisition stakeholders on procurement policy and strategy.

Target salary range: $160,001 - $200,000. The estimate displayed represents the typical salary range for this position based on experience and other factors.

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