Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) Competencies
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- Attention to Detail
Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail. - Decision-Making
Makes sound, well informed, and objective decisions; perceives the impact and implications of decisions; commits to action, even in uncertain situations, to accomplish organizational goals; causes change. - Flexibility
Is open to change and new information; adapts behavior or work methods in response to new information, changing conditions, or unexpected obstacle; effectively deals with ambiguity. - Influencing/Negotiating
Persuades others to accept recommendations, cooperate, or change their behavior; work with others towards an agreement; negotiates to find mutually acceptable solutions. - Integrity/Honesty
Contributes to maintaining the integrity of the organization; displays high standards of ethical conduct and understands the impact of violating these standards on an organization, self, and others; is trustworthy. - Interpersonal Skills
Shows understanding, courtesy, tact, empathy; develops and maintains relationships; deals with difficult people; relates well to people from varied backgrounds; is sensitive to individual differences. - Oral Communication
Expresses information to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information; makes clear and convincing presentations, listens to others; attends to nonverbal cues. - Planning and Evaluating
Organizes work, sets priorities, determines resource requirements, determines goals and strategies; coordinates with other organizations, monitors progress; evaluates outcomes. - Problem Solving
Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and make recommendations. - Project Management
Develops and maintains a workable plan and manages resources to accomplish the overall goal of the project; plans, manages and follows through to ensure the smooth flow and timely completion of activities that deliver project results; anticipates obstacles or gaps that would impact project success and works to continuously improve the agency's capability to achieve success. - Reasoning
Identifies rules, principles, or relationships that explain facts, data or other information; analyzes information and makes correct inferences or accurate conclusions. - Self-Management/Initiative
Sets well-defined and realistic personal goals; displays a high level of initiative, effort, and commitment towards completing assignments in a timely manner; works with minimal supervision; is motivated to achieve; demonstrates responsible behavior. - Teamwork
Encourages and facilitates cooperation, pride, trust; fosters commitment; works with others to achieve goals. - Writing
Recognizes or uses correct English grammar, punctuation, and spelling; communicates information in a succinct and organized manner, produces written information that is appropriate for the intended audience.
Technical Competencies and Aligned Skills
Acquisition Planning
Assist in the planning and implementation of strategies needed to assure that supplies and services are available when needed to meet mission requirements.
- Documenting the Source- Assist in determining whether a written source selection plan is necessary, and if so, properly documenting the source selection planning.
- Methods of Payment- Assist in the selection of the most appropriate method of payment that will best minimize the Government's overhead.
- Contract Financing- Assist in determining whether to provide for Government financing, and, where necessary, the method of financing to use.
- Unpriced Contracts- Assist in the preparation of unpriced orders and contracts.
- Recurring Requirements- Assist in determining whether and how to provide for recurring requirements.
- Pricing Arrangements- Assist in the selection of the most appropriate pricing arrangements(s) to solicit.
- Compliance to FAR Guidelines- Assist the CO with compliance of applicable FAR guidelines when acquiring products and services.
- Determining Need for EVM- Mitigate potential problems with cost, schedule, and technical risks.
- Task and Delivery Order Contracting- Suggest possible ordering vehicles to the CO in order to assist in determining the appropriate vehicles and submitting work package to request work under the contract.
- Strategic Planning- Advise customers on their acquisition-related roles and in the development and implementation of strategies needed to assure that supplies and services are available when needed to meet mission requirements.
Market Research (Understanding the Marketplace)
Conduct, collect and analyze relevant market information and identify possible sources for the acquisition through effective market analysis and industry knowledge.
- Market Research- Conduct, collect, and apply market based research to understand the market place/requirement to provide the sources for a supply or service, the terms and conditions under which those goods/services are sold to the general public, and assist the CO on the best way to meet the need.
- Collecting Source Information- Gather all information related to the potential sources of an acquisition as well as, for commercial items, the terms and conditions under which the sources sell the goods and/or services involved.
Defining Government Requirements in Commercial/Non-Commercial Terms
Define the necessary requirements to determine or develop offer evaluation factors that will discriminate between offerors that tie back to the technical requirements included in the solicitation and assist the CO in determining the most appropriate method of acquisition for each procurement request.
- Writing Statements of Work- Create statements of work, SOOs and other related documents.
- Conducting Needs Analysis and Preparing Requirements Documents- Perform an analysis, based on standard methodology, to identify all requirements and obligations in order to assist in the development of requirements documents.
- Assisting in the Development of Acquisition Strategy- Assist the CO with the development of an appropriate acquisition strategy.
Effective Pre Award Communication
Assist CO with technical issues related to industry questions concerning the procurement, conducting pre-proposal and pre-bid conferences, and protecting procurement sensitive information.
- Publicizing Proposed Acquisitions- Recommend to CO additional methods of publicizing the proposed procurement when appropriate.
- Subcontracting Requirements- Recommend appropriate requirements be put into solicitations for subcontracting or make-or-buy situations.
- Solicitation Preparation- Assist in the preparation of a written solicitation, providing guidance as needed in the selection of the appropriate provisions and clauses for the requirement.
- Pre-Quote/Pre-Bid/Pre-Proposal Conferences- Assist with the pre-quote, pre-bid, or pre-proposal conference when appropriate and maintain an accurate record of the meeting.
- Amending/Canceling Solicitations- Provide input into the amendment or cancelation of a solicitation when it is in the best interest of the Government and/or Agency.
Technical Analysis of Proposals
Evaluate technical proposals against the evaluation criteria and participate in the evaluation of cost proposals; assist in best value trade-off analysis; evaluate past performance information and contact references if the CO delegates this responsibility; assist in the evaluation of return on investment (ROI).
- Evaluating Non-Price Factors- Apply non-price factors in evaluating quotations, proposals, and past performance.
- Pricing Information from Offerors- Assist in determining what pricing information to require from offerors when requested by CO.
- Evaluation Documentation- Ability to clearly document reasoning behind proposed evaluation.
Negotiation
Assist in the planning of negotiation positions and preparation of negotiation strategies, conducting a negotiation session, and documenting the elements of the negotiated agreement when requested by the CO.
- Negotiation Strategy- Assist CO in preparing a negotiation strategy that will permit negotiators to maximize the Government's ability to obtain best value.
- Conducting Discussions/Negotiations- Assist CO in conducting a negotiation session and negotiating an agreement on cost/price, terms and conditions.
- Determining Capability- Assist in determining and documenting the capability of a firm to effectively perform the terms and conditions of the contract.
Effective Contract Management
Communicate to the CO any recommended scope changes or other changes that may result in the modification to the contract, recognize the impact of changes on milestones, and identify and resolve technical problems and develop alternative solutions; participate in IBRs and analyze EVM data.
- Contract Administration Planning and Orientations- Define the COTR roles and responsibilities by knowing the terms and conditions to which they are assigned; and participate in post-award orientation meetings to review contract milestones and responsibilities.
- Contract Modification and Adjustment- Request/recommend contract modifications or adjustments and provide appropriate documentation for the request to the CO.
- Work Order Management- Submit work package to request work under the contract.
Performance Management
Monitor contract performance and recommend necessary action to the CO, in order for the CO to protect the rights of the Government, and use performance metrics to evaluate actual performance against goals.
- Performance Metrics- Monitor performance by evaluating actual performance processes, workflow requirements, and outputs against pre-determined goals.
- Performance Management- Monitor contract performance and recommend to the CO any necessary action related to delays in contract performance or the need to stop work under the contract, and document past performance by accurately characterizing the contractor's actual performance.
- Financial Management- Monitor the contractor's financial progress and assist the CO with contract enforcement; technical cost, schedule and performance, for all contracts. Review and as authorized, approve contractor payment requests, review interim invoices (cost reimbursement, LH and T&M contracts) to make sure charges are commensurate with observed performance. Report any discrepancies in invoices to the CO and provide documentation to support the representation.
- Contract Reporting- Monitor and verify contract expenditures, anticipated funding issues or over runs, contract schedule compliance and anticipated schedule delays, contract technical performance and compliance with terms and conditions of the contract to the contracting officer in an efficient and timely manner.
- Inspection and Acceptance- Inspect and accept deliveries and services by inspecting deliverables and monitoring services for conformance with contract/order/agreement terms and conditions, and accept or reject them. Ensure compliance and completion by the Contractor of all required operations, including the preparation of the any forms (ex. Material Inspection and Receiving Reports) or equivalent which shall be authenticated and certified by the COTR that the services/supplies have been received and are acceptable. Process inspection report as supporting documentation for payment and maintain documentation of all inspections performed including disposition of the results.
- Specialized Requirements- Perform contract surveillance and ensure contractor compliance with environmental, health and safety issues for the special requirements inherent in a hazardous material, services contracts, and construction contracts.