Explore the numerous skills and competencies required for successful contracting specialist careers. In addition to understanding the acquisition process and general contracting principles, they must be adept at navigating and applying FAR regulations and guidance and developing comprehensive solicitations and contracts. In addition to technical skills, fundamental soft skills and professional skills such as ethics, team membership, communication, and documentation are critical to career development.

This course is one of four courses within the Contracting Certification Training Program, based upon specific competencies within the Contracting Training Model. The main objective of this program is to enable contracting specialists to be prepared for a career in the contracting profession.

CON 1100 aims to provide participants with both the government and industry perspective regarding key acquisition and contracting skills needed in the profession.

Who Takes This Course: This course is designed for entry-level contracting professionals and is the first of four courses preparing participants for the Contracting Certification Exam.

Course Format: Individual, small-group, and large-group exercises; lecture, discussion, case study, action planning

Learning Objectives:

• Explain how the collective acquisition team functions together to successfully accomplish the mission
• Recognize how communication and documentation impact overall contract management effectiveness
• Given a situation with lessons learned, apply acquisition life cycle principles to the management of current and future contracts

Course Topics

Introduction

• Exercise: Participant Introductions
• Contracting Certification Training Program
• Exercise: Professional Competencies

The Contracting Life Cycle

• Key Stages of the Contracting Life Cycle
• Skills and Roles of Contracting Professionals in the Contracting Life Cycle
• Business Strategies that Motivate Contractors

Contracting Principles

• Essential Elements of a Contract
• Exercise: Types of Authority-Discovery and Application
• Exercise Market Research-Discovery and Application
• Exercise: Competition-Discovery and Application
• Exercise: Fair and Reasonable Price-Discovery and Application

Understanding Regulations

• FAR Basics, Organization, and Arrangement
• DFARS and DFARS PGI Basics, Organization, and Arrangement
• Deviations from the FAR and DFARS
• Interpreting the FAR
• Determining the Applicability of Rules
• Putting It All Together

Parts of a Solicitation and Contract

• Overview of the Uniform Contract Format (UCF)
• Part I – The Schedule
• Part II-Contract Clauses
• Part III-List of Documents, Exhibits, and Other Attachments
• Part IV-Representations and Instructions
• Solicitation Provisions and Clauses
• Exercise: Lesson Review-Parts of a Solicitation and Contract

Guiding Principles

• Exercise: Ethics in Contracting
• Exercise: Team Dynamics
• Exercise: Communication and Documentation

Situational Assessment

• Exercise: Situational Assessment, Part 1
• Exercise: Situational Assessment. Part 2
• Exercise: Situational Assessment, Part 3

Final Assessment

• Final Assessment on Student Central

Credits, Certifications & Certificate Program

CLP Credits:

64

CEU Credits:

5.1

POU Credits:

56

NASBA Field(s) of Study and Credits:

Finance (64 CPEs) NASBA Level: Basic