Photo By Chief Petty Officer Stephen Hickok | DCMA Contracts’ Amanda Parker, Procurement Center director, Mary Smith, contracting...... read more read more
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FORT LEE, Va. - Since 1997, the Defense Contract Management Agency has had a Keystone program in place to bolster the agency’s acquisition work force and develop future leadership.
Most Keystones are assigned to contracts (1102 series), quality assurance (1910 series), and engineering (800 series) career fields at contract management offices.
While most Keystones undergo training and developmental assignments at CMOs around the world, a handful of Keystones, like Jeremy Reeves, complete their commitment at the agency’s headquarters here and graduate to filling positions unique to the agency’s mission.
As a contract specialist in AQ’s Procurement Center, Reeves procures products and services in direct support of the agency. At first Reeves started with purchases under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold ($150,000) and much of his earlier time as a Keystone was spent shadowing other contract specialists to learn the center’s processes and procedures.
As Reeves’ became more knowledgeable he assumed additional responsibilities, including building solicitations, evaluating offers, negotiating, awarding and managing contracts. Currently, his proficiency has earned him the assumption of contracting actions in excess of $800,000.
“Jeremy's can-do attitude is inspiring,” said Amanda Parker, Procurement Center director. “He is proactive, willing to take on new responsibilities, thirsts for knowledge, and is always asking to be challenged. Jeremy is constantly looking for ways to better manage and attack his workload. His future potential within not only the Procurement Center, but all of DCMA, will be limitless.”
Parker is a 12-year veteran of the Defense Logistics Agency, and most recently their Integrated Supply Team Lead in the Engines and Airframes Division. She joined DCMA in November 2013, and has mentored Reeves during the last four months of his stint as a Keystone.
Richard Deiter, Procurement Analyst for AQ’s Business Process Analysis and Development Division and former Procurement Center director, supervised and mentored Reeves during his first 32 months as a Keystone.
“Anyone can buy,” said Deiter, “however, a superior contract specialist like Reeves will continually engage the customer, keeping them informed of the procurement process, ask probing questions that can improve upon the product or service, and challenge the norm to create something better. These attributes provides the agency with contracts that afford the best possible product at a highly competitive price.”
Reeves’ Keystone mentorship covered an assortment of subject matters that included customer service, market research, pricing techniques, negotiations, and authoring various action memorandums and contractor correspondence.
According to Parker, Reeves’ workload and job difficulty has ramped up into more stringent metrics with his transitioning from the Keystone program, requiring that he be even more capable and proficient in procuring products and services for the agency.
Prior to joining DCMA’s Keystone program, Reeves was a contractor for the National Industries for the Blind’s AbilityOne program.
“When I started the program I had a basic knowledge of contracting from my time spent as a contractor,” said Reeves. “But after all the DAU/DAWIA classes combined with all the wonderful co-workers and mentors in the office, I felt as if I've really grown professionally.”
“I believe Keystones breathe new life into the agency,” he continued. “Personally, I've tried to do this by asking why something is done a certain way instead of just how it has been done in the past. It's easy to get complacent and I feel Keystones can use their time to influence positive change in the agency.”
Reeves said his future aspirations with the agency include becoming DAWIA Level III certified, becoming a warranted contracting officer, and learning and experiencing more facets of the acquisition field as he grows with the agency.
“The Keystone program has been a wonderful transitional program to take me from a college graduate with very little experience to a DAWIA Level II certified contracting specialist,” said Reeves. “The combination of on-the-job training requirements and the DAWIA courses gave me the experience to become proficient in a wide variety of 1102 functions.”
Reeves expressed his appreciation for the role Deiter and Parker have had in his career development.
“Mr. Deiter was my first supervisor when I started at DCMA and he really took the time to be a good mentor and ensure I had all the support I needed,” said Reeves. “His dedication to my training and growth is definitely something that I will always appreciate. And in the relatively short amount of time Ms. Parker has been with the Procurement Center, she has already shown that she is a wonderful mentor and a great asset to my future.”
| Date Taken: | 04.10.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 05.13.2014 13:35 |
| Story ID: | 129640 |
| Location: | FORT LEE, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 109 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, AQ Keystone earns key to success, by Nick D'Amario, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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