1. United States Department of Agriculture Office of Procurement and Property Management USDA Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting Mentoring Opportunities August 2008 Attachments

2. 2  According to the FAC-C guidance dated 1/20/06, mentoring is one of the many ways to accumulate continuous learning points (CLPs).  USDA is strengthening the acquisition workforce by encouraging the use of mentoring. FAC-C Training

3. 3 Mentoring Defined  Mentoring is when a role model, supervisor, or colleague serves as a counselor or teacher to another in order to relay knowledge and experience in a particular area of expertise.  Mentor  A person who shares contracting experience, knowledge, and wisdom with a protégé  Provides guidance, recommendations and coaching through the mentoring process  Protégé  A person who receives support, advice and knowledge from an experienced Contracting Specialist to improve his/her acquisition competencies

4. 4 Mentors Should Have…  Confidence  A minimum of 1-2 hours to devote to a mentoring session  Patience  A positive, professional attitude  Good communication skills  Experience in Government contracting  A sincere interest in another’s growth

5. 5 Protégés Should Have…  A minimum of 1-2 hours to devote to a mentoring session  A sincere interest in acquiring and expanding his/her knowledge in Government contracting  A positive, professional attitude  Good listening skills  An open mind

6. 6 Why Choose Mentoring?  Contributes directly to the success and improvement of the USDA Acquisition Workforce  Equates to one Continuous Learning Point (CLP) for every hour of participation up to 20 CLPs per year for both mentors and protégés  Promotes career development within USDA  Enhances participants’ resumes  Provides a truly rewarding experience for both parties  Promotes professional growth through feedback

7. Suggested Mentoring Process  Obtain approval from your supervisor or training manager.  Agree on the terms with your mentor or protégé  Decide on the number of hours for each mentoring session (e.g., single incident, daily, weekly, monthly)  Identify the skills to build or improve during the sessions  Determine the objectives of each session  Identify what you would like to gain from the experience  Focus on in-person mentoring opportunities, but long-distance is acceptable (e.g., teleconference, video conference)  Maintain a log of mentoring activities to include:  Dates and number of hours spent for each mentoring activity  A brief description of the activity  The names of the mentor and protégé involved with each activity  Upon successful completion of your activity, document training in ACMIS 7

8. 8 Mentoring to Improve Acquisition Competencies  Consider mentoring opportunities with other Contracting Specialists to improve your acquisition competencies focusing on:  Effective Negotiation- See Exhibit 1 for a description of suggested mentoring activities  Effective Performance Management and the Use of Performance Metrics – See Exhibit 2 for a description of suggested mentoring activities  Mid to senior-level specialists should seek opportunities to practice negotiating and administering high-dollar value or high-profile contracts  Seek opportunities either within or outside your agency  Focus on certain acquisition competencies by:  Demonstrating certain skills to your protégé or,  Observing those skills being performed by your mentor

9. 9 Effective Negotiation Skills  Demonstrate or observe these skills during the mentoring sessions:  Coaching the Government team to obtain best value  Controlling a meeting to resolve complex issues  Applying negotiation tactics  Making sound business decisions  Handling difficult people  Negotiating tradeoffs for both the vendor and Government  Maintaining a positive outlook and displaying a professional image  Calmly and effectively dealing with high stress situations  Being open to new information during the negotiation  Thinking outside the box  Maintaining honesty and integrity of the acquisition process

10. 10 Effective Performance Management Skills  Demonstrate or observe these skills during the mentoring sessions  Obtaining feedback from the COR/COTR on contractor performance or deliverables  Verifying and documenting evidence of performance problems  Evaluating the legal considerations of a performance problem  Determining potential impacts of any problems on cost, schedule, and other requirements  Resolving problems informally and formally depending on your assessment of the situation  Assessing the reasons and benefits of invoking formal contract remedies like Stop Work Orders  Investigating potential or actual delays  Thoroughly documenting the contract file with monitoring activities, evidence of problems, and actions taken to resolve problems

11. 11 “ I would suggest finding any way possible to watch, learn, and be involved; make the effort to develop mentoring relationships whenever possible.” Randy West “Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.” John C. Crosby Choose Mentoring