Employee Spotlight – Astley Davy

January 18, 2022

What does a typical day in the life of a Lead Consultant – OPM Acquisition Support Site Lead look like?

As a Lead Consultant – OPM Acquisition Support Site Lead a typical day involves tracking the WBD/OPM deliverable assignments in our OPM SharePoint procurement center and ensuring that the tasks are on time.

I also discuss any upcoming deliverables with the OPM contracting staff, and any possible projected hot projects that may require specific details that need to be complied with. I’ll communicate these issues with my Lead Consultant, Huda Malik, and she’ll flow these deliverable requirements down to the members of the acquisition team.

We’ll have weekly team meetings to discuss any deliverables that the staff may have a problem with, and in many cases, we can brainstorm to reach a solution. I consult with team members to ensure that they are fully comfortable with deliverables that they have been assigned, and if they have any training requirements within the OPM database they need assistance with.

What three skills do you think are essential to fulfill your role?

The skills that I believe that are essential to fulfilling my role is I have an extensive knowledge base regarding procurement systems. In my years as a federal employee, I’ve become familiar with DoD-PS2 System, USAF Con-IT & KT Fileshare system, and OPM PRISM systems.

Supervisory and Leadership skills also make a difference when you’re tasked with leading members. Remember the “9 Traits of Exceptional Leaders” and remember that even in a “virtual environment” people are watching.

Respect – They always respect their people
Authenticity – They can’t fake authenticity
Communication – They are great communicators
Humility – Staying humble enables them to stay connected to their team
Accountability – They hold themselves accountable and expect the same of their people
Lead by Example – They model the behavior they expect
Empathy – Without empathy, they cannot build a team or nurture a new generation of leaders
Visionary – They are driven and inspired by what the future can become
Care – They show genuine care for their team

What do you like best about working at WBD?

Working at WBD has been an interesting experience. As a retired Contracting Officer, WBD gives me the ability to apply my skills, knowledge, and experience across different platforms from the contractor’s perspective. WBD gives the employee the ability to participate in the business pipeline, and see “How the sausage is made” when preparing and submitting RFI’s, RFP’s, and RFQ’s. WBD’s Executive staff has a “Can do” attitude, and this attitude is disseminated across the workforce.

How do you think current teleworking will impact the future of work?

Telework is going to be the “new” workplace. COVID variations have forced employers, where possible to place teleworking into it’s environment like pounding a square peg into a round hole. The astounding results are that teleworking works! Also, as the workplace begins to transition from Boomers to Millennial to Generation Z, employees are beginning to adopt a more comfortable “work – life” balance. Major employers are finding that employees prefer teleworking and are adopting it into its workforce. Recently Deloitte advised it’s 15,000 employees that they will adopt a hybrid work model allowing them to telework permanently. According to Deloitte “It is one of the top three reasons highly skilled workers cite in choosing an employer and 83 percent of the companies on the Fortune 100 Best Places to Work list offer virtual work options”.

Share an example of when you saw a WBD core value embodied or which resonates with you must & why? .

Recently (this week) during an award of a Task Order, against an OPM IDIQ nearly all the members of the support team had their system access disabled, and needed to have them re-established to regain access. Only one member of the 5-person team was able to continue to work, in some of the platforms. The team collaborated together, working to complete work outside the system, while She picked up multiple requirements, moved them thru several phases toward award without having impacted the customer or their service programs.