Employee Spotlight: Ayesha Nichols, J3 Consulting Chief Contracts Officer

It takes a unique blend of professional experience and education to create the know-how to not only help organizations stay compliant, but also to help them create and manage policies, processes, and procedures from beginning to end.

As Chief Contracts Officer at J3, Ayesha Nichols not only serves a critical internal role, but her unique expertise extends to clients, as well.

With a Bachelor’s in Political Science from Cheyney University, a Master’s in Project Management from the University of Maryland, and Juris Doctorate from Howard University School of Law, Nichols is well-versed in public policy, project management, and law. This unique combination allows her to perform both her internal and external roles exceedingly well.

Internally, as the single point of contact for all J3 contractual matters, Nichols maintains a keen eye on J3’s customer satisfaction, contract management, and project operations. Working collaboratively with all departments, she oversees the life cycle of client contracts to ensure compliance and risk mitigation. In addition, she directs J3’s project operations, making quality work performance and on-time deliverables each project’s top priorities.

Externally, Nichols serves as Project Manager for J3’s FITARA Program. The Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act is overseen by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The FITARA Scorecard grades government agencies from A to F on their performance and efforts of FITARA implementation.

Nichols works directly with government agencies that require assistance with improving their FITARA Scorecard by helping them implement FITARA requirements, as well as advancing the maturity levels of key functional areas contained in the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) IT Management Maturity Model (ITMMM, versions 1 and 2).

“On one hand, with my law background, I understand the government’s FITARA and other standard requirements,” she said. “On the other hand, my project management background allows me to take it a step further by developing tools and approaches to make it easier for an agency to identify their weaknesses and strengths so they can focus on areas they could improve in order to increase their score.”

In her role at J3, Nichols helps agencies draft policies, processes, and procedures, then determines if they are correctly implementing records to show they are following them. She additionally performs reviews and mock audits to help give agencies an idea of where they might land when the GAO and OMB score them.

Before joining J3, Nichols held various leadership positions, first for 15 years at DB Consulting Group, where she helped guide strategic objectives related to contract management, quality management, and project operations. As a member of the National Contract Management Association (NCMA), she stays current with contract-related methodologies, practices, and resources.

When she is not reviewing contracts or project deliverables, you can find Nichols crocheting or caring for the bounty of plants at her Denver, Colorado, home.

Want to learn more about Nichols and the entire J3 team? Visit our Web site at www.j3llc.com