Crystal Harmon

Crystal Harmon with her dog Yogi hiking in Evergreen Colorado.

Photo courtesy Crystal Harmon

What is your name and job title? Crystal Harmon, Procurement Technician, FBMS Requisitioner at the Denver Service Center, Contracting Services Division.

What experience and education do you have? I graduated from Green Mountain High School and I have completed some college courses at Red Rocks Community College. I started my journey with NPS back in 2011 as a contractor. I worked at a different location, Building 41 at the Denver Federal Center in Lakewood, Colorado, where I organized and archived DSC’s file storage. When my contract ended, I was brought in-house to provide general division-wide procurement administrative support. I gathered a wide range of knowledge and experience in closeouts, award distribution, and acquisition processes. I started processing invoices and purchase requests shortly after NPS converted to Financial Business Management System (FBMS). In 2015, my position as a contractor ended and at that time, I then applied for the Procurement Technician position that I currently have. I was ecstatic to become a federal employee and since then, I have worked on the Requisition and Receiving Team.

What is a typical day like? I work very closely with my team and independently. My job duties include reviewing and processing invoices. I also review incoming purchase requests (PR’s) as well as create them for award. I provide customer service to support the technical staff, contracting division, and vendors. I work closely with the FBMS helpdesk or Accounting Operations Center (AOC) if an issue needs to be resolved that can't be done without their collaboration. Throughout a day, I am constantly reevaluating and prioritizing my workload. There is a lot of problem-solving and fast paced work required to do both invoicing and purchase requests. Every day offers a variety of communication, troubleshooting, attention to detail, data analysis and critical thinking. I really enjoy the relationship development and communication that this position offers in order to support the project teams, contracting staff and vendors.

What career advice would you give to someone who wants to follow a similar path? Find something you enjoy doing. Don’t ever pass up an opportunity to learn or challenge yourself. And, regardless of what type of work you are doing, make it matter.

What is one of the bigger projects you are working on and what about that project might surprise people? One of the biggest projects I worked on was assisting with the development and implementation of electronic invoicing. All invoices whether submitted via Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) or non-IPP are now distributed electronically allowing for more efficiencies. It has allowed for contracting officers or contracting representatives to review their invoices in a more timely manner or while on travel. The new process allows for much more flexibility in tracking and distribution.

Anything else you'd like to add? It is a pleasure and privilege to be a part of the NPS family. Every day I get to work with so many talented and dedicated people, all of which are working together to preserve our national parks.