JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas – It’s Mission Monday. Meet Bianca Contway, the Air Force Installation Contracting Center’s Personnel and Resources chief at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
She leads a team of seven that support AFICC, a primary subordinate unit of the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center, with their personnel, training and hiring needs.
“My specific day-to-day role centers around the hiring of personnel and supporting the hiring and growth of our Premier College Intern Program and Copper Cap Program members,” she said.
We asked Contway, originally from Nussloch, Germany, to tell us a little more about herself and the work she does for the Department of the Air Force.
What do you love about your job?
Being part of the process that brings our trainees onboard. Getting to assist in their growth and learning is rewarding and also grows my knowledge base as I work as part of a Wright-Patterson AFB hiring collaborative.
When it comes to your job, what keeps you motivated?
The people. My internal team is amazing and the “Xer” family at Wright-Patt is a wealth of knowledge and experience. Working behind the scenes gives you a totally different view of civilian matters and hiring practices, and better insight into processes and procedures.
Why are you and your team important to the Air Force and Space Force enterprise and your customers?
We run a lot of the behind-the-scenes portions of what keeps people going day to day. The members of my team handle awards, decorations, appraisals, evaluations, hiring and annual training requirements, as well as many initiatives that are pushed down by headquarters Air Force and AFICC leadership.
Describe a project or event you and your team worked on recently that gave you a great sense of accomplishment:
I’m new to this position and one of the things that I have been working since I came on board is providing as much transparency and understanding of the hiring process for 1102s as possible. This includes codifying what our units can expect from the process start to finish and providing feedback and guidance on how to best prepare yourself to be competitive. I have also volunteered to be part of the team that looks to tackle the line of effort on how we retain our military members in the contracting career field once they transfer from military to civilian life.
How does what you do support AFIMSC’s strategic priorities?
The personnel and resources section of AFICC is the backbone for day-to-day operations. To allow our personnel to focus on the creation and administration of contracts, we work hiring actions, personnel transfers, provide support for award package creation and submission, and answer personnel questions for military and civilian personnel. We are also constantly striving to make processes more transparent and streamlined to allow our people to focus on the contracts that keep many facets of the Air Force running on a daily basis.
What do you like to do outside of work?
I’m an avid gym goer and currently working on my Yoga teacher certification. I also enjoy hiking, backpacking and traveling.