Contract Specialist

Job Details

Position Overview

Duties

• Develops, interprets, and performs procurement of goods and services using formal advertising or negotiation procedures; evaluates contract price proposals; and administers or close out of contracts.
• Provides advice and guidance to procurement customers regarding all aspects of the acquisition process, including acquisition plans, market research, and statements of work.
• Manages a buying workload of purchase requests within the Simplified Acquisition Threshold.
• Uses contracting writing program to generate Purchase Orders (PO's) or GSA Schedule Task or Delivery Orders.
• Negotiates contract modifications and the terms and cost of changes to contracts.
• Engages management and contracting officers on contracting actions, procedures, and policy matters.
• Performs the full range of contract specialist duties necessary to award, administer, and close out a variety of contract types, including fixed-price, cost, time and materials, and labor hours.
• Prepares pre-award and post-award documents, responsibility determinations, waivers, justification, and approvals for other than full and open competition, determinations, and findings.
• Generates a variety of procurement actions via GSA federal supply schedules, UNICOR, GWAC, agency BPA's and commercial sources in the open market while also applying Simplified Acquisition Procedures and Socioeconomic Programs where appropriate.

Qualifications & Requirements

Applicants must meet the following criteria in A and B below:

A) Basic Requirement:

1. Must have 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with a major in any field; or
2. Must have at least 24 semester hours in any combination of the following fields: accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, or organization and management; or
3. Must meet the basic requirement based on an EXCEPTION: occupied a GS-1102 Contract Specialist position at the GS-5 through GS-12 on January 1, 2000; or
4. Must possess an Agency-approved Waiver of any or all requirements of A and B above. I understand that I must upload the waiver document with my application.

B) Contracting Certification

This position requires a Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) Professional. You must demonstrate that you have this certification by submitting a copy of your certificate. Present Clip Dashboard demonstrating compliance for FAI's previous Continuous Learning Points (CLP) Cycle 5/1/2024 - 4/30/2026. Failure to submit your certificate will result in your application not being considered for the position. Current employees must maintain 80 CLPs every two years, which begins on the date they were certified.

In addition to the Basic Requirement and Certification described above, applicants must meet the following Qualification requirements:

GS-12: You must have one year of specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-11 Federal grade level or above utilizing a wide range of contracting methods and types to procure goods and services and administering the terms of the contract to include contract scope determinations, contract modifications, supplemental agreements, justifications, and approval reviews.

Time in Grade: Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements (one year at the next lower grade) by the closing date of announcement.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skill and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen or national.
• You must complete a background investigation to include drug testing.
• Selective Service Registration is required, as applicable.
• You must complete or have completed a one-year probationary period.
• You must maintain a bank account for direct deposit of salary.

Evaluations

• Accountability
• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Influencing/Negotiating
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Performance & Awards
• Reading Comprehension
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

Required Documents

• Official position title;
• Employer name and contact information;
• Start and end dates (month and year);
• A detailed list of duties & accomplishments,
• Your highest salary (or Federal grade/step) achieved; and
• Indicate full-time or number of hours worked per week if part-time.

1. Resume (not to exceed two pages)
2. Cover letter (optional)
3. Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) Professional
4. SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action which shows career or career-conditional tenure in the competitive service or Federal reinstatement eligibility, such as an appointment action, within-grade increase, promotion, or separation whichever is most recent. An Award or General Pay Adjustment action will not suffice.
5. An unofficial undergraduate transcript that satisfies the basic educational requirement.
6. For Federal employees, performance appraisal issued within the last 12 months
7. Veteran preference documentation, if applicable for VEOA consideration
8. Schedule A documentation, if applicable
9. For Land Management eligibles, submit a copy of your most recent SF-50 or equivalent proving eligibility for appointment under the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act.
10. Supporting documents, if applicable for other special appointment authorities
11. CTAP/ICTAP documentation, if applicable
12. Your online responses to the Occupational Questionnaire

1. You must submit a transcript, which may be unofficial, as long as it contains a full listing of courses, credit earned, grade and grade-point-average, subject area, degree(s) earned, and dates of award.
2. Your transcript must come from a nationally-accredited educational institution recognized by the Department of Education.
3. If submitting a foreign transcript, you must have the transcript reviewed by an approved foreign education review organization recognized by the Department of Education. Your transcript must also be in English or have an English translation included.

1. A copy of your DD-214, "Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty," (Member 4 copy), showing the dates of active duty, type of discharge, and character of service, OR
2. A certification letter from the armed forces that certifies you are expected to be discharged or released from active duty service in the armed forces under honorable conditions no later than 120 days after the date the certification is submitted. This letter must contain (a) military service dates including the expected discharge or release date and (b) character of service.

1. You must submit "proof of a disability" documentation ("Proof of a disability" is a letter stating that you have an intellectual disability, severe physical disability or psychiatric disability).
2. You must get this letter from your doctor, a licensed medical professional, a licensed vocational rehabilitation specialist, or any Federal, state, or local agency that issues or provides disability benefits.
3. For more information about Schedule A and verification requirements, please see OPM's Schedule A site.

1. Submit your separation notice or agency RIF letter from your agency.
2. If you have not yet been separated, provide the letter of intent to separate you from the agency because of a RIF.
3. Also submit your most recent performance appraisal and SF-50 showing current/former position, grade, promotion potential, and duty location.
4. Additional information about CTAP/ICTAP eligibility can be found at http://www.opm.gov/ctap/index.asp

• Classified or government sensitive information
• Social Security Number (SSN)
• Photos of yourself
• Personal information, such as age, religious affiliation, etc.
• Encrypted and digitally signed documents

How to Apply

1. Click the Apply Online button.
2. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
3. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date.
4. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice.
5. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials.
6. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.
7. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link.
8. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused.