CONTRACT SPECIALIST Job in Winooski, VT

Vacancy No. VT-12689887-AF-25-10 Department Army National Guard Units
Salary $90,431.00 to $117,565.00 Grade 12 to 12
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 2/18/2025 Close Date 3/18/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Winooski, VT


Summary

THIS IS A NATIONAL GUARD TITLE 5 EXCEPTED SERVICE POSITION.

This National Guard position is for a Contract Specialist, Position Description Number T0047000 and is part of the US Property and Fiscal Office (USPFO) Purchasing and Contracting Division of the Vermont National Guard.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

Priority Placement Program will be cleared. Area I: Current On-board Title 5 or Title 32 Dual Status Technicians (Tenure: 1-Career, 2-Conditional, 3-Indefinite or 4-Term ) - Only those current Vermont National Guard employees who are in permanent, indefinite, or term technician status as result of being competitively hired by the Vermont National Guard. Area II: All current Federal Employees from any agency. Area III: All current and former members of the VTNG. Area IV: United States citizens.

Duties

The primary purpose of this position is to ensure successful market research, acquisition planning, contract award, contract performance management, and interpretation of contract law in order to provide the best, most efficient contracting strategies in support of the organization's vision, mission, goals, and objectives.

MAJOR DUTIES:

Plans the overall approach to meet contracting program objectives for a variety of requirements with multiple complexities. Analyzes difficult/controversial contracting issues, determines, recommends and/or implements course of action which may depart from previous approaches for long-term contract performance or short-term contracts with extremely stringent time frames. Provides business advice and assistance to technical personnel involved in the development of the performance work statement/statement of work/statement of objectives or data requirements. Reviews a diverse variety of requisition packages for adequacy and compliance with administrative, regulatory, and procedural requirements and consistency with current market practices and conditions. Serves as a contracting authority and advisor to management, customers, and contractors in assignment area relative to the market, the industry, specifications, socioeconomic concerns, and similar matters. Performs acquisition planning, along with the program manager/customer, technical, legal, and finance personnel to develop market research, acquisition strategy, milestones, evaluation/source selection criteria, and/or incentive or award fee provisions, as applicable. Exercises experienced judgment, initiative, and resourcefulness to identify regulations and laws which do or do not apply to the particular procurement, to consider financial arrangements and incentives, and to develop justifications for adopting a contractual posture. Prepares required documents to support solicitation issuance and reviews and advises less experienced specialists in the preparation of documents. Determines appropriate method of procurement, contract type, and financing arrangements to fit special circumstances. Reviews and evaluates requisitions for which previous experience and historical data are not usually directly available or applicable such as complex services, architect and engineering services or environmental related construction. Reviews procurement requests to determine whether, based on market analysis, the requirement can be performed by and should be set aside for small businesses; actively solicits Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, Women-Owned Small Business, HUB Zone Small Business, and Service­/Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business participation. Reviews and may sign justification for limiting competition procurements. Procurements usually involve a variety of complexities such as socioeconomic considerations, source selections, and special handling provisions or other specialized terms and conditions, unfavorable market conditions, complex contracts, and limited competition difficult-to-define scopes of work, legal conditions, and rigid deadlines causing additional complications. Resolves problems which limit competition and discourage potential offering parties in order to increase small business participation. Obtains required business clearances and/or approvals as necessary. Conducts site visits/pre-proposal/pre-bid conferences. Serves as point of contact for assigned procurements. This position may be required to perform supervisory personnel functions including the assignment of duties, participates in the interviews and selection of employees, schedules and approves leave, provides training, evaluates performance, initiates action to upgrade positions, and resolves disciplinary problems. Supports and takes affirmative action with consideration of Equal Employment Opportunity in all aspects of personnel actions.

Oversees the procurement of a wide variety of services, supplies, construction and architect and engineering. Researches, interprets, analyzes, and applies all regulations, business and industry practices, market trends, Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Comptroller General decisions, public law, case law, and precedents. Devises special terms, provisions, clauses, and conditions applicable to the solicitation and contract as required. Ensures that the price schedule is properly structured and determines sources to be solicited. Prepares solicitation, amendment, and contract documents incorporating applicable terms, conditions, provisions and clauses. Receives and performs oversight of quotes/bids/proposals evaluations and determines the acceptability of offers based on an analysis of financial and technical information gained. Conducts price or cost analysis as needed. Recommends or determines the competitive range. Formulates negotiation strategies and identifies areas subject to negotiation

**REFER TO THE POSITION DESCRIPTION FOR FULL LIST OF DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES**

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • May be required to travel by military or commercial aircraft in the performance of TDY assignments.
  • Irregular and/or overtime (compensatory) hours may be required to support operational requirements or contingencies or may be required to work hours outside of the normal duty day.
  • Required to handle and safeguard sensitive and/or classified information in accordance with regulations to reduce potential compromise.
  • The incumbent must meet the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) requirements applicable to the duties of the position.
  • Contracting certification must be accomplished IAW DoDI 50000.66.
  • The incumbent must meet the certifications, training, and experience IAW DoDI 5000.66.
  • In accordance with the Ethics in Government Act, 1978, incumbent is required to file an OGE Form 450, Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, upon appointment and will be required to file annually.
  • The incumbent must obtain and maintain a secret security clearance.
  • This position is designated as Essential Personnel and may be subject to duty in response to, a state emergency or disaster declaration. This designation will not exceed 14 calendar days per year unless otherwise approved in advance by the TAG.
  • This position is subject to provisions of the DoD Priority Placement Program.
  • Participation in direct deposit is mandatory.
  • May be required to successfully complete a probationary period.

Qualifications

OPEN AREAS OF CONSIDERATION: AREA 1, 2, 3, 4
Area I: Current On-board Title 5 or Title 32 Dual Status Technicians (Tenure: 1-Career, 2-Conditional, 3-Indefinite or 4-Term ) - Only those current Vermont National Guard employees who are in permanent, indefinite, or term technician status as result of being competitively hired by the Vermont National Guard.
Area II: All current Federal Employees from any agency.
Area III: All current and former members of the VTNG.
Area IV: United States citizens.
* Veterans' Preference Rules are mandated by law and some applicants may receive priority consideration before other applicants without veterans' preference.

Mandatory Positive Education: Minimum education requirement a Bachelor's Degree from an accredited educational institution authorized to grant baccalaureate degrees.

DAWIA Certification: All personnel selected must meet certification requirements, DAWIA Level I - Professional certification, within 36 months of placement in the 1102 series.

Certifications Issued by Federal (non-DoD) Organizations - On 16 October 2023, The Principal Director, Defense Pricing and Contracting and the Office of Federal Procurement Policy signed a Memorandum of Understanding to recognize parity and reciprocity between the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) and the Federal Acquisition Institute's Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) (Professional). Personnel with FAC-C should provide a copy of their certification when applying for positions.

Note: The minimum education requirements listed above applies to individuals who initially accessed, promoted, reassigned, changed-to-lower grade or detailed in the NG Title 5 Excepted or Title 32 Dual Status Contracting Program, Occupational series GS-1102, as of the effective date of this qualification standard.

General Experience: Must have experience in positions supporting competencies in business, finance, risk management, project management, or supply chain management. Experience must include competencies such as skill in collecting and analyzing data and the ability to communicate clearly and effectively and other professional competencies in procurement administration or purchase card management.

Specialized Experience:Must have specific experiences, training, and competencies (Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities) that prepared the applicant to successfully perform the duties and responsibilities required by each grade. Must have one year of contracting experience at the GS-11 level. Specialized experience must demonstrate the following: (1) Performing acquisition planning including market research and knowledge of a wide variety of contracting methods that satisfy mission needs and meet customer requirements, (2) Advising Contracting Officer Representatives and advising customers on procurement preparation and development of contractually acceptable specifications, work statements, and quality assurance criteria, (3) Reviewing procurement requests to assure clarity, adequacy, and completeness, and (4) Reviewing contract terms and technical specifications to identify any special requirements

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11 Level. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials.

PART-TIME OR UNPAID EXPERIENCE: Credit will be given for appropriate unpaid and or part-time work. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of months/years.

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

OTHER CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT & NOTES:
-This position is subject to the Lautenberg amendment to the gun control act of 1968 which makes it a felony for anyone who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence to ship, transport, possess, or receive firearms or ammunition. Civilian personnel of the Department of the Defense are not exempt from this provision. This position is covered by the Domestic Violence Misdemeanor Amendment (30 Sep 96) of the Gun Control Act (Lautenberg Amendment) of 1968. An individual convicted of a qualifying crime of domestic violence may not perform the duties of this position.
--The incumbent must meet the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) requirements applicable to the duties of the position.
--The incumbent must meet the continuing acquisition education, training and experience requirements IAW DoDI 5000.66.
--In accordance with the Ethics in Government Act, 1978, incumbent is required to file an OGE Form 450, Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, upon appointment and will be required to file annually.
--The incumbent must obtain and maintain secret security clearance.
--This position is designated as Essential Personnel and may be subject to duty in preparation for, or in response to, a state of emergency or disaster declaration. This designation will not exceed 14 calendar days per year unless otherwise approved in advance by the TAG.

Please be advised:
1. Specialized experience will be used to determine qualifications for the announced position.
2. An applicant's RESUME must provide, in detail, how they meet the specialized experience listed.
3. It must be documented with "from (mm/yy)" and "to (mm/yy)" dates and description of the specialized experience.
4. If education or a degree is required as part of the "Specialized Experience", you must include transcripts.

Do not copy the specialized experience qualifications word for word and place into your resume; you must describe your personal experience as it pertains to each statement.

Education

MANDATORY POSITIVE EDUCATION-Minimum education requirement a Bachelor's Degree from an accredited educational institution authorized to grant baccalaureate degrees Note: You must upload a copy of your transcripts.)

You must provide transcripts or other documentation to support your Educational claims. To receive credit for Education, you must provide documentation of proof that you meet the Education requirements for this position.

Additional information

If you are a male applicant who was born after 12/31/1959 and are required to register under the Military Selective Service Act, the Defense Authorization Act of 1986 requires that you be registered or you are not eligible for appointment in this agency (https://www.sss.gov/RegVer/wfRegistration.aspx).

Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Once the announcement has closed, your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine if you meet the qualifications listed on this announcement. If you are minimally qualified, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses on the assessment questionnaire to determine your level of experience. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application package, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this position. If you are found to be among the top qualified candidates, you will be referred to the selecting official for employment consideration.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):

**Knowledge of The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS)**

- Knowledge of contracting principles, laws, statutes, Executive Orders, regulations, and procedures applicable to pre-award and post-award duties sufficient to plan and carry out procurement actions and administer contracts for a variety of specialized services, commodities and/or construction using a wide range of contracting methods and contract types.

- In-depth knowledge of commercial business practices and market conditions to evaluate offer acceptability, contractor responsibility, and/or contractor performance, and to determine acquisition strategy and sources.
- Knowledge of up-to-date market research procedures.

- Knowledge of a wide range of contracting methods and contract types sufficient to perform pre-award, post-award, and price/cost analysis functions.

- Knowledge of negotiation techniques and technical requirements sufficient to procure complex and/or diversified services, commodities, and/or construction.

- Knowledge of contract administration sufficient to monitor a group of diverse contracts, understanding quality assurance, inspection, acceptance, and corrective action terms and conditions.

- Knowledge of contract termination procedures sufficient to recommend or determine allowable costs, profit to be allowed, disposal of government property, and similar issues and to negotiate settlements with contractors.

- Knowledge of contract cost analysis techniques sufficient to gather and evaluate price and/or cost data for a variety of pre-award and/or post-award procurement actions.

- Knowledge of the GPC program to analyze issues and identify alternative courses of action, modify standard procedures and terms to satisfy requirements, and solve a variety of common problems.

- Knowledge of public speaking and publicity techniques sufficient to plan or conduct training sessions designed to enhance/facilitate the GPC.

- Knowledge of Contract Regulations to verify contractual documents for compliance and accuracy of terminology. Ability to interpret and clarify regulatory contractual material.

- Knowledge of standard automated systems, non-standard systems, and Web postings that affect the organization's mission execution to review and evaluate of automated systems to determine their overall effectiveness and recommend changes to improve system performance.

You will be rated on the following core competencies:

1. Leadership
2. Written Communication
3. Oral Communication
4. Contracting/Procurement
5. Compliance

Required Documents

To apply for this position, you must submit a complete Application Package which includes:

1. Resume: resume must show relevant experience, where you worked, job title, detailed duties and accomplishments written in your own words (Do not plagiarize), employer's name and address, supervisor's name and phone number, starting and ending dates (including Month and Year, e.g., 02/2017, Feb 2017, etc.), hours per week and salary. If you are a current Federal employee or previous Federal employee, provide your position title, pay plan, series and grade. Your detailed experience should be listed under each job title with starting and ending dates. Resume must show applicants name and contact information.
2. Official Transcripts

Other supporting documents (as applicable):

  • DD-214
  • Veterans Preference
  • Certifications
  • For current Federal employees: Latest SF 50, Personnel Action
  • NGB 22 (if you are a former member of the VTNG)
Helpful Hints for Applying:

- Ensure that your resume contains your full name, address and phone.
- Include details about the experience that relates to the position you are applying for.
- Be specific and always include Month and Year for the dates of your experience.
- Be sure to include your applicable military experience and explain the duties of the MOS/AFSC held.

In describing your experience, please be clear and specific. Please note that if, after reviewing your resume and or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your rating can and will be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may lose consideration for this position.

If you are using education to qualify for this position or education is a mandatory requirement to meet qualifications, You must submit copies of college transcripts that identify each course, the college or university, semester or quarter hours earned, grade and grade-point received. Submitting a certificate or a degree will not suffice. You must submit transcripts when required. Photocopies are acceptable.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the online application/Occupational Questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.
A complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration.

To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application.

Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.

After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.

You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application.


To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.

Agency contact information

Nathan Brimmer
Address
Vermont Army National Guard USPFO Purchasing and Contracting Division
789 Vermont National Guard Road, Bldg 3
Colchester, VT 05446
US

Next steps

Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email. Your application will be evaluated by the Human Resources Office to determine your eligibility for the position. After the evaluation is complete, you will receive another notification regarding the status of your application.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


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