Contract Specialist Job

Vacancy No. FDA-00-DH-25-12632526-mb Department Food and Drug Administration
Salary $62,107.00 to $96,770.00 Grade 11 to 12
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 12/16/2024 Close Date 12/30/2024
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Jefferson, ARIrvine, CAAtlanta, GABoston, MA


Summary

This Direct-Hire position is in the Food and Drug Administration and is located in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Office of Operations, Office of Finance, Budget, Acquisitions, and Planning, Office of Acquisitions and Grants Services.

**The salary listed is at the base level. The geographic locality pay will be determined at the time of selection.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

You must be a U.S. Citizen or U.S. National. Foreign nationals or legal permanent residents are not eligible for consideration. This is a direct hire authority announcement. Traditional federal rules regarding rating, ranking, and veterans' preference do not apply. This vacancy will also be used to clear CTAP/ICTAP.

Duties

  • Explain revision requests to Contracting Officer’s Representatives (CORs) and other program personnel, ensuring program personnel include appropriate changes in updated SOWs.
  • Justify the need to negotiate or award the contract without full and open competition, or, in a multiple-award scenario, without providing for fair opportunity, based on business strategies and market research.
  • Prepare detailed summaries of acquisitions from inception up to point of award decision.
  • Recommend to the Contracting Officer award decisions in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, policies, and procedures, including rationale for awards.
  • Respond or prepare for the Contracting Officer responses to numerous oral and written queries from program personnel, contractors, prospective respondents, and others, such as Congressional inquiries, regarding all aspects of acquisitions.
  • Apply Federal Acquisitions Regulations (FAR)statutory and other regulatory orders and departmental policies to determine the best way to meet the requirements and acquisition plan.
  • Perform analysis of proposed prices and/or costs and requests audit support on complex actions.
  • Evaluate proposals and quotes against evaluation criteria and requests technical and pricing support, if needed, to identify offers that are acceptable or can be made acceptable.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • Citizenship Requirement: You must be a U.S. Citizen to be considered for this advertisement unless explicitly stated otherwise.
  • Direct Deposit: You will be required to have all federal salary payments electronically deposited into a bank account with a financial institution of your choice.
  • Background Investigation Requirement: All employees must pass a security investigation. Failing to pass the background check may be grounds for removal or legal action. If hired, you may be subject to additional investigations at a later time.
  • FDA participates in e-Verify: All new hires must complete the I-9 form; this information will be processed through e-Verify to determine your employment eligibility. If a discrepancy arises, you must take affirmative steps to resolve the matter.
  • Certification of Accuracy: All information concerning eligibility and qualification is subject to investigation and verification. False representation may be grounds for non-consideration, non-selection, or appropriate legal action.

Qualifications

The position of Contract Specialist falls under the 1102 occupational series. To qualify for this position at grade GS-11/12, you must meet all requirements by 11:59 pm EST on 12/30/2024.

Basic Requirements for GS-5 through GS-12

  1. A 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with a major in any field;

    -or-

  2. 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.

NOTE: Applicants must submit all relevant transcripts that demonstrate you possess the required education to meet the Basic Qualifications.

- AND -
Minimum Qualification Requirements:
Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. The specialized experience must demonstrate one year of full-time work experience , or the equivalent if part-time (for example, an employee working 20 hours per week for a 12-month period should be credited with 6 months of experience.) Experience may have been obtained in either the federal service or its equivalent with state or local government, the private sector, or nongovernmental organizations.

GS-11:
You must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 in the Federal service, which includes assisting with contracting principles, laws, statues, regulations, and procedures applicable to pre-award and post-award actions sufficient to procure and administer contracts.
-OR-
3 full academic years of progressively higher-level graduate education -OR- Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in one or a combination of the following fields: accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, or organization and management.
-OR-
Have a combination of specialized experience as described in "A" and higher graduate level education as described in "B" that, when combined, equals 100% of the total requirement.

GS-12:

You must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 in the Federal service, which includes applying contracting principles, laws, statues, regulations, and procedures applicable to pre-award and post-award actions sufficient to procure and administer contracts.; and developing and documenting a negotiation position based on price and/or cost analysis.

Exceptions: Employees in GS-1102 positions will be considered to have met the standard for positions they occupy on January 1, 2000. Employees who occupy GS-1102 positions at grades 5 through 12 will be considered to meet the basic requirements for other GS-1102 positions up to and including those classified at GS-12. This includes positions at other agencies and promotions up through grade 12. However, employees must meet specialized experience requirements when seeking another position.

Graduate Education: To qualify for GS-1102 positions on the basis of graduate education, graduate education in one or a combination of the following fields is required: accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, or organization and management.

NOTE:- FDA will not issue a contracting officers warrant to individuals hired under the authority of this announcement without FAC-C Professional certification.- Individuals hired under this announcement should become certified generally within 18 months of meeting the FAC-C Professional Certification experience requirement.-No individual hired under this announcement shall be 'promoted' to a GS-13 or higher without FAC-C Professional certification (or equivalent).

All qualification requirements must be met by 11:59 pm (Eastern Time) on 12/30/2024. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your responses when compared to your background information, you may be deemed ineligible or your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your skills and abilities. You must continue to meet all requirements through the hiring process.

You may be asked to provide additional information at a later time. All interview requests and selection decisions are at the full discretion of the hiring office.

NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date . To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account,https://secure.login.gov/, select the Application Status link and then select the More Information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Qualifications are based on breadth/level of experience. In addition to describing duties performed, applicants must provide the exact dates of each period of employment (from MM/YY to MM/YY) and the number of hours worked per week if part time. As qualification determinations cannot be made when resumes do not include the required information, failure to provide this information may result in disqualification. Applicants are encouraged to use the USAJOBS Resume Builder to develop their federal resume.

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 skills 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

TRANSCRIPTS:

Positions which are scientific or technical in nature often have very specific educational requirements. You must submit an official transcript, unofficial transcript, or a list including courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities, see the Foreign Education section below for additional requirements.

Pay careful attention to the Qualifications and Education sections to identify vacancies where a transcript is required. Even if you hold a similar position or are a current employee, you are not exempt from transcript requirements.


Electronic Transcript Caution: If you have obtained your transcripts electronically, the file might contain security measures that could prevent our application system from reading the file. Therefore, you should consider asking the institution to provide the file in a non-secured electronic format. Alternatively, you could scan or take a photo of the printed copy of the transcript. If your uploaded transcript cannot be read by our system, you may receive consideration and credit for the information we can access.

See the Application Manager Documentation for tips on submitting your paper-based documents.


FOREIGN EDUCATION
Applicants using part, or all of their education completed outside of the U.S. to meet the qualification requirements, must have their foreign education evaluated by an accredited organization to ensure that the foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited educational institutions in the U.S. We will only accept the completed foreign credential evaluation.

To be acceptable, the foreign credential evaluation must include/describe at a minimum, the following information: (1) The type of education received by the applicant; (2) The level of education in relation to the U.S. education system, and state that its comparability recommendations follow the general guidelines of the International Evaluation Standards Council; (3) The content of the applicant's educational program earned abroad, and the standard obtained; (4) The status of the awarding foreign school's recognition and legitimacy in its home country's education system; and (5) Any other information of interest such as what the evaluation service did to obtain this information, the qualifications of the evaluator, and any indications as to other problems such as forgery. Note: Some positions require the completion of specific courses or a specified number of credit hours. Therefore, the foreign credential evaluation should provide information similar to that of an official transcript, to include a list of the courses taken, quarter and/or semester hours awarded, the cumulative grade point average (GPA), honors received, if any, date degree awarded.
Applicants can request an evaluation from a member organization of one of the two national associations of credential evaluation services listed below:

  1. National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES)
  2. Association of International Credentials Evaluators (AICE)
Credential evaluations are not free, and applicants are responsible for the cost of the selected service.
For more information about this requirement, please visit the https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/

Additional information

For some advertisements, the Food & Drug Administration receives hundreds, even thousands, of applications from job-seekers. Because of this high level of interest in positions with the FDA, the agency reserves the option of setting an application number limit.

When an application limit is set, USAJOBS will close the vacancy at 11:59 pm Eastern Time on either:
(A) the day the limit is reached,
-OR-
(B) the pre-defined closing date of 12/30/2024, whichever comes first.
If the limit is reached before 11:59 pm ET, all applications in excess of the limit will continue to be accepted until 11:59 pm ET.
The application limit, if applicable, for this advertisement is: 100.

For more information about announcement closing, see: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/faq/job-announcement/expiration/

Additional Conditions of Employment:
  • Pre-employment physical required: No
  • Drug testing required: No
  • License required: No
  • Mobility agreement required: No
  • Immunization required: No
  • Bargaining Unit: Yes, 3591
  • Telework eligible position: Telework is at the discretion of the supervisor.
.
  • Additional Information:
  • Incentives may be authorized; however, this is contingent upon funds availability. If authorized, certain incentives will require you to sign a service agreement to remain in the Federal government for a period of up to 3 years. Note: This statement does not imply nor guarantee an incentive will be offered and paid. Incentives include the following: moving expenses, recruitment or relocation incentive; student loan repayment, superior qualifications appointment, creditable service for annual leave for prior non-federal work experience or prior uniformed military service, etc.
  • Additional selections may be made for similar positions across the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) within the local commuting area(s) of the location identified in this announcement. By applying, you agree to have your application shared with interested selecting official(s) at HHS. Clearance of CTAP/ICTAP will be applied for similar positions across HHS.
  • If you are serving, or have served in the last 5 years (from 12/30/2024) as an Executive Branch political, Schedule C, or Non-career SES appointee, HHS/FDA may be required to obtain approval by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) prior to beginning employment. You can find out if you have held one of these appointment types by looking at your Standard Form 50s in your Electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF), in Section 5 where the legal authorities are listed. If you have served or are currently serving, you must provide a copy of your SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, documenting this appointment. In addition, you will be required to respond to the question in the assessment and certify your responses to the questionnaire. See https://www.opm.gov/frequently-asked-questions/political-appointees-and-career-civil-service-positions-faq/ for more.
All requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement (12/30/2024); only education and experience gained by this date will be considered. You must continue to meet all requirements throughout the entire hiring process.

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.

This is a direct hire announcement. Traditional rating and ranking of applications, and veterans' preference does not apply to this vacancy. We will evaluate you against the basic qualifications. Qualified applicants will be referred for consideration in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management direct hire guidelines. Note: Volunteer experience can also be used as qualifying experience.

Once the job opportunity announcement closes (at 11:59 pm Eastern Time on 12/30/2024), a review of your résumé and supporting documentation will be conducted, the information will be compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine your eligibility for Federal employment, and then whether you are qualified for this particular position. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your responses when compared to your background information, you may be deemed ineligible.

If you are referred to the hiring manager for consideration, you may be further evaluated based on an interview; review of requested work samples, writing samples, most recent performance evaluation(s), or professional references; or results of an oral presentation or work-related test. Failure to comply with any of the additional assessment requirements will result in removal from further consideration. These assessment methods/tools may also be listed under Key Requirements.

Interagency / Career Transition Assistance Program (I/CTAP): Well-Qualified is defined as an applicant who meets the qualification standards and eligibility requirements for the position, including minimum educational and experience requirements; any medical qualifications and suitability; is able to perform the essential duties of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation; meets any applicable selective placement factors for the position (such as the ability to speak a specific language or any other factor required immediately upon hire); and is able to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry. Learn more on the USAJOBS Career Transition Assistance Site.

Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

This position may require financial disclosure reporting and will be subject to FDA's prohibited financial interest regulation. If you are hired, you may be required to divest of certain financial interests. You are advised to seek additional information on this requirement from the hiring official before accepting any job offers. For more information please visit the FDA Ethics web page: https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/jobs-and-training-fda/ethics

Required Documents

Resume: At a minimum, your resume should list the position title, employer name, start and end dates (including month and year), salary (or grade and step), hours worked per week, and a list of duties performed or accomplishments, for EACH position listed. A CV (curriculum vitae) may not contain enough information to meet these resume requirements.


Transcripts and Professional Licensure: If the position has an education or licensure requirement or you are qualifying based on education, unofficial transcripts or a list of courses and a copy of your professional license must be provided. See the Qualifications and Education Requirements section of this announcement.

I/CTAP:
If you are a current/former Federal employee who is surplus or displaced, please submit supporting documentation (e.g., a Certification of Expected Separation, separation notice, RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal, SF-50 for RIF separation, etc.) and your most recent performance appraisal. To be selected under I/CTAP, you must be found well-qualified for this position and have a current performance appraisal rating of at least "Fully Successful". See the How You Will Be Evaluated section for the agency's definition of well-qualified. Learn more on the USAJOBS Career Transition Assistance Site.

Veterans' Preference: Veterans must submit a DD-214 form (Certificate of Release or Discharge) that has the dates of service and discharge status and VA disability letter (if applicable).
  • Active Duty Members: To claim status under the VOW (Veterans Opportunity to Work) to Hire Heroes Act of 2011, submit written documentation from the armed forces that certifies the service member is expected to be discharged or released from active duty service in the armed forces under honorable conditions not later than 120 days after the date the certification is submitted with your application package.
  • Parents of Deceased or Disabled Veterans: To claim preference, you must submit a copy of the deceased or disabled veterans' DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from the armed forces that has the dates of service and discharge status AND the SF-15, Application for 10-point Veterans' Preference. Please follow the instructions in the SF-15 on required documentation to be submitted.
  • Widow or Widower: To claim preference, you must submit a copy of the deceased or disabled veterans' DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from the armed forces that has the dates of service and discharge status AND the SF-15, Application for 10-point Veterans' Preference. Please follow the instructions in the SF-15 on required documentation to be submitted.
  • Spouse of a Living Veteran: To claim preference, you must submit a copy of the veterans' DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from the armed forces that has the dates of service and discharge status AND the SF-15, Application for 10-point Veterans' Preference, and Documentation of Veteran's Inability to Work Because of a Service-Connected Disability. Please follow the instructions in the SF-15 on required documentation to be submitted.

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 positions with the Food & Drug Administration, you must have a https://secure.login.gov/ account, and be signed in to that account, before you click "Apply Online". See the USAJOBS Help Site article "How does the application process work?" for more on this process. Additionally, you must provide a resume and any required supporting documentation listed on the announcement, and you must complete all assessment questionnaires BEFORE 11:59 pm Eastern Time on the closing date of this announcement, 12/30/2024. We recommend that you start the application process early enough that you can complete and submit your application before this deadline.

Please note that you cannot submit documentation or make changes to your application after the close date.

If you would like to learn how to use USAJOBS including: accessing and managing your account, adding saved documents, building a resume, or starting an application; we recommend you visit the USAJOBS How To site, and read up on any topic that you need help with. This site is located at: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/. Additionally, if you need technical assistance with USAJOBS (such as account issues) please visit the main USAJOBS Help site at: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/. FDA's Applicant Help Desk is not able to support USAJOBS-related issues.

The Food & Drug Administration uses a system called Application Manager (USA Staffing) to post jobs and accept applications. If you are not familiar with Application Manager or encounter any difficulty with the site, we recommend that you review the Applicant HELP Site at: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Applicant. This help site contains step-by-step instructions for completing the application process, submitting documentation, and completing questionnaires, and should be very helpful to you!

You are encouraged to apply online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application. The FDA will provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities who are not able to apply online. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process, please contact the Applicant Help Desk. Decisions on granting a reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

If after reviewing the USAJOBS and Application Manager help sites, you're not able to find the answer to your question or concern, or if you wish to request a reasonable accommodation, please contact the FDA Applicant Help Desk at 866-807-3742, or e-mail QuickQuestions@fda.gov. The Applicant Help Desk is staffed between the hours of 7am and 6pm Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except for government holidays. If you contact the Applicant Help Desk, please provide the following Vacancy Identification Number (VIN) 12632526 so that we may assist you faster.

Agency contact information

FDA Applicant Help Desk
Address
FDA Office of Operations
10903 New Hampshire Ave
Silver Spring, MD 20993
US
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

HHS has a critical preparedness and response mission: HHS protects the American people from health threats, researches emerging diseases, and mobilizes public health programs with domestic and international partners. In support of this mission, HHS offers its employees the opportunity to volunteer to become Federal Civilian Detailees and contribute their unique skills through voluntary temporary assignments to humanitarian emergencies or Departmental priorities countering new and emerging health, safety, and security threats.

Once your application is submitted you will receive an acknowledgement email that your submission was successful. Qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration and possible interview.

You will receive application status updates by email and on USAJOBS as the process unfolds.


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


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