Clarification from the agency

All U.S. Citizens - No prior federal experience required.

• Handles all key parts of assigned contracts and procurement programs, such as negotiating contracts, analyzing costs and prices, and managing contracts, using the authority given by the agency.
• Advises managers on important contracting issues that affect the entire agency.
• Works with other agency offices to create effective negotiation strategies and set limits.
• Represents the agency at meetings with officials from both government and private organizations.
• Prepares reports and presentations about assigned contracting and procurement work.

Conditions of employment

U.S. Citizenship is required.

All qualification requirements must be met by 01/15/2026. Your application package will not be considered if it is missing any of the required documents listed under the "Required Documents" tab.

Probationary Period. One-year probationary period may be required.

Selective Service. If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law.

Background Suitability Investigation. Continued employment is contingent upon satisfactory completion of a background investigation and the granting of a federal suitability or security clearance. If selected, you may be offered tentative employment until the background investigation has been fully adjudicated.

As part of FRTIB's Drug-Free Workplace policy, all FRTIB employees may be subject to a random drug test.

Qualifications

This announcement is issued under the Direct-Hire Authority (DHA) to recruit for positions for which there is a critical hiring need. Appointee(s) will receive a career or career-conditional appointment in the competitive service and may be required to serve a one-year probationary period. Under this DHA announcement applicants who meet the basic qualification requirements will be forwarded to the Selecting Official.

Veterans' preference, Category Rating and traditional rating and ranking of applicants does not apply under the Direct-Hire Authority.

To qualify for this position applicants must meet the Basic Experience requirement and the Specialized Experience as described below.

Basic Requirement:

• Completion of all mandatory training prescribed by the head of the agency for progression to GS-13 or higher level contracting positions, including at least 4-years experience in contracting or related positions. At least 1 year of that experience must have been specialized experience at or equivalent to work at the next lower level of the position, and must have provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the work of the position. AND
• A 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree, that included or was supplemented by 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

• Employees in GS-1102 positions will be considered to have met the standard for positions they occupy on January 1, 2000. This also applies to positions at the same grade in the same agency or other agencies if the specialized experience requirements are met. However, they will have to meet the basic requirements and specialized experience requirements in order to qualify for promotion to a higher grade, unless granted a waiver under Paragraph D.

Specialized Experience:
GS-13: Applicants must have at least one year of full-time specialized work experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the next lower level, GS-12, in the federal government.

Specialized experience is defined as:

• Developing acquisition strategies and solicitation documents to support the planning, competition, and award of contracts for services, or professional support requirements.
• Evaluating technical and price proposals to determine responsiveness, assess cost and price reasonableness, and support sound award recommendations.
• Negotiating contract terms, conditions, and pricing to reach agreements that reflect program requirements and ensure best-value outcomes for the organization.
• Administering awarded contracts--including monitoring performance, identifying issues, recommending modifications, and closing out contracts upon successful completion of the contract and payment of all outstanding obligations--to ensure contractor compliance with requirements, schedules, and performance standards.

*Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations. 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.

A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

How you will be evaluated

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

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position.

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

• Contracting/Procurement
• Cost Estimation and Analysis
• Negotiating
• Oral Communication
• Planning and Evaluating
• Problem Solving
• Writing

The USA Hire Assessments includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

To preview the application questionnaire, click on the following link https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12853887.

Please be advised, the following documents are required even if you are already a current federal employee or employee of the FRTIB:

1. Federal Resume Information: Your resume may be longer than two pages; however, only the first two pages will be reviewed when we evaluate your qualifications. Anything beyond page two will not be considered. Be sure the first two pages of your resume clearly show the relevant experience you want us to consider, including the start and end dates for each job (month, day, and year) and the number of hours you worked each week (for example, 40 hours/week). If your resume does not include this information, we may not be able to determine whether you qualify, and you may not be considered for this position. If you submit more than one resume, only the most recent version will be used to evaluate your application.

2. Responses to the occupational questionnaire.

3. You must submit supporting documents verifying your selection priority eligibility along with your application package. Omitting these documents may result in no preference being adjudicated for you. These documents may include, but are not limited to:

• ICTAP documentation. RIF separation notice along with your last performance rating or appraisal.
• Schedule A documentation. A qualifying letter from a doctor's or vocational rehabilitation office indicating you are eligible for hire under the Schedule A hiring authority.
• VA Disaiblity Letter - Letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) showing a service-connected disability of 30% or more to demonstrate eligibility for the 30%+ Disabled Veteran appointing authority.

4. College transcripts. Transcripts must be legible and possess the school name imprinted on the transcript or be on school letterhead; you may be asked to submit official transcripts upon selection.

Next steps