Contract Specialist

Clarification from the agency

Career or Career-Conditional GPO Employees Only

• Determine contract type, set milestones, develop procurement strategies, prepare documentation, promote competition, solicit quotes/proposals, identify sources, and negotiate for better technical responses or more reasonable pricing.
• Process and negotiate a variety of complex acquisitions for paper, envelopes, cartons, supplies, equipment, construction, IT, and services from initiation of procurement to recommendations for the award of contract.
• Evaluate bids, perform cost/price analysis, obtain audits and pricing reports, negotiate price and/or technical issues, ensure contractor is eligible for award, and prepare documentation.
• Serve as Team Lead in direct support of the PG-14 Contract Specialist team supervisor.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a current Career or Career Conditional GPO employee to apply.
• Selectee may be required to pass preemployment requirements prior to appointment.
• Selectee must be able to obtain and maintain a Public Trust clearance level.
• Selectee must undergo a background investigations for a Public Trust clearance level.
• Selectee may be required to serve a one year probationary period.
• TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENTS: Applicants must meet time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. Applicants must have served 1 year at the next lower grade level, PG-12, or equivalent grade level of federal service to qualify.
• You must have an FAC-C Professional or FAC-C level III level certifications in contracting.
• This position requires Drug Testing.

Qualifications

To qualify for the Contract Specialist, PG - 1102 - 13 , you must meet the following requirements:

This is an internal-merit position. You must be a current career or career-conditional employee at the Government Publishing Office (GPO) to apply.

Basic Requirements:

1. 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

2. 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.

3. Exceptions: 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.

4. Waiver: When filling a specific vacant position, the senior procurement executive of the selecting agency, at his or her discretion, may waive any or all of the requirements of Paragraphs A and B above if the senior procurement executive certifies that the applicant possesses significant potential for advancement to levels of greater responsibility and authority, based on demonstrated analytical and decision making capabilities, job performance, and qualifying experience. With respect to each waiver granted under this Paragraph D, the senior procurement executive must document for the record the basis of the waiver. If an individual is placed in a position in an agency on the basis of a waiver, the agency may later reassign that individual to another position at the same grade within that agency without additional waiver action.

To qualify for the Contract Specialist, PG-13 position, applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the PG-12 grade level in the Federal Service which includes the following:

1) overseeing the best methods to regulate policy and regulations while determining contract types, procurement strategies, and negotiating complex acquisitions

and

2) evaluating bids and cost price analysis.

You must also meet the requirements in A or B below:

A. (1). The incumbent must meet the Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) (Professional) Requirement through one of the options listed below:
a. Already possess the FAC-C (Professional) Certification
b. Legacy program Federal Acquisition in Certification in Contracting (FAC-C). For the functionality of this position, must already have earned FAC-C Level II or III Certification from the Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI) or Defense Acquisition University (DAU).

NOTE: To keep FAC-C (Professional) Certification, once achieved, contracting professionals are required to earn 100 Continuous Learning Points every two years. All CLP classes shall be approved by the first line supervisor. For those who are already certified, the two-year period begins on issue date of the established training policy for contracting professionals in Acquisition Services.

(2) At least 4 years of experience in contracting or related positions including 1 year of specialized experience at or equivalent to work at the level described above;

and

(3) Completion of 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.

B. Exception: If you were in a GS/PG-1102 position on January 1, 2000, you will be exempt from meeting the educational requirements for the grade level of that position. However, to be promoted you will have to meet Option 1 or Option 3 under A.

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.

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement (07/21/2026) to be considered.

How you will be evaluated

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

Your resume will be evaluated to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications required; and on the extent to which your application shows that you possess the competencies associated with this position. To determine if you are qualified for the job, a review of your resume and supporting documentation may be made and compared against your responses to the vacancy questionnaire. You will receive a numeric rating based on your responses to the questionnaire. Your rating is based on both your responses to the questionnaire and information stated in your application. Please make sure that your self-ratings are supported by information in your application. The Human Capital Specialist may verify your qualifications and self-ratings during the application and selection process through quality review, interview questions, work samples, demonstrations, reference checks, and other means. Inflated qualifications may result in you being excluded from further consideration for this position. You will be further evaluated on the following Competencies required for the position:

• • Acquisition Strategy
  • Contracting/Procurement
  • Cost and/or Price Analysis

We DO NOT require a separate narrative statement responding to the competencies, however your resume must CLEARLY show possession of these competencies.

• The Content of Resume: Your resume, curriculum vitae, or other written form you choose to describe your job-related experiences are used to verify your qualifications. Therefore, it is important that your resume accurately reflects the duties and responsibilities under each position you have held with each employer. In describing your experience, please be clear and specific. It is your responsibility to make sure your resume states complete information for each job entry (beginning and ending dates of employment stated as MM/YYYY; and total number of hours worked per week). If your resume does not provide enough information regarding your work history for us to make a creditable qualification determination, your application package may be rendered disqualified and you will no longer be considered for this position. To assist you in sending in a complete resume, use the checklist Click Here

• SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action- If you are a current or former federal employee, you must submit a SF-50 showing the highest grade level held in the position for which you are using to qualify. Your SF-50 must also include the Position Title and Series, Step, Salary, Tenure, Position Occupied, and promotion potential (if applicable) to verify your status and eligibility. An award SF-50 is not acceptable. If you are unable to provide your most recent SF-50, you should submit a written statement explaining why it was not obtainable. This explanation should include your Position Title and Series, Step, Salary, Tenure, Position Occupied, and promotion potential. Failure to submit the required SF50 document or statement of explanation will result in an ineligible rating under merit promotion procedures.
  
  If you are unable to provide your most recent SF-50, you should submit a written statement explaining why it was not obtainable. This explanation should include your Position Title and Series, Step, Salary, Tenure, Position Occupied, and promotion potential. Failure to submit the required SF50 document or statement of explanation will result in an ineligible rating under merit promotion procedures.

• Recent Performance Appraisal -If you are a current or former federal employee, you must submit your current Fiscal Year (FY2025) Performance Appraisal showing you have performed at an acceptable level. If you are unable to submit your current Fiscal Year (FY2025) Performance Appraisal you must submit a written explanation as to why it was not obtainable. In this explanation you should include your final rating. Failure to submit your current Fiscal Year (FY2025) Performance Appraisal or a written statement explaining why it was not obtainable will disqualify you from further consideration.

• For applicants qualifying on the basis of education: School transcript(s) - official or unofficial. A transcript or list of completed courses is required if you are claiming to qualify based on your education. The information presented in the transcript must be verifiable; at the minimum the transcript or list of courses should contain the name of the institution, applicant's name, semester hours, and GPA. If you provided an unofficial transcript or list of completed courses at the time of application and you are selected you will be required to provide an official transcript prior to appointment.

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