Contract Specialist

Clarification from the agency

All U.S. Citizens

• 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

• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Selectee must successfully pass pre-employment prior to appointment.
• Males born after 12/03/59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Selectee may be required to serve a one year probationary period.
• Selectee must be able obtain and maintain a Public Trust.
• You must have an FAC-C Professional or FAC-C level III level certifications in contracting.

Qualifications

THIS IS A DIRECT HIRE ANNOUNCEMENT. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Direct Hire Authority, authorized by 5 United States Code (U.S.C.), Section 3304 and 5 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 337, Subpart B. Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants do not apply to the Direct Hire process.

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 the next lower level of the position, and must have 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 as stated below.

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 1 and 2 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, 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.

1102 Qualifications PG-13 & above:

You must meet the requirements in A, B, or C below:

A. All of the following:
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, 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 below;
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 1 or 3 from Option A above.
C. Waiver: GPO's senior procurement executive has the discretion to waive any or all of the requirements in Option A above.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to the basic requirement stated above, you must have one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to work at the next lower grade level of the position to be filled.

PG-13: your resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the PG-12 grade level. Specialized experience 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.

Additional qualification information can be found from the following Office of Personnel Management website:https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1100/contracting-series-1102/

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 09/09/2026 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 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 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 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.

If you meet the qualifications stated above and you are among the top candidates your application may be referred to the Selecting Official for further review.

• 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.
• Proof of Contracting Certification: If you have received a FAC-C Level II, FAC-C Level III, or a FAC-C (Professional), submit a copy of your certificate. In addition to the certification, submit your Continuous Learning Points (CLPs) history identifying the completion of 80 CLPs every two years to maintain your certification. The 80 CLPs every two years shall be from the issuance date of certification to current period.
• School transcript(s): - official or unofficial. A transcript or list of completed courses is required. 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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