Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open to all U.S. Citizens. This position may be filled through the Direct Hire Authority for **Contract Specialist** positions. All applicants who meet the qualification requirements will be forwarded to the selecting official for further consideration. Category Rating, Veterans Preference, Schedule A and traditional rating and ranking of applicants does not apply to this vacancy.

APPLICATION LIMIT: This vacancy announcement is limited to the first 200 applications received and will close at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the day that we receive the 200th application, or at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the listed closing date, whichever occurs first.  

We encourage you to read this entire vacancy announcement prior to submitting your application.

As a Contract Specialist, GS-1102-13, you will be responsible for:
• Serving as a Contract Specialist who assists with all pre-award and post-award procurement actions.    
• Reviewing requests for procurement of complex supplies and/or services.    
• Recommending necessary revisions to statements of work and provides advice on an effective overall acquisition strategy.    
• Assisting with drafting solicitation documents, justifications, and other required clearances for sufficiency.    
• Providing input to high-level managers regarding procurement program issues, policies, and trends.

As a Contract Specialist, GS-1102-14, you will be responsible for:
• Serving as a Senior Contract Specialist who independently leads all pre-and post-award procurement actions.
• Finalizing review of requests for procurement of complex supplies and/or services.    
• Determining necessary revisions to statements of work and provides guidance on an effective overall acquisition strategy.  
• Finalizing solicitation documents, justifications, and other required clearances for sufficiency.
• Designating Contracting Officer Representatives (COR) for assigned contracts and partners with CORs to assess contract performance, document/resolve performance issues, and verify deliverables.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a United States citizen to apply.
• You may be subject to serve a one-year probationary period.
• Males 18 and over must be registered with the Selective Service.

Condition of Employment:

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a probationary period or trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: • your performance and conduct; • the needs and interests of the agency; • whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and • whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period OR trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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. We will consider all qualifying experience, including any volunteer experience.

Current Contract Specialist must provide a copy of their Federal Acquisitions Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) (Professional) or equivalent.

Applicants must obtain and maintain Federal Acquisitions Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) (Professional) within 12 months of the hiring date.

Qualifications

You must meet the following selective placement factor:

SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR

The candidate must hold a current Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C (Professional)) certification or equivalent or meet the experience, education and training to complete the examination to obtain the certification within 12 months of starting the position. 

Basic Experience Requirements:

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, quantitativemethods, or organization and management.

Minimum Qualification Requirements:

You may meet the minimum qualifications for the GS-13, if you possess the specialize experience.

Specialized Experience for the GS-13

One year of experience in either federal or non-federal service that is equivalent to at least a GS-12 performing two (2) out of three (3) of the following duties or work assignments:

1. Experience administering a broad range of federal contract methods and techniques.
2. Experience facilitating pre- and post-award procurements in order to monitor contracts. 
3. Experience in identifying and resolving problems of changing program requirements, and to evaluate the feasibility of applying new approaches to previously unsolvable problems.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) 

The quality of your experience will be measured by the extent to which you possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs). You do not need to provide separate narrative responses to these KSAs, as they will be measured by your responses to the occupational questionnaire (you may preview the occupational questionnaire by clicking the link at the end of the Evaluations section of this vacancy announcement).

1.    Knowledge of acquisition planning, contract types and methods of contracting.
2.    Skill in contract administration sufficient to administer service contracts.
3.    Skill in negotiation techniques in order to conduct negotiation in both the acquisition of the service and the post award functions of the contract.
4.    Skill in applying applicable regulatory and advisory guidelines and source materials regarding the source selection.
5.    Skill in oral and written communication to award and administer contracts or perform evaluations of contractor performance.

Specialized Experience for the GS-14

One year of experience in either federal or non-federal service that is equivalent to at least a GS-13 performing two (2) out of  three (3) of the following duties or work assignments:

1.  Experience executing the regulations, policies, and practices of federal acquisitions and program management to sufficiently develop acquisition packages covering multi-year programs. 
2.  Experience executing post-award procurements in order to effectively manage contractor performance; make changes, modifications, and execute the procurement plan. 
3.  Experience analyzing, evaluating, and making recommendations to resolve significant issues or changes in program requirements within regulations, policies and procedures to ensure compliance of major acquisitions.    

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) 

The quality of your experience will be measured by the extent to which you possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs). You do not need to provide separate narrative responses to these KSAs, as they will be measured by your responses to the occupational questionnaire (you may preview the occupational questionnaire by clicking the link at the end of the Evaluations section of this vacancy announcement).

1.    Knowledge of acquisition planning, contract types and methods of contracting.
2.    Skill in contract administration sufficient to administer service contracts.
3.    Skill in negotiation techniques in order to conduct negotiation in both the acquisition of the service and the post award functions of the contract.
4.    Skill in applying applicable regulatory and advisory guidelines and source materials regarding the source selection.
5.    Skill in oral and written communication to award and administer contracts or perform evaluations of contractor performance.

How you will be evaluated

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

We will review your application and documentation submitted to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. We will refer the best qualified candidates to the Selecting Official of the job for further review and consideration. You will be evaluated to determine if you meet qualifications required, and on the extent to which your application shows that you possess the knowledge, skills and abilities associated with this position as defined below. Please be sure to give examples in your resume and explain how often you used these skills, the complexity of the knowledge you possessed, the level of people you interacted with, and the complexity and sensitivity of the issues you handled.

CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above), based on an evaluation of their applications; possessing the knowledge, skills, and abilities which clearly exceed the minimum qualification requirements for the position.

• Your resume should include relevant work experience, applicable education and your contact information. For current or previous federal employees, include the pay plan, series and grade.

You must submit (REQUIRED FOR ALL APPLICANTS):

• A resume demonstrating your education, experience, training, and accomplishments as it relates to the qualifications for this position and substantiating your responses to the occupational questionnaire. 

  Please limit your resume to 2 pages with the font size no smaller than 10 points.  If your resume is more than 2 pages, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed and considered for the qualifications determination. 

• Current Contract Specialist must provide a copy of their Federal Acquisitions Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) (Professional) or equivalent.
• If you are claiming Veteran's Preference, you must submit: A copy of your DD-214 that shows active service and character of discharge, OR A certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions within 120 days from the date of application (Current Active Duty Members only); AND/OR The Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference (SF-15) AND all documents indicated on the form as proof of type of preference; AND/OR Proof of Sole Survivorship Preference (e.g., certificate of death or 100% disability as a result of serving in the armed forces).
• Are you claiming special priority selection rights under the Interagency/Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP/CTAP)?
• If you are a current or former Federal employee who was displaced (for example, due to a Reduction-in-Force) and want priority consideration, you must submit the documents listed below.
• Required documents for Interagency/Career Transition Assistance Plan consideration (All are required):

1. • 1. Proof that you were displaced, such as Reduction-in-Force (RIF) notice or notice of proposed removal.
     2. SF-50s (Notification of Personnel Action) showing:
     • RIF as the Nature of Action (Box 5B)
     • Career or career-conditional status (Box 24 must be 1 or 2)
     • Competitive status (Box 34 must be 1)
     • Promotion potential or full performance level of the position from which you were or are being displaced. This is likely your appointment SF-50 for that position.
     • Duty location
     3. Your most recent performance appraisal showing a rating of Fully Successful or higher.

   • Your Federal position at the time you were displaced must be within the local commuting area for a location listed in this announcement. The definition of local commuting area varies based on duty location and hiring agency policy. To receive priority consideration, you must also be found well-qualified, which means you score 75 or higher based on this announcement's assessment rating criteria.

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