Summary
THIS IS AN OPEN CONTINUOUS POSTING. APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED AND REVIEWED ON A ROLLING BASIS.
Applications are retrieved and reviewed weekly through the closing date of this announcement or until all positions are filled.
Clarification from the agency
FORMER AND CURRENT COMPETITIVE FEDERAL EMPLOYEES WITH CAREER STATUS AND/OR FORMER LIBRARY OF CONGRESS EMPLOYEES.
Duties
This position has been determined eligible for 100% remote work. The salary range advertised is for the Washington, DC area, but pay will be adjusted to reflect the telework site of the selected applicant. If the telework site of the selected applicant is in the Washington DC area, the individual may be required to work on site at the Washington DC facilities based on agency needs. If the employee’s telework site is located outside of the Washington DC area, the employee may be required to report to Washington DC and the Library will cover travel expenses.
The incumbent serves as a contract specialist for the Library of Congress programs. This position is located in the Library of Congress Contracts Section, Office of Contracts and Grants Management. The incumbent awards and administers a wide range of contracts actions for the various library service units. The incumbent serves as a Contracting Officer and Team Leader.
This position is located in the Contracts and Grants Division, Office of the Chief Operating Officer.
The position description number for this position is 347532.
The salary range indicated reflects the locality pay adjustments for the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan area.
This is a non-supervisory, non-bargaining unit position.
Relocation expenses will not be authorized for the person(s) selected under this vacancy announcement.
Negotiates contracts for several Library programs that include various contract types of varying complexity. Contracting methods and types are utilized to procure large, highly sophisticated, and important equipment systems, programs, and services where little or no contractual precedent exists. Plans the negotiation strategy, coordinates strategy with negotiation team, and conducts negotiations with contractors to arrive at contract prices and terms. Prepares the contracts and recommends award.
Serves as Contract Specialist responsible for complex procurements containing numerous differing processes or elements. Performs procurement planning. Prepares novel or innovative acquisition plans, source selection plans, and contract terms, conditions, or financial arrangements which serve as models for future acquisitions. Prepares procurement objectives relating to the terms of competition and price range, and constructs the contractual vehicle including use of pricing arrangements, subcontracting policy, and like considerations. Prepares milestone charts and related schedules. Advises program officials in procurement planning.
Engages in contract administration activities for important, highly specialized procurements. Responsibilities typically include functions such as exercising options, reviewing and negotiating requests for equitable adjustment and claims, coordinating schedule extensions, incorporating change orders, issuing stop work orders, approving payment schedules and terms, and ensuring final payment and release of claims prior to closeout.
Independently reviews contractor performance through site visits, correspondence, and phone conversations for completion of applicable contract clauses e.g., intellectual property rights, labor laws, and performance reports, and deliverables. Makes recommendations and issues cure or show cause notices when the contractor is not in compliance. Conducts contract reviews to assess performance. Oversees contractor activities through personal contact or review to ensure compliance with technical, financial, delivery, and other contract terms.
Serves as a Team Leader. Articulates and communicates to the team the assignment, project, problem to be solved, actionable events, milestones, and/or program issues under review, and deadlines and time frames for completion. Identifies, distributes, and balances workload and tasks among employees in accord with established workflow, skill level, and/or occupational specialization. Makes adjustments to accomplish the workload in accord with established priorities to ensure timely accomplishment of assigned team tasks. Monitors and reports to the supervisor on the status and progress of work, checking on work in progress and reviewing completed work to ensure instructions on work priorities, methods, deadlines, and quality have been met. Answers questions from team members on procedures, policies, regulations, etc. Prepares reports and maintains records of work accomplishments and administrative information, as required, and coordinates the preparation, presentation, and communication of work-related information. Estimates and reports to the team on progress in meeting established milestones and deadlines for completing assignments, projects, and tasks. Ensures all team members are aware of and participate in planning for achievement of team goals and objectives.
Performs other duties as assigned.
Conditions of Employment
Your resume is important to this application process. It will be reviewed to determine whether you possess the qualifications referenced above. All applicants are required to submit a resume that provides specific information (to include accomplishments, work experience and education/training) that clearly describes what you would bring to the position.
See requirements listed below Qualifications for more information.
Library of Congress employees are prohibited from using illegal drugs, including marijuana. The Library is part of the Federal Government and abides by federal law, so regardless of individual state or District of Columbia laws, marijuana use is illegal, considered criminal activity, and can affect your employment at the Library. In addition, past drug use and activities (e.g., selling or distributing) may deem you ineligible for employment.
Qualifications
To be eligible for this position, you must be either:
A former Library of Congress employee who successfully completed a probationary period and was appointed to a permanent Library position at the GS-13 or higher grade, or to a permanent Library position in a career ladder with GS-13 or higher promotion potential.
A current or former Federal employee who holds “Career” status from a permanent position in the competitive service and is or was appointed to a Federal position at the GS-13 or higher grade, or to a Federal position in a career ladder with GS-13 or higher promotion potential.
Under Library policy, to be eligible for noncompetitive transfer or reappointment, a current or former Federal employee must: (1) hold “Career” status from a permanent position in the competitive service, (2) be, or have been, appointed to a Federal position of the same or higher grade, or to a Federal position in a career ladder with the same or higher promotion potential, and (3) meet the minimum qualifications requirements of the position to which the transfer or reappointment is made.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
Applicants must have had progressively responsible experience and training sufficient in scope and quality to furnish them with an acceptable level of the following knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the position without more than normal supervision.
Your resume should reflect any education, training, and experience that furnishes you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully meet the following competencies of this position:
Knowledge of Federal contracting laws, regulations, principles, policies, and procedures to develop and issue solicitations and contracts.** Applied knowledge of Federal contracting laws, regulations and policies to perform all aspects of contracting transactions, from initiation to recommendation for award.
Ability to communicate in writing.** Drafted, reviewed, and edited documents and reports related to contract and procurement activities, including acquisition and source selection plans; price negotiation memoranda or trade off analysis; contract review or business clearance memoranda; solicitations and contracts; interagency agreements; and determinations and findings; reports in response to protests, claims, or congressional inquiries.
Ability to solicit, negotiate, and monitor contracts.** The ability to negotiate and monitor contracts with vendors. This includes the ability to 1) define necessary work, 2) solicit, and 3) analyze proposals, 4) make recommendations for vendor selection, 5) finalize contract terms, and 6) initiate contract revisions to satisfy evolving program requirements. This also includes 7) the ability to oversee contractor activities and 8) ensure contract requirements are met and all activities are performed in compliance with contract terms.
Ability to research, analyze, and interpret Federal contracting laws, regulations, principles, and policies.** Researched, analyzed, and interpreted Federal contracting laws, regulations, and policies and used analytical methods to assess and analyze Federal contracts.
Ability to lead a team. The ability to assess and instruct team members and recommend relevant and appropriate training. This includes the ability to: 1) review the work of team members for compliance with legal, regulatory, and procedural requirements and best practices; 2) plan, prioritize, and balance team projects or assignments to accomplish work in a timely manner; and 3) serve as an advisor to program officials in procurement planning, and advising clients on effective strategies to achieve their needs.
Ability to assess and meet customer needs. Developed various ways to understand and evaluate customer needs in a contracting environment.
Ability to communicate effectively other than in writing. Communicated in both formal and informal settings such as communicating effectively with subordinates, peers, and vendors, consulting with colleagues both within and outside the agency, or formally presenting information at outside conferences and agency meetings.
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.
Review our 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.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
The Library of Congress evaluates applicants through a resume review and a structured interview. Applicants may also be screened for some jobs through licensing, certification, and/or education requirements, a narrative/application review, and/or a preliminary telephone interview.
The knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) that are marked with a double asterisk (**) in the vacancy announcement are considered the most critical for a position. To be considered for final selection, applicants must demonstrate fully acceptable experience in these designated KSAs in the narrative/application review, preliminary telephone and/or full structured interview.
The various assessment tools listed above are designed to verify or explore applicants' experience, knowledge, and training directly related to the job in order to identify the best qualified applicants for selection. You may preview questions for this vacancy.
(If applicable) Applicants with disabilities may be considered under special hiring procedures and must submit an appropriate certificate of eligibility when applying for this position. The proof or disability/certification may be issued by the State Vocational Rehabilitation Office, Disability Services or Career Services office of the applicant’s college or university, or the Department of Veterans Affairs. The letter must verify that the applicant has a severe disability and must be dated within three years of the date of the application. The program does not accept certification from health care providers. For more information contact the Library's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Programs at 202-707-6024 or email spp@loc.gov. FAILURE TO SUBMIT YOUR CERTIFICATION WILL CAUSE YOUR APPLICATION TO NOT BE CONSIDERED UNDER THE SELECTIVE PLACEMENT PROGRAM.
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.
Please carefully follow all instructions under the How to Apply tab to ensure you are considered for the position.
You are required to apply online for this announcement. We are unable to accept mailed or emailed documents. You must complete the entire application process, including submission of all documents BEFORE this announcement closes. To do so, complete the following steps.
Step 1: If you do not already have one, create a resume on USAJOBS. Although you must enter your Social Security Number for USAJOBS, this information will not be provided to the Library of Congress.
Step 2: Review the Job Announcement. We recommend you go to the end of the Qualification and Evaluation section of the job announcement to preview the online questions that you will answer in Step 4. You may wish to customize your USAJOBS resume to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions.
Step 3: Click on the "APPLY ONLINE" button to the right of this announcement. Follow USAJOBS' instructions to access your account and submit your resume. You will be redirected to the Hiring Management website to complete the application process. If this is your first time in Hiring Management, you will be asked to answer questions related to your eligibility for Federal employment. You will be able to update this information and save it to our account for future announcements.
Step 4: Once you have completed the eligibility questions, you will be taken directly to the vacancy application questions. Answer all questions honestly and thoroughly.
Step 5: Hiring Management offers three options that will electronically attach your documentation to your online application once you finish answering the questions in the job announcement.
(1) You may select a document that you have already uploaded to USAJOBS for a previous announcement.
(2) You may electronically upload a document directly from your computer to your application. Be certain to review your complete application for confirmation of the document uploaded and click on "Finished" to be returned to USAJOBS.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have multiple documents of the same kind, e.g. 2 undergraduate transcripts from different schools or 2 SF-50s, etc., be sure that they are all in the same file on your computer or in your USAJOBS profile before uploading them. If you try uploading them individually, only the last one sent will be visible in our system. If you have any questions about this information, please contact the person on this announcement BEFORE the closing date.
Step 6: Click on "Finish" after you have completed your application. Once you have submitted your application, you can check your status online through your Hiring Management or MY USAJOBS account. Your complete online application and any required supplemental documentation (e.g., SF-50, etc.) must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on the closing date of the announcement. It is your responsibility to ensure that all documents are received on time and that the materials are readable. Failure to do so will result in your application being excluded from consideration for this announcement.
If you are experiencing any technical difficulty with the online process, you MUST CONTACT THE POINT OF CONTACT FOR THIS ANNOUNCEMENT BEFORE THE CLOSING DATE. For all technical issues please contact jobhelp@loc.gov , no later than 4:30pm EST of the Closing Date. REQUESTS FOR EXTENSIONS WILL NOT BE GRANTED.
Next steps
Please review our evaluation process under Evaluation. You may check the status of your application for this position at any time by logging onto the USAJOBS "My USAJOBS" tab and clicking on "My Applications." You will receive final notification via e-mail when the vacancy has been filled.
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