Supervisory Contract Specialist (Branch Chief)

Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted only from current career conditional or career permanent USDA employees in the competitive service; and CTAP/RPL eligible candidates; and permanent Farm Service County Office employees.

• As the subject matter expert in contracting and in the Branch’s assigned program of work, the employee is responsible for exercising independent judgment to accomplish a myriad of contracting responsibilities in support of the USDA mission.
• Serves as a contracting officer with signatory authority for lower-grade subordinates, which may include awarding contracts for critical acquisition programs.
• Oversees all aspects of contracting including requirements development, evaluation and award, pre and post award, administration, and closeout.
• Conducts internal reviews of pre- and post-award contract files within the Branch, in accordance with the guidance provided by the procurement compliance team in OCP.
• Maintains responsibility for ensuring the quality and accuracy of all contract file reviews for the Branch.
• Reviews Branch data from automated systems for accuracy, timeliness, and completeness and takes appropriate corrective action, when necessary.
• Applies a wide range of qualitative and/or quantitative methods to assess and improve operational effectiveness and/or complex management processes, projects, and systems.
• Regularly communicates with Branch customers regarding the quality of their procurement packages, providing them opportunities for feedback on the Branch’s procurement operations and level of service.
• Works with other Branch Chiefs to identify process improvements and operational challenges and develops solutions for a more efficient organization.
• Supervises a group of contracting professionals performing all aspects of the contracting process for a variety of types of acquisitions.
• Provides administrative and technical supervision and training necessary for accomplishing procurement operations.
• Ensures subordinates are trained and fully comply with the provisions of the Federal Acquisition Regulation and acquisition policies and initiatives.
• Job duties may vary slightly depending on assigned mission area. For additional information regarding mission areas participating in this recruitment effort, please review the Education section.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a US Citizen or US National.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
• Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
• Direct Deposit - Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
• If selected, you may be required to serve a probationary or trial period as applicable to appointment type. Refer to Next Steps section for additional information.
• Subject to one year supervisory/managerial probationary period unless prior service is creditable. New USDA supervisors must successfully complete all components of the required training program before the end of their probationary period.
• Incumbent must obtain a Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) within six months of entry to the position and must maintain this certification throughout their tenure.
• If assigned to Information Technology (IT) contracting, the incumbent will also be required to obtain a FAC-C Digital Services specialization within 12 months and maintain this certification throughout their tenure.
• Depending on the nature of the work and forthcoming Federal Acquisition Institute credentials, the position may also be required to obtain and maintain other Contract Specialist credentials as needed.
• If selected for this position, you will remain in your current USDA office location / official duty station of record, except National Capital Region. Selectees in the National Capital Region may require additional conversations.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, 1102 Occupational Series individual occupational requirement, AND specialized experience, as defined below.

Time in grade: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled.

1102 Contracting Series Individual Occupational 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.

Minimum Qualifications: Applicants must meet the Specialized Experience and/or Education requirements as shown below. If qualifying based on experience, your application or resume must clearly show that you possess the specialized experience requirements. Specialized experience is defined as experience that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position.

For the GS-14 level
Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-13 level) which is directly related to the work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience performing all of the following: providing technical and policy advisory support to direct reports and clients; coordination of the full range of operational procurement and contracting activities for a large organization, including serving as a warranted Contracting Officer; evaluating complex contracting and procurement actions to ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, executive orders and agency policy; and, performing the full range of technical and administrative supervisory duties.

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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

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 to the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position.

All applicants are required to complete the online USA Hire assessment administered by OPM in order to be considered for this vacancy.

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

• Accountability
• Customer Service
• Decisiveness
• Flexibility
• Interpersonal Skills
• Problem Solving
• Resilience

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 the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13060952

The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.

Resume that includes: Personal Information: name, address, contact information; Education; Work Experience related to this position as described in the major duties including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; title, series, grade (if applicable); other qualifications. Resume cannot exceed 2 pages.

If education is required or being used to qualify, you must submit a copy of your college transcripts. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application if it includes your name and the necessary course information; however, if you are selected, official transcripts will be required prior to entering on duty. Education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. For a list of private organizations that evaluate education, visit the NACES website. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.

USDA Federal employees:

• Most recent non-award Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) showing you are/were in the competitive service, highest grade held (or promotion potential) on a permanent basis, position title, series and grade AND
• Most recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable. A performance plan is not an acceptable substitute.

Current permanent FSA County employees must submit your most recent non-award Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) showing your highest grade (or promotion potential) held on a permanent basis, position title, series and grade AND most recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) per above.

Surplus or displaced employees eligible for CTAP or RPL priority must provide: proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination), SF-50 documenting separation (as applicable), current performance appraisal with rating of at least "Fully Successful" or equivalent, and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330.

Next steps