Contract Specialist

You must meet the United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements (including specialized experience and/or educational requirements) for the advertised position. You must meet all eligibility and qualifications requirements by the closing date of the job announcement. OPM Qualifications Standards are available at Contracting 1102. CANDIDATES FOR THIS POSITION MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS AS LISTED UNDER EDUCATION IN ADDITION TO SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE. Specialized Experience is experience that has equipped applicants with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the federal service. For this position, the next lower grade level is a GS-12. Specialized experience for this position includes: Experience executing all aspects of acquisition management in the planning, award, and contract administration phases of the procurement process related to goods and services; Experience in evaluating cost/price proposals utilizing cost/price analysis techniques (e.g., performing detailed analyses of all elements of cost/price in contractor proposals); Experience advising junior Contract Specialists on all phases of the acquisition process; AND Experience in using Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 8.4 (Federal Supply Schedules), Part 12 (Acquisition of Commercial Products and Commercial Services), Part 15 (Contracting by Negotiation), and Part 16.5 - (Indefinite-Delivery Contracts) to award moderately complex contracts and orders during the pre-award, award and post-award phases of the acquisition lifecycle. CANDIDATES FOR GS-13 GRADE LEVEL MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING BASIC REQUIREMENTS: A. 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 B. A four (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. C. Exceptions: Employee in GS-1102 position 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. D. 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. Applicants currently holding a FAC-C/DAWIA Level III certification are considered to have met all mandatory training requirements for this announcement. You must submit your certification with application package. IN ADDITION to meeting the basic requirements in paragraphs A and B, candidates must meet Specialized Experience requirements. 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.