This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/602830000. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
This position is located in the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Financial Management and Business Operations (FMBO), Acquisition Management (AM). AM is responsible for assisting GAO staff in obtaining goods and services from industry and other federal agencies.
The incumbent serves as a Contract Specialist with responsibility for pre-award and post-award contracting activities associated with the procurement of goods and services.
Learn more about this agency05/26/2021 to 06/10/2021
$77,367 - $135,444 per year
PT 02
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Not required
No
Permanent - Full-Time
Full-time - Permanent
Excepted
NA
No
No
GAO-21-FMBO-1102-05-DHA
602830000
• Serves as the department focal point for a full range of pre-award and post-award contracting activities associated with the acquisition of goods and services, such as acquisition planning, contract negotiation and preparation, administration, and termination, in support of GAO' s mission. GAO's goods and services range from relatively simple, low dollar requirements to highly complex, high dollar, multi-year transactions that involve fixed- price, cost-plus fixed-fee, time and material, labor hour, and indefinite delivery types of contracts which incorporate a mixture of these acquisition features to support the requirement. Provides business solutions to program offices regarding all aspects of acquisition management for the procurement of supplies and services based on expert knowledge of Federal contracting theories, statues, principles, practices, and procedures.
• Serves as a Contract Specialist planning the overall approach to meet contracting program objectives for procuring a variety of complex highly specialized requirements. Performs pre award and post-award contract functions including negotiation, cost/price analysis, and administration of contracts for supplies and services. Manages the most complex requirements that require extensive negotiations involving cost or pricing data and/or unusual contract terms needed to support the contract ing issues and determines recommended course of action. Researches applicable regulations and incorporates the required Federal Acquisition Regulation to insure that general provisions are in conformance with statutory requirements and other governmental regulations and policies. Serves as the point of contact for assigned procurements.
• Provides advice on programs to office staff with regard to the acquisition plan strategies pertaining to the degree of competition, the contractual methods to be utilized to meet program objectives and policy/regulatory requirements, and similar considerations.
• Negotiates, or serves as lead negotiator of a negotiation team for assigned contracts. Participates in special procurement evaluations, studies, and analyses. Participates in pre solicitation and pre-award conferences to discuss contractual provisions (i.e., technical requirements, financial management, capacity of the contractor to perform, etc). Provide detail follow through in specialty areas, including engineering, finance, pricing, law, overhead, etc., and require that the incumbent have the requisite knowledge in those areas.
• Evaluates response to solicitations, including price reasonableness, adequacy of competitions, compliance with solicitations, and probability of meeting requirements. Negotiates prices, terms and conditions. Performs cost or price analysis, including review of cost breakdowns to determine reasonableness, and negotiates with potential contractors. Analyzes each clement of cost using appropriate techniques (e.g., comparison, historical data, quantitative analysis) to determine the realism and reasonableness of proposed contract costs.
• Encourages use of performance based and other innovative contracting procedures utilizing e-procurement and GSA strategies. Supports acquisition management special studies and reports. Provides qualitative and quantitative analysis to support sound business judgment recommendations in various memorandums and reports.
• Applies comprehensive knowledge of contract laws, regulations and procedures applicable to the acquisition and contract administration of supplies and services. Provides post award administration of contracts, responsible for day-to-day and long-term administration of the contracts. Continually reviews contractor performance against contract requirements. Coordinates with technical personnel within the agency, as required, to resolve problems. Responsible for monitoring performance of prime and subcontractors, and monitors the expenditure of contract funds. Prepares determination and findings when required to support a contractual action.
You must meet all qualifications requirements before the announcement closes
Applicants must have a Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C), Level II or Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA), Level II Contacting certificate
**YOU MUST SUBMIT A COPY OF YOUR CERTIFICATE SHOWING THIS COURSEWORK. FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN AN INELIGIBLE RATING.**
The ideal candidate for this position has sound knowledge of diverse contracts and negotiations. He/She has extensive knowledge of Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) versus Trade Off. In addition, the ideal candidate also has extensive experience soliciting, analyzing risks to assess performance as well as tracking payments and deadlines.
Specialized Experience:
Applicants must have at least one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience at the next lower level/band, equivalent to the PT-I/GS-11 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is described as performing acquisition planning, contract negotiation and preparation, administration, and termination of diverse contracts and reviewing acquisition documents to ensure adherence to organizational and/or federal standards.
Note: Positions in GAO are covered under the agency's performance based compensation system, which is pay banded. This position is classified as a PT-1102-II, which is equivalent to the GS-12/GS-13 level in the federal government.
This position has basic education requirements:
Basic Requirement for Contracting 1102 Series:
A 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with a major in any field;
OR
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.
Note - Applicants who are qualifying based on experience must possess at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to work at the next lower level that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the work of the position, in addition to meeting the basic requirements above.
Exceptions: Employees in GS-1102 positions will be considered to have met the standard for positions they occupy on January 1, 2000. Employees who occupy GS-1102 positions at grade 12 will be considered to meet the basic requirements for other GS-1102 positions up to and including those classified at GS-12. This includes positions at other agencies and promotions up through grade 12. However, employees must meet specialized experience requirements when seeking another position.
NOTE: Foreign education must be evaluated for U.S. equivalency in order to be considered for this position. You must include this information with your application package. Only degrees from an accredited college or university recognized by the Department of Education are acceptable to meet positive education requirements or to substitute for experience. For additional information, please go to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and U.S. Department of Education websites at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications and
http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html
**YOU MUST SUBMIT A COPY OF YOUR TRANSCRIPT(S) SHOWING THIS COURSEWORK. FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN AN INELIGIBLE RATING.**
This is a bargaining unit position.
Based on the staffing needs, additional selections may be made through this vacancy announcement.
Selectee may be required to file a Financial Disclosure Statement.
Travel and relocation expenses will not be paid for by the GAO.
Males born after 12/31/59 and at least 18 years of age must be registered with the Selective Service System. Visit http://www.sss.gov/.
Please be aware that applicants will be required to complete questions contained on the Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) at the time a tentative job offer is made. If selected, at the time of appointment, selectees will be required to update the OF-306.
If you are selected for this position, you will be subject to a determination of your suitability for Federal employment.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office’s policy is to provide equal employment opportunity for all regardless of race, religion, color, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
The U.S. GAO is part of the Legislative Branch of the Federal government. As such, all positions are in the excepted service. Initial appointments, permanent or indefinite, to the GAO require completion of a one-year or two-year probationary period.
This is a Direct Hire Public Notice. Veteran's Preference and traditional rating and ranking of all applicants do not apply to positions filled under this announcement. For more information of the Office of Personnel Management Direct-Hire Authority, please click here: Direct-Hire Authority
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
The position(s) advertised in this announcement are covered by a direct hire authority. Traditional rating and ranking of applicants, including category rating, does not apply to this vacancy. Your qualifications will be initially evaluated against the basic qualifications only. Qualified applicants will be referred for consideration in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management Direct Hire guidelines. Veterans' Preference does not apply to positions covered by a direct hire authority.
Please make sure that your responses to the assessment questions are supported in your resume and follow all instructions carefully. If you provide incomplete answers, fail to provide a narrative response to any assessment question(s) that requires further explanation, or if your response to an assessment question is "see resume,” your application may be affected or you may be determined ineligible
All applicants will be rated based on their responses to the assessment questions, in conjunction with the following Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA’s):
You must provide a complete application package which includes:
- Resume: must be created using the USAJOBS resume builder and show relevant work experience.
- You must submit a copy of your transcripts showing the coursework outlined in the Education Requirements section of the announcement. . Transcripts do not need to be official, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you will be required to provide official transcripts. Foreign Education: If you are submitting a transcript from a non-US educational institution, applicants must submit all necessary documents to a private U.S. organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials, commonly called a credential evaluation service. For additional information, please visit http://www.gao.gov/careers/foreignedu.pdf.
- Applicants must submit proof of FAC-C or DAWIA Level II Certification with your application package or you will be marked as ineligible.
Failure to submit any of the above mentioned required documents will result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.
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.
1. To apply on-line, you must complete and submit an application by accessing the USAJOBS website at http://www.usajobs.gov. To begin, click the Apply Online button near the bottom of this screen and follow the prompts to register into your USAJOBS account, answer the questions, and submit all required documents. Follow the prompts to begin the application process.
2. You will be redirected to the Career Connector website to complete the application process.
3. Click on "Submit" to transmit your complete application package to GAO.
Can I send my application package documents to the agency point-of-contact via email or mail?
Your application package must be submitted online through Career Connector. We are unable to accept mailed or emailed documents.
What is a complete application package?
1. Your resume. This must be created using the USAJOBS resume builder. Resumes created outside USAJOBS (e.g., uploaded resumes) will not be accepted.
2. The assessment questionnaire.
3. The documentation listed in the Required Documents section. You only need to submit the documents listed.
When is the application package due?
It must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of the announcement. It is your responsibility to ensure all the documents are received and the information is readable. Your application may not be considered if it doesn't meet the criteria. Requests for extensions will not be granted.
If you have problems completing your on-line application, including problems submitting your supporting documents, please contact the Help Desk by e-mail at mgshelp@monster.com or by phone at (866) 656-6831. The help desk is available Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET
1. Sign into your USAJOBS account.
2. If your application package was successfully transmitted, you will see "Received" beside the position title. Keep in mind, this may take a couple hours because your documents undergo a virus scan.
3. To view your documents or the complete application package received by GAO, select "Application Status." The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application.
If you have questions about:
• The vacancy announcement or the position: The agency contact is listed at the bottom of the announcement.
• Technical issues with USAJOBS: Please refer to the USAJOBS Help page.
• Technical issues with Career Connector: Please contact CareerConnectorHelp@do.treas.gov.
After the closing date of this announcement, GAO's Human Capital Office will conduct an evaluation of your qualifications by reviewing your assessment questionnaire and resume to complete an analysis. Please be as complete and thorough as possible. If your application is rated "best-qualified," your name will be referred to the selecting official for consideration. At this point you may be contacted for an interview.
If you do not meet the key requirements, and/or basic qualifications or you fail to submit all required application materials, your application will not be considered.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/602830000. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
Learn more about
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) supports the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities to legislate, appropriate, and oversee the Federal government for the benefit of the American people. The GAO, commonly referred to as the investigative arm of Congress, or the congressional watchdog, is independent and nonpartisan. The GAO assists Congress in making informed decisions by providing information on policy and program issues, as well as by providing recommendations to make government more effective and responsive.