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Contract Specialist

Department of Labor
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management
Office of the Senior Procurement Executive
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in the Department of Labor's (DOL), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management (OASAM), the Office of the Senior Procurement Executive (OSPE). The position is in the Job Corps Acquisition Services (JCAS). The primary focus of JCAS is to procure and administer contracts for Job Corps center operations; outreach, admissions, and career transition services; and all construction, architecture, and engineering contracts.

Overview

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Job canceled
Open & closing dates
12/16/2024 to 12/18/2024
Salary
$122,198 to - $191,900 per year

This position will be filled at a remote work location. The salary will be determined upon selection based on duty location.

Pay scale & grade
GS 14
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Anywhere in the U.S. (remote job)
Remote job
Yes
Telework eligible
Not applicable, this is a remote position.
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
14
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
Yes
Bargaining unit status
Yes
Announcement number
MS-25-CHI-OSPE-12640563-JLU
Control number
823976200

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Duties

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As a Contract Specialist, duties will consist of but is not limited to the following:

  • Exercises authority for all contract actions and serves as a principal business advisor to agencies regarding the use of procurement methods for all types of supplies and services, to include service contracts, ensuring compliance with applicable Federal laws and regulations, and procedures.
  • Manages, directs, and coordinates the procurement activities of Job Corps' operations in order to meet programmatic goals, administrative requirements, and adherence to Departmental policies/procedures, the Federal acquisition regulation, and laws applicable to the activities of the office.
  • Serves as a technical expert and authority on all aspects of procurement and contract actions.
  • Develops, coordinates and implements operating procurement policies, procedures, and guidelines that regulate and facilitate the proper execution of contracts to meet mission needs.
  • Represents the organization in contractual matters with other Department and Federal agencies and in negotiations with private industry.
  • Ensures contractual documents are prepared in accordance with applicable regulations.
  • Advises customers on acquisition-related roles and responsibilities during the development and implementation of procurement strategies needed to ensure services are procured when needed to meet mission requirements.
  • Applies precedents found in government contracting case law to specific contracting situations to ensure that legally binding contracting officer decisions are consistent, justifiable and will be upheld at appellate courts or board.
  • Manages procurement workloads, solves complex procurement problems, makes practical business decisions, understands politics and influences others, takes risks and innovates where feasible.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must be at least 16 years old.
  • Must be a U.S. Citizen.
  • Candidate required to obtain the necessary security/investigation level.
  • Requires a probationary period if the requirement has not been met.
  • Subject to financial disclosure requirements.
  • Must hold a Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) (Professional) or Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) certification. Failure to maintain this certification may be grounds for dismissal.
  • Must have 100 Continuous Learning Points (CLPs) every two years. * Please note - as of 5/1/24, the requirement is 100 CLP's every two years. Applicants will have until 4/30/2026 to accomplish this new goal. The prior requirement was 80 CLP's.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet the basic requirements AND specialized experience to be considered qualified for the position:

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:
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
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.

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.

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.

-Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) (Professional) or Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) certification is required of all applicants.
-Applicants must also have completed 100 Continuous Learning Points (CLPs) every two years. ** Please note - as of May 1, 2024, the requirement is 100 CLP's every two years. ** Applicants will have until 4/30/2026 to accomplish this new goal. The prior requirement was 80 CLP's.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Specialized Experience is the experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform the duties of the position successfully, 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 DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

For the GS-14 Contract Specialist: In addition to the basic requirement, to qualify for this position you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 which is the next lower grade level of the normal line of progression of this position in the Federal government. Specialized experience is experience that is related to the work of this position and has provided you with the competencies required for successful job performance. Examples of qualifying experience are:

-Experience providing leadership and direction in the areas of procurement planning, contract negotiating, awarding and coordinating procurement actions;
-Experience applying knowledge of contracting and procurement to conduct competitive solicitations that demonstrates experience and knowledge of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) .
-Experience that demonstrates knowledge of Federal Appropriations Law (FAL) in effectively managing, assigning, reviewing and awarding actions to achieve agency goals;
-Experience making difficult decisions about complex contracting related matters;
-Experience working collaboratively and maintaining cooperative relationships with both the program office and the contractors, and executing procurement actions.

Education

Any applicant falsely claiming an academic degree from an accredited school will be subject to actions ranging from disqualification from federal employment to removal from federal service.

If your education was completed at a foreign college or university, you must show comparability to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States and comparability to applicable minimum coursework requirements for this position.

Click Evaluation of Foreign Education for more information.

Additional information

The mission of the Department of Labor (DOL) is to protect the welfare of workers and job seekers, improve working conditions, expand high-quality employment opportunities, and assure work-related benefits and rights for all workers. As such, the Department is committed to fostering a workplace and workforce that promote equal employment opportunity, reflects the diversity of the people we seek to serve, and models a culture of respect, equity, inclusion, and accessibility where every employee feels heard, supported, and empowered.

This position is inside the bargaining unit. If the duty location is within the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, the position will be included in the Local 12, AFGE bargaining unit. If the duty location is outside the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, the position will be included in the NCFLL bargaining unit.

Refer to these links for more information: GENERAL INFORMATION, REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION, ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION, FORMER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

As a condition of employment, all personnel must undergo a background investigation for access to DOL facilities, systems, information and/or classified materials before they can enter on duty: BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION

Non-Supervisory Financial Disclosure: This position is subject to the confidential financial disclosure requirements of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-521). Therefore, if selected, you will be required to complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) to determine if a conflict or an appearance of a conflict exists between your financial interest(s) and your prospective position with DOL. This information will be required annually.

Based on agency needs, additional positions may be filled using this vacancy.

The Department of Labor may use certain incentives and hiring flexibilities, currently offered by the Federal government to attract highly qualified candidates. Click here for Additional Information.

The Fair Chance Act (FCA) prohibits Federal agencies from requesting an applicant's criminal history information before the agency makes a conditional offer of employment. If you believe a DOL employee has violated your rights under the FCA, you may file a complaint of the alleged violation following our agency's complaint process Guidelines for Reporting Violations of the Fair Chance Act. Note: The FCA does not apply to some positions specified under the Act, such as law enforcement or national security positions.

All Department of Labor employees are subject to the provisions of the Drug-Free Workplace Program under Executive Order 12564 and Public Law 100-71.

How you will be evaluated

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

Evaluation Factors (Competencies) - All qualified applicants will be evaluated on the following key competencies:

  • Contracting/Procurement
  • Leadership
  • Oral Communication
  • Writing

Click here for Evaluation details.

You may preview questions for this vacancy here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12640563

The information you provide may be verified by a review of your paid, unpaid, volunteer, and other lived experience, as it demonstrates the competencies or skills required for the position to be filled. Your evaluation may include an interview, reference checks, or other assessment conducted by HR specialists, subject matter experts, or panel members and may include other assessment tools (ex. interview, structured interview, written test, work sample, etc.). The examining Office of Human Resources (OHR) makes the final determination concerning applicant ratings. Your resume MUST provide sufficient information to substantiate your vacancy question responses. If not, the OHR may amend your responses to more accurately reflect the level of competency indicated by the content of your resume.

INFORMATION FOR ICTAP/CTAP ELIGIBLE(S) ONLY: If you are eligible for special priority selection under ICTAP/CTAP, you must be well-qualified for the position to receive consideration. ICTAP/CTAP eligible(s) will be considered well-qualified if they attain at least a rating score of 85 in a numerical rating scheme. Be sure to review the eligibility questions to reflect that you are applying as an ICTAP or CTAP eligible and submit supporting documentation.

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