As a Contract Specialist with the Smithsonian Institution, your duties will include the following:

• Performs contract planning, negotiation, awarding, administration and close-out for all assigned projects for a variety of Smithsonian museums and the National Zoological Park.
• Serves as a team member coordinating a wide variety of contractors, each having unique functions relating to assigned projects.
• Assists personnel to identify items and services for contracting, components, equipment, and services to be acquired by contract for a variety of Smitshoian museusms and the National Zoological Park.
• Prepares and maintains current acquisition plans, appropriate milestone charts, and related schedules and procurement files.
• Prepares all necessary contract documents, assuring the inclusion of provisions required by law, regulation and policy, and drafts original special clauses as needed for contracts with a variety of Smithsonian museums and the National Zoological Park.
• Develops and maintains systems to evaluate and monitor contractual performance related to delivery, cost, amounts of progress or advance payments, etc.

Conditions of employment

• Pass Pre-employment Background Investigation
• May need to complete a Probationary Period
• Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer
• Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.

Qualification requirements must be met within 30 days of the job announcement closing date.

Qualifications

For this position you must meet these Basic Education Requirements:

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, quantitativemethods, 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. Employees who occupy GS-1102 positions at grades 5 through 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.

In addition to the Basic Requirements above, you must have the following:

GS-9 Specialized Experience: You qualify for this position if you possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-7 level in the Federal Service or comparable pay band system. For this position Specialized experience is defined as experience assisting in conducting negotiations, execution, and administration of contracting activities for a museum, zoological park, or cultural center.

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.

Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience. Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week.

Or Education: Two full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education or masters or equivalent graduate degree or LL.B. or J.D. To qualify for GS-1102 positions on the basis of graduate education, graduate education in one or a combination of the following fields is required: accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, or organization and management.

Or a Combination: Education and experience may be combined to meet the basic qualifications. For a full explanation of this option please see the Qualification Standards.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are qualifying by education and/or you have education completed in a foreign college/university described above, it is your responsibility to provide transcripts and proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study. For instructions on where to fax these documents, see the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

Selective Factor Requirement: You must have experience negotiating, awarding, and processing contracts for a museum, zoological park, or cultural center.

How you will be evaluated

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

Your application will be evaluated first for the basic qualifications described above. The applications that meet the basic qualifications will be evaluated further against the following criteria:

• Skill in drafting, soliciting, negotiating, and awarding contracts for a museum or zoological park.
• Knowledge of contract cost analysis techniques to devise appropriate incentives for musuem or zoological park contracts.
• Knowledge of Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), contracting laws, regulations, GAO principles and practices, and unique requirements associated with musuem or zoological park contracts.

Applicants who meet or exceed minimum qualifications will be assigned to one of three category groups based on job-related criteria: Best Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and excels in most of the job related competencies above. Better Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and satisfies most of the job related competencies above. Good Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements, but does not satisfy most of the job related competencies above to a substantive degree. This category rating process does not add veterans' preference points or apply the "rule of three", but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category. A selecting official may make selections from the highest quality category (Best Category) provided no preference eligible in that category is passed over to select a non-preference eligible in that category unless the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 3317(b) or 3318(b) are satisfied. Preference eligibles who meet minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-9 grade level or higher. Applicants who have not submitted a resume in the USAjobs system and/or have not answered all of the vacancy questions will not be considered for this position.

Important Note: Your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses to the occupational questionnaire or other assessment tool for consistency. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience. Your resume should provide sufficient information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.

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