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Contract Specialist

Department of Justice
Bureau of Prisons/Federal Prison System
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Why work for the Federal Bureau of Prisons?

You can have a meaningful career with an agency that truly values a diverse workforce. In our agency, you’ll find a diverse workforce employed from entry level jobs to senior management positions. We protect public safety by ensuring that federal offenders serve their sentences of imprisonment in facilities that are safe, humane, cost efficient, appropriately secure, and provides reentry programing to ensure their successful return to the community. Our employees at federal correctional facilities are "correctional workers first" and perform correctional work regardless of their specific occupation.

Our long-standing culture of being a close-knit family sets us apart from other agencies - at the BOP you don't just get to know your co-workers, you make life long friends.

We have many facilities located throughout the nation: 122 institutions, 6 regional offices, a headquarters, 2 staff training academies, and 26 residential reentry management offices.

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 3307, a maximum entry age of 36 has been established for initial appointment to a position in a Bureau of Prisons institution.

The representative rate for this position is $57,345 per annum ($27.48 per hour).

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Posted 04/15/18
Location
Work site options
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$41,187 - $59,287 per year
Pay scale & grade
GL 05 - 07
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time - Full Time
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Travel may be required for training and/or work related issues.
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Service
Announcement number
DTH-2018-0014
Control number
496940300

This job is open to

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Duties

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Incumbent functions as a contract specialist with responsibility for legally authorizing the obligation of institution financial resources for all contracts in accordance with the Federal procurement regulations and applicable Executive Orders. Incumbent is charged with the responsibility of performing all aspects of procurement transactions up to and including awards.

Primary responsibility involves the administration and execution of personal service contracts, non-personal service contracts, formally advertised and negotiated procurement involving a wide range of materials, services and equipment. Construction and renovation contracts require complex specifications, which create a limited source of supply and close price bidding. Specifications may include physical, chemical, electrical or other properties requiring specified methods of testing and special performance requirements. Meets with contractor’s representatives to negotiate formal contracts. Under general supervision, the incumbent prepares, evaluates, and administers complex procurement actions such as the following: firm fixed price with redetermination or escalation provisions, cost sharing, fixed price incentive, etc.

Along with all other correctional institution employees, incumbent is charged with the responsibility for maintaining security of the institution. The staff correctional responsibilities precede all others required by this position and are performed on a regular and recurring basis.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship is Required.
  • See Special Conditions of Employment Section.

The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees in the Department of Justice with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your Department of Justice component has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP eligibility, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your CTAP eligibility; 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement; and 3) you are found well qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and score 85 or better on established ranking criteria. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Additional information about CTAP eligibility is at: Click Here

Qualifications

To be considered for the position, you must meet the following:

Basic Requirements:

A. A 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with a major in any field.

OR

B. 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: ALL applicants MUST submit legible transcripts as verification of educational requirement. Transcripts must include identifying information to include School Name, Student Name, Degree and Date Awarded (if applicable). All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, Click Here. Transcripts MUST be received by the Consolidated Staffing Unit by the closing date of the vacancy announcement. (If you are selected for this position, you will be required to provide an OFFICIAL transcript prior to your first day on duty.)

For information regarding foreign education requirements, please see the Recognition of Foreign Qualifications at the U.S. Department of Education website: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications

Basic requirements noted above qualify applicants for the GL-05 level.

Exception to Mandatory Education Requirement: 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 have met the basic requirements for other GS-1102 positions up to and including those classified at the 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: Current federal employees not employed by the Bureau of Prison and former Bureau of Prison Employees MUST submit documentation (i.e., SF-50(s) covering the period from January 1, 2000) for verification of the above referenced exception criteria to receive consideration. Failure to provide these documents will result in non-consideration for this vacancy.


AND

In addition to the basic requirements, you must have one of the following:

Education:

GL-07: One (1) full academic year of graduate education or law school or superior academic achievement.

Graduate Education: 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.

Acceptability of Higher Education: Education such as foreign education, home study and correspondence courses, academic credit for work experience, military education, continuing education units, life experience, etc, is acceptable to the extent that it is determined to be equivalent to conventional higher education program of U.S. institutions. Such education must be accepted for college level credit by an accredited U.S. college or university.

NOTE: If you are using education to qualify or are qualifying based upon Superior Academic Achievement, you MUST provide legible transcripts to receive consideration. Transcripts must include identifying information to include School Name, Student Name, Degree and Date Awarded (if applicable). All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, Click Here. Transcripts MUST be received by the Consolidated Staffing Unit by the closing date of the vacancy announcement. (If you are selected for this position based upon your education, you will be required to provide an OFFICIAL transcript prior to your first day on duty.)

OR

Experience:

GL-07: You must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the next lower grade level in federal service. To be creditable, this experience must have equipped the applicant with the particular qualifications to perform successfully the duties of the position and must typically be in or related to the position to be filled.

Some examples of qualifying experience:

GL-07:

  • Experience procuring supplies or services primarily through formal advertising, or through limited use of negotiation techniques.
  • Experience reviewing requisitions to determine proper specifications or purchase descriptions are included in solicitation documents.
  • Experience evaluating bids or proposals for compliance with specifications or purchase descriptions and applicable clauses.
  • Experience meeting with commercial representatives to discuss procurement needs, quality of items or services, current market prices, or delivery schedules.
  • Experience in coordinating contracting activities, obtaining wage information, requesting audit reports or pre-award surveys, and obtaining clearances.
OR

Combination of Education and Experience (GL-07 Only):

Have a combination of education and experience. This experience must have equipped you with the qualifications to perform the major duties of this position as described above.

Credit will be given for paid and unpaid experience. To receive proper credit, you must show the actual time (such as the number of hours worked per week) spent in activities.

**Your eligibility for consideration will be based on your responses to the questions in the application.**

Additional information

This position IS included in the bargaining unit.

The Department of Justice provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the hiring/servicing personnel office. The decision of granting a reasonable accommodation will be on a case-by-case basis. Selection will be made without discrimination for any non-merit reason such as race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factor.

Special Conditions of Employment Section:

Appointment is subject to satisfactory completion of a urinalysis, physical, and background investigation. All applicants are subject to National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and credit checks.

All applicants not currently working in an institution will be required to complete a qualification inquiry regarding convictions of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence in order to be authorized to carry a firearm.

The Core Value Assessment (CVA) is an in-person assessment that must be facilitated at a Bureau of Prisons Human Resource Servicing office. On the day of the scheduled interview, a CVA will be administered. The applicant assessment must be completed within a 70 minute time period and a passing score must be obtained. Further employment consideration will not be extended if the applicant fails to complete the examination or fails to achieve a passing score. Note: The Core Value Assessment will not be administered to current BOP employees.

Successful completion of the "Introduction to Correctional Techniques," three-week training course at Glynco, Georgia is required.

The addresses listed on USAJOBS account/resume must be the primary residence at the time of application. You may be required to provide proof of residence.

This position has been identified as test designated. Incumbents will be subject to urinalysis testing under the BOP Drug Free Workplace Plan.

How you will be evaluated

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

If your composite score exceeds the average score for this job, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your online assessment questionnaire responses and utilized to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed in this announcement. If you rate yourself higher than what is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job. If you are found to be among the top candidates, you will be referred to the selecting official for employment consideration.

There are several parts of the application process that affect the overall evaluation of your application:

  • Your resume, which is part of your USAJOBS profile;
  • Your responses to the eligibility questions;
  • Your responses to the online assessment questionnaire;
  • Your supporting documentation, if required.
Time-in-Grade: Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements for consideration. You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.

If you applied to more than one grade level, BE ADVISED that you may be selected at ANY grade level for which you applied and are found qualified (i.e., if the job is announced at the 9/11 grade levels and you apply for the GS/GL-9 and the GS-11,and you are found qualified at BOTH grade levels, you may be selected at either grade level).

What Competencies/Knowledge, Skills and Abilities are Required for this Position?

The following Competencies/Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA's) are required:

GL-05 and GL-07:
  • Ability to communicate orally.
  • Ability to communicate in writing.
  • Knowledge of procurement techniques and contract formulation/administrative procedures.
  • Ability to interpret and apply policy/guidelines.

To preview questions please click here.

Bureau of Prisons/Federal Prison System

Agency contact information

CSU
Phone
972-352-4200
Email
GRA-HRM/ConsolidatedStaffingUnit@bop.gov
Address
JUSTICE, BUREAU OF PRISONS
Consolidated Staffing Unit
346 Marine Forces Drive
Grand Prairie, Texas 75051
United States

Visit our careers page

Learn more about what it's like to work at Bureau of Prisons/Federal Prison System, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

http://www.bop.gov

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