You are encouraged to read the entire announcement before you submit your application package.
The United States Agency for International Development Office of Inspector General (USAID OIG) is seeking a highly qualified applicant to fill a Contract Specialist position located in the Office of Management (M), Administrative and Overseas Operations Division (AOO), Contracting Team in Washington, D.C.
Summary
You are encouraged to read the entire announcement before you submit your application package.
The United States Agency for International Development Office of Inspector General (USAID OIG) is seeking a highly qualified applicant to fill a Contract Specialist position located in the Office of Management (M), Administrative and Overseas Operations Division (AOO), Contracting Team in Washington, D.C.
Status Candidates (on career or career-conditional appointments), including former Federal employees with reinstatement eligibility, and those eligible for CTAP; ICTAP; VRA; VEOA; special hiring programs under a non-competitive appointment authority such as Schedule A; Executive Order 12721, and individuals on interchange agreement with Other Merit Systems.
The successful candidate is responsible for providing excellent customer service in contracting and procurement by resolving complex contracting issues, creating innovative solutions for customers, and working well with customers from all OIG components. You will be responsible for the following duties:
Solicit, negotiate, award and serve as a technical expert in the preparation and negotiation of the more difficult and complex acquisition actions.
Exercise independent judgment in planning, organizing and directing the acquisition and contractual aspect of assigned programs for the USAID/OIG.
Monitor and evaluate performance, manage resources, develop plans and take actions to achieve goals.
Review, analyze and implement acquisition policies and procedures. Serve as a warranted Contracting Officer with limited authority to obligate the Government.
Terminate contract(s) by analyzing, negotiating and settling claims and proposals.
Serve as contract administrator, conducting the full range of contract administration actions from award to contract close-out, to include kick off meetings and preparing modifications. Serve as the point of contact concerning contractual matters.
Build and maintain effective relationships with stakeholders to negotiate points of view and resolve conflicts.
Must be willing and able to travel domestically and internationally
Must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance.
Time in grade must be met by the closing date of the vacancy announcement.
Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with the Selective Service.
Relocation expenses WILL NOT be paid.
Designated and/or random drug test required
Active Certified (DAWIA) or FAC-C level III
Qualifications
Applicants currently holding a DAWIA/FAC-C Level III certification are considered to have met all mandatory acquisition training requirements for this announcement. You MUST submit your certification with your application package in order to be considered for the position.
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.
In addition to the mandatory basic requirements/education requirements specified in this announcement, applicants must have specialized experience and/or directly related education in the increments shown below:
Specialized Experience: To qualify for the GS-13: Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade/level (GS-12) such as: (1) applying a thorough knowledge of federal statutes, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Federal Appropriations Law, Anti Deficiency Act, and the Prompt Payment Act (2) Experience in acquisition planning; writing performance work statements; soliciting, evaluating, and negotiating contracts; awarding and terminating contracts; performing contract administration and management functions, and (3) experience working with multiple contract types and arrangements.
Time in Grade Requirement: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent.
Applicants must meet basic eligibility requirements such as minimum qualifications, and other regulatory requirements by the closing date of the announcement.
SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR:
Selective Placement Factors (SPFs) are knowledge, skills, abilities, or special qualifications that are in addition to the minimum requirements in a qualification standard, but are determined to be essential to perform the duties and responsibilities of a particular position. Applicants who do not meet a selective factor are ineligible for further consideration.**This position has one (1) selective placement factor, which applicants must meet in order to be eligible for this position:
Applicants must be an active Federal Acquisition Certified in Contracting (FAC-C)/ Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) Level III certified Warranted Contracting Officer. (You must provide proof of Level III certification with application.)
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 relevant to the position's duties to be filled, including volunteer experience.
Career Transition Program: This program applies to Federal workers whose positions have been deemed 'surplus' or no longer needed, or an employee has been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service. For information on how to apply and what documents to submit as an ICTAP or CTAP eligible, go to: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp. CTAP/ICTAP candidates will be referred to the selecting official if they are found well qualified. Well-qualified means an eligible employee who possesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities that clearly exceed the position's minimum requirements. A well-qualified employee must meet the qualification and eligibility requirements of the position, including any medical qualifications, suitability, and minimum education and experience requirements, meet all selective factors (where applicable); meet quality ranking factors and are assigned a score of 85 or higher; be physically qualified with reasonable accommodation to perform the essential duties of the position; meet any special qualifying U.S. OPM-approved conditions; AND be able to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry without additional training.
A well-qualified candidate will not necessarily meet the definition of highly or best qualified when evaluated against other candidates who apply for a particular position. Selecting officials will document the job-related reason(s) for qualification determinations in the absence of selective and quality ranking factors.
Education
Submit copies of certifications and copies of transcripts listing courses with credit hours, major(s), and grade point average if you are qualifying on the basis of education. You can receive credit for education received outside the United States if you provide evidence that it is comparable to an accredited educational institution in the United States when you apply.
Additional information
Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date. This means that you must have served at least 52 weeks at the next grade level (or equivalent) below the grade advertised on this vacancy announcement.
USAID is an independent Federal Government agency that receives overall foreign policy guidance from the Secretary of State. With headquarters in the District of Columbia, we operate in more than 100 countries worldwide, playing an active and critical role in the promotion of U.S. foreign policy interests. When crisis strikes, when rights are repressed, when hunger, disease, and poverty rob people of opportunity, USAID acts on behalf of the American people to help expand the reach of prosperity and dignity to the world's most vulnerable people. USAID employees and contractors must commit to maintaining a workplace free of sexual misconduct, including harassment, exploitation, and abuse, and adhere to USAID's Counter-Trafficking in Persons Code of Conduct. For information on the effort to counter all forms of human trafficking, including the procurement of commercial sex acts and the use of forced labor, visit http://www.state.gov/g/tip. For more information about USAID, visit http://www.usaid.gov.
Due to COVID-19, the agency is currently in an expanded telework posture. If selected, you may be expected to temporarily telework, even if your home is located outside the local commuting area. Once employees are permitted to return to the office, you will be expected to report to the duty station listed on this announcement within 30 days. At that time, you may be eligible to request to work remotely or continue to telework one or more days a pay period depending upon the terms of the agency's remote/telework policy.
This announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
These are Testing Designated Positions (TDP's) under the Agency's approved Drug-Free Work Place Program. All applicants selected for this position will be subject to random drug testing once they begin working for the Agency.
Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer is required.
Moving and relocation expenses are not authorized.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
We will review your application package to ensure you meet the job and eligibility requirements, including the education and/or experience required for this position. If you meet the minimum qualifications stated in the vacancy announcement, we will compare your resume, optional cover letter, and supporting documentation to your responses on the scored occupational questionnaire (True/False, Yes/ No, Multiple Choice questions) to determine if your answers to the assessment questionnaire are supported in your resume. If your answers to the online assessment questionnaire are not supported in the resume it will affect your eligibility for further consideration. You may be found "not qualified" if you do not possess the minimum competencies required for the position. If your application is incomplete, we will rate you as ineligible. Candidates rated as Highly Qualified will be referred to the hiring manager and may be invited for an interview.
The scored occupational questionnaire will evaluate you on the following competencies:
Contracting/Procurement
Customer Service
Oral Communication
Technical Credibility
Writing
It is the Government's policy not to deny employment simply because an individual has been unemployed or has had financial difficulties that have arisen through no fault of the individual. USAID will use information about an individual's employment experience only to determine their qualifications and assess their relative level of knowledge, skills, and abilities. Although an individual's conduct may be relevant in any employment decision, including behavior during periods of unemployment or evidence of dishonesty in handling financial matters, financial difficulty that has arisen through no fault of the individual will generally not be the basis of an unfavorable suitability or fitness determination.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
CTAP; ICTAP Eligibles: Must submit a copy of the appropriate documentation such as a reduction-in-force (RIF) separation notice, an SF-50 reflecting your RIF separation, or a notice of proposed removal for declining a direct reassign or transfer of function to another commuting area.
If this position requires proof of higher education, or you are qualifying based on education, you must include a copy of your transcript (unofficial or official) or a list of courses that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. Please refer to http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/policy/ApplicationOfStds-04.asp for more information. Please be advised that an official transcript will be required if you are selected for the position.
Current Federal Employees: A most recent copy of your SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action); your document must reflect grade, step, tenure code "1" (Career) or "2" (Career-Conditional), and type of position occupied.
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.
The following instructions outline our application process. You must complete this online application process and submit any applicable required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. If applying online poses an extreme hardship, you must contact the human resources office no later than two business days before the closing date of this vacancy announcement. Our Office will provide an alternative application method upon approval of the hardship notification. After the advertisement has closed, we will not grant requests to apply via alternative plans.
Please note, we must receive all required documents by the closing date via online or alternative methods. We will determine your eligibility and qualifications based solely on the material received by the closing date.
Step 1 - Review the Job Announcement (https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11418491)
Before you apply, we suggest you review the entire job announcement. Pay close attention to the Major Duties section and the How You Will Be Evaluated section, where you will see the areas upon which an HR Specialist or Subject Matter Expert will evaluate your application and a link for previewing online questions.
Step 2 - Create or Upload a resume with USAJOBS (www.usajobs.gov)
Create or upload a resume in USAJOBS. You may wish to customize your resume to ensure it supports your responses to the online questions and addresses the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section of the job announcement. For resume tips, click here.-Although you must enter your Social Security Number (SSN) for USAJOBS, we will only see the last four digits for identification purposes.
Step 3 - Apply Online
Click the "Apply Online" button on this announcement and then select the resume you wish to submit with your application. You will be redirected to the OPM's USA Staffing website to complete the application process.
Step 4 - Answer the Online Questions and Submit Your Online Application
If this is your first time on OPM's USA Staffing website, the system will prompt you to register by answering questions about your eligibility for Federal employment. Select "Take me to the assessment" and click on the "Next" button to answer the job-specific questions. The system will save these responses and take you back to the main screen so that you can answer the job-specific questions. You must answer all the questions and click the "Finish" button.
Step 5 - Review and Confirm Your Submission
You will now have the option to upload a document or print fax cover sheets for documents (see Step 6 for details). Once you click "Done," you will see a summary of your application for your review, and you may also print a copy for your records. When you click "Finish" at the bottom of the page, our system will then direct you back to USAJOBS, where you can confirm that you correctly submitted your application, and you can track your application status.
Step 6 - Submit Documents
You can submit any applicable required or optional documents (see below) by document upload, fax, or e-mail. Whichever method you choose, please include the job announcement number with your records. To protect your privacy, we encourage you to remove your SSN from any documents that you submit.
Document Upload: You may upload documents in one of two ways:
Once you finish answering the questions in the job announcement, the system will prompt you to upload your document(s) to your application. You will be given a choice to either upload the document as part of the application process or select a copy that you've already loaded on USAJOBS. Or
You can upload a document to an existing application by logging into your USAJOBS account profile. Click on "My Applications" and search for the vacancy. Once you've located the vacancy, click on the vacancy and select "Apply Online." Move through your existing application to the Documents page and select upload to add a document to your application. Be sure to review your complete application for confirmation that you uploaded the document.
OIG - Office of Management
1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20523
US
Next steps
You must complete the online application/Occupational Questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below to apply for this position.
You must submit a complete application package by 11:59 PM (EST) on the announcement's closing date to receive consideration.
To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you must create one before beginning the application.
Follow the prompts to select your resume and other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.
Our automated system will take you to the online application you must complete to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and apply.
To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
CTAP; ICTAP Eligibles: Must submit a copy of the appropriate documentation such as a reduction-in-force (RIF) separation notice, an SF-50 reflecting your RIF separation, or a notice of proposed removal for declining a direct reassign or transfer of function to another commuting area.
If this position requires proof of higher education, or you are qualifying based on education, you must include a copy of your transcript (unofficial or official) or a list of courses that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. Please refer to http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/policy/ApplicationOfStds-04.asp for more information. Please be advised that an official transcript will be required if you are selected for the position.
Current Federal Employees: A most recent copy of your SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action); your document must reflect grade, step, tenure code "1" (Career) or "2" (Career-Conditional), and type of position occupied.
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.
The following instructions outline our application process. You must complete this online application process and submit any applicable required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. If applying online poses an extreme hardship, you must contact the human resources office no later than two business days before the closing date of this vacancy announcement. Our Office will provide an alternative application method upon approval of the hardship notification. After the advertisement has closed, we will not grant requests to apply via alternative plans.
Please note, we must receive all required documents by the closing date via online or alternative methods. We will determine your eligibility and qualifications based solely on the material received by the closing date.
Step 1 - Review the Job Announcement (https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11418491)
Before you apply, we suggest you review the entire job announcement. Pay close attention to the Major Duties section and the How You Will Be Evaluated section, where you will see the areas upon which an HR Specialist or Subject Matter Expert will evaluate your application and a link for previewing online questions.
Step 2 - Create or Upload a resume with USAJOBS (www.usajobs.gov)
Create or upload a resume in USAJOBS. You may wish to customize your resume to ensure it supports your responses to the online questions and addresses the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section of the job announcement. For resume tips, click here.-Although you must enter your Social Security Number (SSN) for USAJOBS, we will only see the last four digits for identification purposes.
Step 3 - Apply Online
Click the "Apply Online" button on this announcement and then select the resume you wish to submit with your application. You will be redirected to the OPM's USA Staffing website to complete the application process.
Step 4 - Answer the Online Questions and Submit Your Online Application
If this is your first time on OPM's USA Staffing website, the system will prompt you to register by answering questions about your eligibility for Federal employment. Select "Take me to the assessment" and click on the "Next" button to answer the job-specific questions. The system will save these responses and take you back to the main screen so that you can answer the job-specific questions. You must answer all the questions and click the "Finish" button.
Step 5 - Review and Confirm Your Submission
You will now have the option to upload a document or print fax cover sheets for documents (see Step 6 for details). Once you click "Done," you will see a summary of your application for your review, and you may also print a copy for your records. When you click "Finish" at the bottom of the page, our system will then direct you back to USAJOBS, where you can confirm that you correctly submitted your application, and you can track your application status.
Step 6 - Submit Documents
You can submit any applicable required or optional documents (see below) by document upload, fax, or e-mail. Whichever method you choose, please include the job announcement number with your records. To protect your privacy, we encourage you to remove your SSN from any documents that you submit.
Document Upload: You may upload documents in one of two ways:
Once you finish answering the questions in the job announcement, the system will prompt you to upload your document(s) to your application. You will be given a choice to either upload the document as part of the application process or select a copy that you've already loaded on USAJOBS. Or
You can upload a document to an existing application by logging into your USAJOBS account profile. Click on "My Applications" and search for the vacancy. Once you've located the vacancy, click on the vacancy and select "Apply Online." Move through your existing application to the Documents page and select upload to add a document to your application. Be sure to review your complete application for confirmation that you uploaded the document.
OIG - Office of Management
1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20523
US
Next steps
You must complete the online application/Occupational Questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below to apply for this position.
You must submit a complete application package by 11:59 PM (EST) on the announcement's closing date to receive consideration.
To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you must create one before beginning the application.
Follow the prompts to select your resume and other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.
Our automated system will take you to the online application you must complete to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and apply.
To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.
Fair and transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
