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Contract Specialist

Department of Agriculture
Office of the Inspector General
Office of Management, Procurement Management Branch
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is in the Procurement Management Branch, responsible for the acquisition of supplies and services in order for the OIG to achieve its mission. Responsibilities include analyzing, evaluating, reviewing major procurements and programmatic issues, developing and issuing agency policy, and planning, managing, directing and advising a staff of contract specialists and support personnel, such as Contracting Officer Technical Representatives (COTR) and contractors.
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Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
02/06/2023 to 02/07/2023
This job will close when we have received 50 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$116,393 to - $183,500 per year
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
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
14
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Secret
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
USDA-OIG-MP-11827843-23-RB
Control number
704715700

Duties

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  • Serves as OIG?s technical contracting authority as well as the Supervisor of the Procurement Management Branch.
  • Plans, develops, and executes the contractual strategy for the overall acquisition program. Analyzes recommendations and formulates contracting strategies and objectives to be pursued, considering overall OIG and Government considerations.
  • Participates as lead negotiator of multi-disciplined Government negotiations and directs the analysis contracting operations.
  • Coordinates with Program Managers, technical experts, legal counsel, audit, higher-level authorities, and subordinate activities.
  • Makes decisions, as an agent of the organization, based on laws, statutes, regulations coupled with sound business judgment.
  • Serves as principal contracting advisor to the program management office and represents the agency as the programs' contractual authority at conferences and meetings. Monitors status of contractor performance.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a US Citizen
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check
  • Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served
  • Direct Deposit ? Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/
  • You will be required to complete an OGE-450, Confidential Statement of Employment and Financial Interests
  • Relocation expenses are NOT authorized
  • Must obtain 80 Continuous Learning Points every 2 years
  • Must be able to obtain a Secret level security clearance as required as a condition of employment.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined below.

*BASIC ELIGIBILITY:
Applicants must meet all of the following:

  1. Completion of 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. AND
  2. 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, GS-13.
  3. 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, applicants 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 3.
  4. 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 1 and 2 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 3, 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.
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE FOR THE GS-14: In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, candidates must also meet specialized experience that has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. For this position, at least one full-time year of specialized work experience must be equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the GS-13 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is experience providing sound business advice in the planning and execution of pre-award and post-award functions in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR); preparing solicitations, evaluating cost/price analysis, negotiating, and conducting source selection for the acquisition of goods or services; conducting market research and knowledge of a wide range of contracting methods such as, simplified acquisition, contracting by negotiation or commercial acquisition procedures.

SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR: APPLICANTS MUST BE FAC-C LEVEL III CERTIFIED OR DAWIA LEVEL III CERTIFIED AND POSSESS A CURRENT WARRANT. PROOF OF TRAINING/CERTIFICATIONS MUST BE INCLUDED IN THE APPLICATION PACKAGE.

Time in grade: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled (e.g. 52 weeks at the GS-13 grade level for consideration for the GS-14).

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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education

You must submit a copy of your transcripts to include course number, title, completion and grade. 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. If a relevant course is not clearly qualifying (e.g. special topic, seminar, research, thesis, obscure or misleading course title, etc.), please submit an official course syllabi and/or detailed course description from the university/college for that particular course to ensure you are properly evaluated. Please note that qualifications determinations are based solely on the information submitted for each particular vacancy announcement.

Important: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. Click on this link for more information.

THE SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE IS NOT QUALIFYING AT THE GS-14 LEVEL.

Failure to provide all of the required documents/information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

Additional information

  • Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.
  • Veterans who are preference eligible or who have been separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions after three years or more of continuous active service are eligible for consideration under the Veteran's Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA).
  • Recruitment or Relocation Incentive may be authorized. Final determination to pay an incentive will be made by the hiring official at time of job offer.

How you will be evaluated

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

You will be evaluated based on your qualifications for this position as evidenced by the experience, education, and training you described in your application package, as well as the responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine the degree to which you possess the knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies listed below:

  • Contracting/Procurement
  • Influencing/Negotiating
  • Oral Communcation
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Leadership
Your application, including the online Assessment Questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet (a) minimum qualification requirements and (b) the resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions. Your resume must clearly support your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position. Applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements and are determined to be among the best qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. Noncompetitive candidates and applicants under some special hiring authorities need only meet minimum qualifications to be referred.

Note: If after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.

Clicking the link below will present a preview of the application form; i.e. the online questionnaire. The application form link below will only provide a preview and does not initiate the application process. To initiate the online application process, click the "Apply" button to the right.

To view the application form, visit:
https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11827843

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