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Contract Specialist

General Services Administration
Federal Acquisition Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

As a Contract Specialist , you will perform the full range of pre-award and post-award functions for contracts.

Position Location: Please reference the Major Duties Section for further clarification.

We are currently filling one vacancy, but additional vacancies may be filled as needed.

Overview

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Job canceled
Open & closing dates
05/24/2023 to 06/07/2023
Salary
$98,496 to - $158,432 per year

Salary subject to locality rates based on selected duty station.

Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Locations
1 vacancy in the following locations:
Location Negotiable After Selection
GSA - US Locations
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—The official duty station is a federal facility, leased space, or an alternative worksite (typically the employee’s home) within the specified geographic area. If you are selected for this position, you will be expected to report to the duty station listed on this announcement within 45 days. At that time, you may be eligible to request to telework one or more days a pay period depending upon the terms of the agency’s telework policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Occasional travel may be required.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
13
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Top Secret
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
23FASC276ECMP-1
Control number
727803200

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Duties

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This position is Category 2 with job functions that must be executed within specific geographic locations. The official duty station is a federal facility, leased space, or an alternative worksite (typically the employee’s home) within the specified geographic area of: Texas, Alabama, Missouri, Georgia, Pennsylvania, California, District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, or Florida. If you are selected for this position, you will be expected to report to the duty station listed on this announcement within 45 days. At that time, you may be eligible to request to telework one or more days a pay period depending upon the terms of the agency’s telework policy.

The Location of this position will be determined upon selection as described on this announcement. The position is in GSA, Federal Acquisition Service, Region 5, Assisted Acquisition Services, Contracting Division"

Major Duties:

  • Performs procurement planning. Identifies within assigned national procurement responsibilities which equipment, systems and services can be acquired by contract. Develops procurement objectives for the nationwide acquisitions in terms of competition and price range and constructs the contractual vehicle including use of pricing arrangements, subcontracting policy, set aside policies and similar considerations.
  • Prepares and maintains current acquisition plans, appropriate milestone charts and related schedules. Serves as an advisor to program officials in procurement planning meetings. Advises program officials of the procurement objectives to be used and assists in the preparation of statements of work. Prepares determinations and findings and solicitation documents. Performs detailed analyses of all elements of cost in contractor proposals and makes competitive range determinations.
  • Prepares and maintains current acquisition plans, appropriate milestone charts and related schedules. Serves as an advisor to program officials in procurement planning meetings.
  • Plans a comprehensive negotiation strategy, coordinates strategy with others involved and leads negotiations which are conducted with contractors to develop the contract prices and terms. Awards the contract.
  • Performs contract administration, including incremental funding, preparation of rate and cost adjustments, redirection of effort, coordination of time extensions, incorporation of change orders, issuance of stop work orders, issuance of cure notices or show cause letters, monitoring of Government property reporting, approval of progress payments, final payment and contract close out.
  • Conducts preproposal conferences with prospective contractors to arrive at a clear understanding of what is required under the proposed contract. Obtains appropriate data from business and technical officials. Issues necessary modifications to clarify questions concerning such topics as specification changes, language ambiguities or clarification of contract clauses. As required by the lack of meaningful cost and price information, incumbent explores new or innovative contracting approaches to arrive at an equitable contract arrangement.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • US Citizenship or National (Residents of American Samoa and Swains Island)
  • Meet all eligibility criteria within 30 days of the closing date
  • Meet time-in-grade within 30 days of the closing date, if applicable
  • Register with Selective Service if you are a male born after 12/31/1959

If selected, you must meet the following conditions:

  • Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non­Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service.
  • Serve a one year probationary period, if required.
  • Undergo and pass a background investigation (Tier 5 investigation level).  You must be granted this clearance before you can start the job.
  • Have your identity and work status eligibility verified if you are not a GSA employee.  We will use the Department of Homeland Security’s e-Verify system for this. Any discrepancies must be resolved as a condition of continued employment.
  • Complete a financial disclosure report to verify that no conflict, or an appearance of conflict, exists between your financial interest and this position
  • Any applicant tentatively selected for this position will be required to submit to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Appointment to the position will be contingent upon a negative drug test result.

Qualifications

For each job on your resume, provide:

  • the exact dates you held  each job (from month/year to month/year)
  • number of hours per week you worked (if part time).    

If you have volunteered your service through a National Service program (e.g., Peace Corps, Americorps), we encourage you to apply and include this experience on your resume.

For a brief video on creating a Federal resume, click here

The GS 13 salary range starts at $98,496.00 per year. If you are a new federal employee, your starting salary will likely be set at the Step 1 of the grade for which you are selected.  

You must meet the requirements in 1, 2, or 3 below:

1. All of a, b, and c below:

(a) Completion of Training/Certification: FAC-C (Professional)  or DoD Contracting Professional or FAC-C Level I or DAWIA (Contracting) Level I or higher certification. Note: After September 30, 2023, you will need to submit the FAC-C (Professional) or DoD Contracting Professional certifications or you will need to request a waiver.

(b) At least 4years of experience in contracting or related positions including 1 year of specialized experience at or equivalent to work at the level described below; and
(c) 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.

2. Exception: If you were in a GS-1102 position on January 1, 2000, you will be exempt from meeting the educational requirements for the grade level of that position.  However, to be promoted you will have to meet Option 1 or 3.  

3. Waiver: GSA's senior procurement executive has the discretion to waive any or all of the requirements in 1 above.  Note: Candidates that are missing either the 24 hours of business credit and/or the mandatory training certification, but are determined to be otherwise eligible, can be placed on a waiver certification by the HR staffing specialist.

Specialized experience is one year of experience equivalent to the GS-12 in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as experience utilizing contracting regulations, policies, and procedures to: 

  • perform the full range of pre-award and post-award activities on various contract types such as fixed price, fixed price economic price adjustment, various cost type contracts, requirements contracts, performance-based acquisitions, and multiple award schedules. 
  • defend pre-award and/or post-award protests, contract claims, and contract disputes.
  • work as part of an effective, integrated project team as well as work collaboratively with junior contract specialists and coworkers.

Examples should detail evidence of professional potential, business acumen, strong oral/written communication, and relationship building in order to procure a variety of complex or specialized products and/or services.

This position has a positive education requirement: Applicants must submit a copy of their college or university transcript(s) and certificates by the closing date of announcements to verify qualifications. If selected, an official transcript will be required prior to appointment.  

Education

Note: 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. For further information, visit: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Additional information

Bargaining Unit Status
- This position is eligible for the bargaining unit

Relocation Not Paid

Relocation-related expenses are not approved and will be your responsibility.  

Management Rights

Additional vacancies may be filled from this announcement as needed; through other means; or not at all.  

Diversity

GSA is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility that goes beyond our compliance with EEO regulations including: 
  • Valuing and embracing diversity, promoting equity, inclusion and accessibility, and expecting cultural competence; and
  • Fostering a work environment where all employees, customers and stakeholders feel respected and valued.
Our commitment is: 
  • Reflected in our policies, procedures and work environment;
  • Recognized by our employees, customers and stakeholders; and
  • Drives our efforts to recruit, attract, retain and engage the diverse workforce needed to achieve our mission.

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 on the questions you answer during the application process, which will measure your overall possession of the following competencies or knowledge, skills, and abilities.  Your responses to these questions must be supported by your resume or your score may be lowered. 

  • Expert knowledge of contract types, methods of contracting and techniques including cost and incentive contracting, award fee, cost sharing arrangements, processing of unsolicited proposals, multiple awards, special provisions relating to proprietary rights and rights in data.
  • Mastery of Federal procurement requirements and regulations, national and worldwide contract laws and procedures applicable to the acquisition and contract administration of a wide range of highly technical, complex telecommunications and information technology/automated data processing equipment, systems and services.
  • Knowledge of contract administration and termination techniques sufficient to administer and close out contracts.
  • Skill in negotiation techniques to conduct contract negotiations and to meet and deal with high level business, industry, scientific and/or Government officials.

Additional hurdle assessments, such as narrative responses or other assessments, may be administered to applicants who meet the requirements of the first hurdle, e.g., the minimum qualification requirements. If additional assessments are used, you will be provided with further instructions.

Consideration will be given to performance appraisals and incentive awards in merit promotion selection decisions in accordance with 5 CFR 335.103(b)(3). You should list any relevant performance appraisals and incentive awards in your resume so that information will be taken into consideration during the selection process.  If selected, you may be required to provide supporting documentation.

If you are eligible under Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan or GSA’s Career Transition Assistance Plan(ICTAP/CTAP), you must receive a score of 85 or higher to receive priority.


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