Clarification from the agency

ALL U.S. CITIZENS. DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY

Specific duties include:

• The incumbent monitors and reports on the status of work in progress and reviews completed work to ensure that instructions on work priorities, method, deadlines and quality have been met.
• The incumbent provides training to acquisition staff members, management, and customers regarding methods and techniques of performing contract actions and analyzing acquisition policy. The incumbent provides or arranges specific administrative or technical training necessary for accomplishment of individual and team tasks.
• The Procurement Analyst coordinates the response to and analysis of unique and complicated Congressional inquiries requiring extensive research. He or she examines and responds to Office of Inspector General (OIG} Hotline case referrals as determined by the Acquisition Division leadership. This will include, but is not limited to, site visits' recommendation development, official written responses; and coordination with members from OIG. The incumbent may, at times, serve on interdisciplinary groups to resolve and analyze issues as described above.
• The incumbent defines or assists in defining areas in which to conduct vulnerability assessments including assessments of contract administration/management systems, practices and procedures. The incumbent provides training to acquisition staff members, management, and customers regarding methods and techniques of performing contract actions and analyzing acquisition policy. The incumbent provides or arranges specific administrative or technical training necessary for accomplishment of individual and team tasks.
• The incumbent has wide latitude in reviewing daily operations and apprising the management team on problem areas, proposing corrective actions to be taken, and the monitoring of those actions once implemented. Public Laws, VA Manuals and Directives, Federal Acquisition and Veterans Administration Acquisition Regulations serve as the basis for interpretations, decisions, and correct application of VBA's data systems, principles, contract methods, and techniques. The incumbent will serve as the Alternate Automated Data Processing Applications Coordinator for VBA. He or she develops programs to support computer-enhanced systematic internal reviews and provides comprehensive analysis on a wide variety of VBA acquisition functions conducted via automation. The incumbent must initiate and analyze studies of VBA acquisition to provide feedback and generate new initiatives to enhance the current processes. As necessary, the incumbent revises, modifies, and installs new system procedures and/or organizational changes subject to the concurrence of the Supervisor or Director. The incumbent plans, organizes, and conducts computer systems training programs which promote the highest standard of employee efficiency, computer skill, and motivation.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement: 11/15/2024.

TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT: Applicants who are current Federal employees, former Federal employees applying for reinstatement, or a current federal employee applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment must meet time in grade requirements. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials.

NOTE: This does not apply to Non-Federal Applicants, or applicants applying for consideration under Non-Competitive Authority (i.e.... "30% or more Disability", VRA, and/or Schedule A).

To verify your eligibility, you must submit a copy of your most recent Notification of Personnel Action, Standard Form 50 (SF-50). You must provide a copy of your most recent SF-50 that indicates proof of status, and shows Time in Grade (for example, you were a career or career-conditional employee) and identifies your position title, series, grade, step, salary, tenure, and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must also submit your most recent promotion or within-grade increase in addition to your recent SF-50. If you previously held a higher grade, you must also submit any SF-50 showing that grade. DO NOT submit Award SF-50's and/or General Adjustment SF-50's as they cannot be used to prove time-in-grade.

• For a GS-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12 level.

Basic Requirements for GS-13 and Above:

1. Completion of all mandatory training prescribed by the head of the agency for progression to GS-13 or higher level contracting positions, including 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 of the position, and must have provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the work of the position.
   and
2. 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.
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, they 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 D.
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 A and B 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 D, 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: 1 year equivalent to at least next lower grade level.
  • Specialized experience is defined as experience in working as an analytical staff member and proactively conducting risk assessments specific to federal procurement. The incumbent is required to have a FAC-C (Professional) at time of assuming the position. The specialized position requirements are in accordance with the Office of Federal Procurement Policy memorandum for the FAC-C workforce as outlined in OFPP Memorandum https://www.fai.gov/sites/default/files/2014-05-07-FAC-C-Refresh.pdf and implemented by the Office of Personnel Management standards for 1102s https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1100/contracting-series-1102/.
    

How you will be evaluated

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

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Applicants who do not fully address the specialized experience needed for the position (as described above in the job announcement) in their resume will not be referred for consideration.

After you have met the minimum qualifications, you will be rated on the following competencies based on your application for this position:

• PROBLEM SOLVING - Analyzes problems, weighs relevance and accuracy of information; evaluates alternatives and implements solutions.
• COMMUNICATION: Ability to establish and maintain effective communication (oral and written) with persons both at all organizational levels and with officials of other departments and agencies on policy, technical and administrative matters
• INTERNAL CONTROLS/INTEGRITY: Assures that effective internal controls are developed and maintained to ensure the integrity of the organization.
• RISK MANAGEMENT: Knowledge of the principles, methods and tools used for risk assessment and mitigation including gap assessments and techniques to improve.
• TECHNIAL COMPETENCE: Applies principles, procedures, regulations, and policies related to procurement expertise.