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Contract Specialist

General Services Administration
Federal Acquisition Service

Summary

As a Contract Specialist you will serve as a senior Contracting Officer planning and managing highly specialized procurements.

Location of position: Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) - Office of Travel, Transportation, and Logistics - Office of Acquisition Operations (QMA). San Francisco, CA; Lakewood, CO; Washington, DC; Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Boston, MA; Kansas City, MO; New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Fort Worth, TX and/or Tacoma, WA.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
12/29/2025 to 01/12/2026
Salary
$126,563 to - $195,200 per year

Duty location will be determined at the time of selection.

Pay scale & grade
GS 14
Locations
1 vacancy in the following locations:
San Francisco, CA
Lakewood, CO
Washington, DC
Atlanta, GA
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—This position is full-time in the office. In rare instances, situational telework may be approved on a case-by-case basis.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Occasional as needed.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
14
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
Yes - This position requires the submission of an OGE-450 from.
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
QM-2026-0003
Control number
853231400

Duties

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

As a Contract Specialist you will serve as a senior Contracting Officer with unlimited signatory authority planning and managing highly specialized procurements within the industries delegated to this portfolio, of significant importance to the Government, an Agency and/or the Nation; and, to develop complex, long-range procurement policies.

You will be responsible for the following duties:

  • Perform procurement planning to identify large-scale systems, components, equipment and services to be acquired by contract. Develop procurement objectives, interims of competition and price range, establish the contractual strategy for the overall acquisition and construct contractual vehicles. Develop cost accounting and life-cycle acquisition plans, appropriate milestone charts and related schedules to plan, develop and administer all contractual aspects. Direct the development of the source selection plan and oversee the Source Selection Board. Develop pre-negotiation positions and strategies, determine the types of contract and negotiation authority to be used and prepare any justifications.
  • Prepare determinations, findings and solicitation documents. Serves as a senior Contracting Officer with unlimited signatory authority for major government-wide programs within the Office of Acquisition Operations, General Services Administration (GSA), Federal Acquisition Service (FAS), Office of Travel, Transportation & Logistics. Performs detailed analyses of all elements of cost in contractor proposals and make competitive range determinations. Conduct pre-proposal conferences with prospective contractors to arrive at a clear understanding of what is required under the proposed contract. Obtain appropriate data from business and technical officials. Function as lead contract negotiator in developing pre-negotiation strategies. Coordinate with a broad range of Federal customers, Federal finance organizations, legal and other interested parties.
  • Serve as principal advisor to program officials, representing the agency in procurement planning meetings. Represents the agency on a variety of nationwide procurement teams, studies or projects to raise issues of significance; articulate positions and resolve problems or improve the procurement process nationwide.
  • Direct the full range of contract administration actions required for the programs. Terminate contract for the convenience of the Government or default by the contractor. Issue necessary modifications. As needed explore new or innovative contracting approaches to arrive at an equitable contractual arrangement. Direct disposition of claims and similar matters.
  • Provide expert technical guidance, coordination and consultation to identify procurement objectives and methodologies, implement new developments and provide policy interpretation to various contracting activities.

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 the Selective Service if you are a male born after 12/31/1959
  • Direct Deposit of salary check to financial organization required.

 If selected, you must meet the following conditions:

  • Receive authorization from OPM on any job offer you receive, if you are or were (within the last 5 years) a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch.
  • Serve a one year probationary period, if required.
  • Undergo and pass a background investigation (Tier 2 investigation level).
  • 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.

Conditions of Employment:

  • This position has a requirement for the FAC-C (Professional) certification which mandates that the incumbent obtain and maintain the FAC-C (Professional) certification.
  • Serve as an operational contracting officer and must be warrantable.

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-14 salary range starts at $126,563.00 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.

To qualify, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level or higher in the Federal service. 

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 Certification.
    (b) At least 4 years 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-13 in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as either A or B listed below:

A. Experience utilizing contracting regulations, policies, and procedures to:
- perform the full range of highly complex 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;
- perform delivery/task order placement and administration against multiple award contracts and/or requisitions;
- defend pre-award and/or post-award protests, contract claims, and contract disputes;
- lead or work as part of an effective, integrated project team and serve as principal contracting advisor to junior contract specialists and coworkers.

B. Leading or supervising contracting professionals providing contracting services for the acquisition of a wide range of supplies and services (professional and non-professional).
Examples must 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.

Must hold or have the ability to obtain a senior level warrant and obtain and maintain signature authority.

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://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/   

Additional information

If you apply to this position and are selected, we will not ask about your criminal history before you receive a conditional job offer. If you believe you were asked about your criminal history improperly, contact the agency or visit GSA's webpage.

Additional vacancies may be filled through this announcement in this or other GSA organizations within the same commuting area as needed; through other means; or not at all.

On a case-by-case basis, the following incentives may be approved:

  • Recruitment incentive if you are new to the federal government
  • Relocation incentive if you are a current federal employee
  • Credit toward vacation leave if you are new to the federal government

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

GSA does not accept applications or application materials submitted with Government-paid postage.

Candidates will not be hired based on their race, sex, color, religion, or national origin.

Applicants are encouraged to make their resume searchable in their USAJOBS.gov profile. This will allow Federal hiring specialists and hiring managers across agencies to find their resume as part of agency recruitment campaigns or staffing searches.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

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

A panel of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) will review the resumes of qualified candidates and assign a score for each of the five required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) based on the experience documented in the resume and narrative responses.

  1. Knowledge of the principles of acquisition planning sufficient to develop and implement a plan to procure multiyear contracts for highly technical equipment, systems and services.

  2. Skill in preparing determinations, findings and solicitation documents, negotiating techniques to conduct extensive contract negotiations, developing prenegotiation strategies, and dealing with high-level business, industry, scientific and/or high ranking officials.

  3. Ability to interpret laws, regulations, principles and policies to generate new procurement concepts and to recommend to top management approval of procurements for the largest, newest and/or critical state of the art systems, equipment and services.

  4. Skill in applying procurement principles and program requirements to plan, manage, and make decisions that significantly affect the development of complex, long range and interrelated programs,and to develop innovative contractual language, terms and conditions.

  5. Knowledge of contracting methods and contract types, including multiple awards, special provisions relating to proprietary rights and rights in data to manage and coordinate activities sufficient to control a variety of contractual actions of a major program occurring concurrently, in an overlapping fashion, or sequentially and to control several simultaneous interrelated contracts with different contractors.

Demonstration of these KSAs must be supported by your resume. Applicants should also make note of each KSA, as you will be asked to address them later in the application process.

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 the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) or GSA’s Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), your resume must clearly demonstrate experience in at least 3 of the 5 required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) to receive priority consideration.


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