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Contract Specialist

Department of Veterans Affairs
Executive Director, Office of Acquisition and Logistics
Office of Procurement and Logistics (OPAL), National Acquisition Center (NAC)

Summary

This position is located within one of the service organizations of the National Acquisition Center (NAC). The NAC is strategically aligned under the Office of Procurement and Logistics (OPAL), and Construction, both located in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The NAC is an organization that focuses on business solutions by partnering with the customer to strategically plan, award, and administer high visibility, and unique acquisition requirements with VA-wide implications.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
01/29/2026 to 02/02/2026
Salary
$76,463 to - $99,404 per year

The salary range listed reflects the GS base rate (not including locality). Upon selection, the salary will be adjusted to include locality.

Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Locations
1 vacancy in the following locations:
Golden, CO
Hines, IL
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—Ad-hoc telework (situational telework) available as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel up to 10% of the time for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
High Risk (HR)
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
Yes
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
CCLQ-12869625-26-AJT
Control number
855745900

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This job is open to current, permanent federal employees serving under career/career-conditional competitive service appointments or exceptive service appointments eligible under an Interchange Agreement; persons eligible for non-competitive appointment under special appointment authorities; current or former employees eligible under CTAP/ICTAP or reinstatement; and veterans eligible to apply under Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA), and/or 30% or more disabled veterans.

Duties

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Major Duties:

  • Maintaining responsibility for the solicitation, analysis, negotiation, award, and administration of a group of contracts and performs the full range of contract or contract administration duties related to the life cycle of contracts.
  • Engaging in acquisition planning, pre- and post-award responsibilities and contract awards for all major contracting elements for the NAC.
  • Actively participating in various work teams to ensure the best possible acquisition outcomes, to include but not limited to; Contract Review Boards, IPTs, and negotiation teams, as appropriate.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm
Compressed/Flexible: May be available with supervisor approval
Telework: Ad-hoc telework (situational telework) available as determined by the agency policy
Virtual: This is not a virtual position
Position Description/PD#: PD44084A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Required

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

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
  • Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents).
  • Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a one year probationary period or two year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:
  • your performance and conduct;
  • the needs and interests of the agency;
  • whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
  • whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
Upon completion of your probationary period one year probationary period or two year trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/02/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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. 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 provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. See the Required Document section below for more information regarding the SF-50s needed to verify time-in-grade.

You may qualify based on your experience and education as described below:

Individual Occupational Requirements for Contracting Series, 1102 at the GS-12 level:

  1. A 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with a major in any field; or
  2. At least 24 semester hours in any combination of the following fields: accounting, business, finances, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, or organization and management.
AND

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:
  • Applying contracting regulations, policies, procedures and requirements to administer contracts.
  • Applying pre-solicitation and solicitation principles, requirements, and processes to prepare solicitation documents including cost and pricing standards.
  • Experience using negotiation techniques to conduct pre-award and post-award negotiations such as supplemental agreements or settlement actions.
  • Experience in cost and price analysis techniques to prepare proposals against previous history, actual expenditures and established rates to determine negotiation positions.
  • Utilizing oral and written communications to convey technical contract regulations and requirements, and to document contracting methods and techniques employed to obtain negotiation objectives.


You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

  • Accountability
  • Acquisition Strategy
  • Attention to Detail
  • Contract Administration
  • Cost Estimation and Analysis
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Influencing/Negotiating
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork
  • Written Communication


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; religions; 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, including volunteer experience.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary in nature. The work is performed primarily in office areas or conference rooms and similar environments. However, it may require some traveling and visits to Government and/or contractor's facilities and other contract-related performance sites.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy.

To be found well qualified, applicants must meet the following qualifications:
  • Performingthe full range of pre-solicitation, pre-award, and post-award duties, including acquisition planning, solicitation development, price/cost analysis, negotiation, pre-award responsibility and responsiveness determinations, and post-award contract administration including exercising contract options, executing modifications, and contract closeout.
  • Evaluating, interpreting, analyzing, and selecting contract provisions and applying Federal statutes and regulations.
  • Collaborating with managers or other Contract Specialists and/or Cost/Price Analysts to analyze costs, proposals, and trends, and makes recommendations for specification requirements.
  • Reviewing drafts and finalizing a wide variety of written documentation directly related to acquisitions such as plans for major procurements, milestone charts, solicitation documents, modifications and Request for Proposals.
  • Conducting briefings and meetings on complex acquisition issues.

Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office.

Additional information

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration (HRA) at The Fair Chance Act.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here:
https://appsupport.usastaffing.gov/hc/en-us/sections/28980686389652-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information

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.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position.

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

  • Accountability
  • Acquisition Strategy
  • Attention to Detail
  • Contract Administration
  • Cost Estimation and Analysis
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Influencing/Negotiating
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork
  • Written Communication

The USA Hire Assessments includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

Area of Consideration: Eligible applicants will be reviewed and referred in the following order:

  • All current, permanent VA Employees in the Office of Procurement and Logistics (OPAL)
  • All other current, permanent VA employees
  • All other applicants (if status)

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