Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted current Architect of the Capitol (AOC) employees.

The work requires an in-depth knowledge of a variety of specialized purchasing methods and procedures to perform procurement actions. Meets with suppliers to discuss terms, special requirements, schedules, etc., resulting from the nature of item or service being purchased.

• Responsible for procuring supplies, services, equipment through a variety of small purchasing methods and procedures. 
• Receives, reviews, and analyzes assigned procurement requests including SOW and specifications for adequacy, conciseness and consistency with AOC purchasing guidelines.
• Processes purchase requests by screening and reviewing the request for completeness and accuracy, ensuring available funds, determining the appropriate purchase method in accordance AOC policies and consistent with FAR regulations. 
• Develops unique selection criteria for each purchase. Interprets guidelines, adapts procedures , decides approaches, and resolves specific problems in soliciting sources and investigating markets for items or services with unique or complicated requirements or circumstances.
• Develops purchasing/solicitation strategy by analyzing a variety of information, such as specifications and AOC procurement policies and procedures, history files, market conditions, item characteristics, or catalogs, and analyzing various tradeoffs , such as cost of renting vs. purchasing, free services included, vendor reputation or previous performance , etc.
• Independently determines whether to meet requirements by ordering against an existing contract or through open market procedures, whether and how to solicit quotes, markets to locate a source, analyzes proposed prices or costs, and evaluates methods of allocating costs through various types of overhead and/or general and administrative expense. 
• Awards and administers small purchases that require extensive monitoring and oversight resolving complex problems, such as protests, claims, terminations, or substantial modifications. 
• Uses FMS & Maximo operating systems to perform purchasing and conduct keep current on FAR guidelines and US code. 

Performs other related duties as assigned.

Conditions of employment

• You must be able to pass a drug test.
• You must meet the definition of specialized experience.
• Your resume and question responses must demonstrate the job-related KSAs.

“To be employed by the Architect of the Capitol in a paid position, an individual must meet one of the categories below:

• A citizen of the United States;
• A person who is lawfully admitted for permanent residence and is seeking citizenship as outlined in 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)(B);
• A person who is admitted as a refugee under 8 U.S.C. 1157 or is granted asylum under 8 U.S.C. 1158 and has filed a declaration of intention to become a lawful permanent resident and then a citizen when eligible;
• A person who owes allegiance to the United States (nationals of American Samoa, Swains Island, and the Northern Mariana Islands, and nationals who meet other requirements described in 8 U.S.C. 1408); or
• A person who is currently an officer or employee of the Government of the United States.”

Qualifications

You must meet the United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements (including specialized experience and/or educational requirements) for the advertised position. You must meet all eligibility and qualifications requirements by the closing date of the job announcement. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on the OPM web site at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications.
 

Specialized Experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position and is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, an applicant's one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for successful job performance.

To qualify at the GS-08 level, your resume must clearly demonstrate that you have one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience comparable in difficulty and responsibility to at least the GS-07 level in the federal service. Examples of qualifying experience include the following types of tasks performed on a regular and recurring basis:

• Utilizing purchasing regulations, methods, procedures and business practices to make purchases involving specialized and commercial items and services;

• Using government or company purchase card to process purchases, service or goods;

• Communicating (oral and written) with internal and external customers and vendors on purchasing/procurement questions, policies and procedures;

• creating reports utilizing automated computerized supply/inventory management systems and Microsoft Office software programs; and

• resolving a variety of shipment, payment, or other discrepancies in support of procurement programs and operations.

How you will be evaluated

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

Review your resume and responses carefully. Your eligibility for consideration and qualifications for the position will be determined based upon a review of your detailed resume and your responses to job specific self-assessment questions. 

Your resume will be evaluated based on evidence of your ability to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) for this position, possession of any specialized experience, and how well your background and experience relates to the self-assessment questions in the job announcement. The self-assessment questions relate to the following knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies:

CONTRACTING/PROCUREMENT

CUSTOMER SERVICE

MANAGES AND ORGANIZES INFORMATION

COMMUNICATION

Your responses to the self-assessment questions serve as the basis for your initial rating. You will receive a numerical score based on your responses to these questions.  Next, your responses will be evaluated by a Human Resources Specialist and/or a subject matter expert against the information provided in your resume and optional cover letter. Your resume must support your answers to the self-assessment questions. Falsifying your background, education and/or experience is cause for non-selection or disqualification from further consideration.

Please note that a complete application is required for consideration. (Please review the “Required Documents” section of this job announcement to see what must be included in a complete application).