Clarification from the agency

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC - Open to all U.S. Citizens. Individuals who typically apply for positions under other authorities may also apply competitively to this position. (e.g. VRA, Schedule A, Peace Corps, Students, Recent Graduates, Military Spouses, National Guard, Indian Preference, Land Management, Family of Overseas Employees, Federal Employees, Agency Employees, ICTAP) Non-citizens may be eligible for this excepted service position under certain circumstances.

• Serves as a senior contracting advisor, providing expert cradle-to-grave acquisition support for complex and/or sensitive procurements involving advanced IT services, telecommunications systems, professional services, specialized equipment, software licensing, research support, and enterprise solutions.
• Develops comprehensive acquisition strategies, including market research plans, competition approaches, contract type recommendations, risk mitigation strategies, small business considerations, and socio-economic program applicability in accordance with FAR, agency supplements, and federal procurement law.
• Conducts extensive market research consistent with FAR Part 10 to identify market capabilities, commercial practices, contract vehicles, emerging technologies, and small business opportunities; documents findings and integrates results into acquisition planning documentation.
• Prepares complex solicitation packages including Statements of Work (SOW), Performance Work Statements (PWS), Statements of Objectives (SOO), evaluation criteria, Independent Government Cost Estimates (IGCE) coordination, source selection plans, and pricing structures for competitive and non-competitive procurements.
• Executes negotiated procurements under FAR Part 15, competitive procurements under FAR Part 14, or simplified acquisitions under FAR Part 13, selecting the method most appropriate based on procurement objectives, urgency, complexity, and mission requirements.
• Leads or serves as a key advisor on source selection evaluation boards, interpreting evaluation criteria, advising technical evaluators on compliance requirements, and ensuring proper documentation of technical, past performance, and cost/price assessments.
• Conducts detailed cost and price analyses, using techniques such as cost breakdown analyses, historical pricing, parametric estimates, learning curve considerations, and comparisons with IGCEs or commercial pricing to determine price reasonableness.
• Recommends award decisions based on integrated assessments of technical evaluations, cost/price analyses, past performance, and business judgments; prepares award documentation and ensures compliance with fiscal law and procurement integrity requirements.
• Administers complex contracts and task orders, including issuance of modifications, incremental funding actions, option exercises, change orders, Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) evaluations, and subcontracts or subcontracting plan reviews.
• Manages contract closeout activities, confirming final deliveries, validating final invoices and indirect rates (as applicable), verifying property disposition, reconciling funds, and ensuring proper archival in accordance with federal records requirements.
• Advises program offices and leadership, providing authoritative guidance on acquisition strategy, FAR/DFARS or agency supplement interpretation (as applicable), competition requirements, small business policies, contract vehicle selection, and procurement timelines.
• Supports agency procurement policy improvements, identifying systemic issues, recommending updates to templates, SOPs, acquisition guidance, checklists, training materials, cost/price guides, or internal controls, and participating in procurement process improvement initiatives.

Conditions of employment

• US Citizenship.
• Suitable for employment as determined by a background investigation.
• Serve a probationary period of one year, if applicable.
• Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.
• Financial disclosure statement may be required upon assuming the position.
• Resume must not exceed two pages and must meet resume format criteria.
• Education-Transcripts Required

Please note your resume must thoroughly support your responses to the vacancy questions.  Your resume is an integral part of the process for determining if you meet the basic qualifications of the position and determining if you are to be among the best qualified.

Qualifications

Interested candidates should be passionate about the ideals of our American republic, committed to upholding the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution, and committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government. Hiring decisions will not be based on race, sex, color, religion, or national origin.

Applicants must meet eligibility and qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.  Time in grade restrictions do not apply to Direct Hire procedures.

To be deemed as qualified, candidates must meet the qualification requirements, both Part A AND Part B.

PART A-BASIC OPM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

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

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.

OR

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.

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.

PART B-SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE

GS-13 SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE

In order to qualify for the GS-13 candidates must meet both the educational and specialized experience requirements as outlined below. Candidates must have a minimum of one year of specialized experience in or equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-12) in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is defined as follows:

1. Experience independently determining procurement requirements and needs.
2. Experience independently determining contracting type and methods.
3. Experience independently performing price analysis.
4. Experience independently researching business/industry practices.
5. Experience independently managing the process of contracts until formal close-out.
6. Experience performing contract lifecycle management.
7. Experience with various source selection procedures.
8. Experience performing digital IT contract management.

GS-14 SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE

In order to qualify for the GS-14 candidates must meet both the educational and specialized experience requirements as outlined below. Candidates must have a minimum of one year of specialized experience in or equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-13) in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is defined as follows:

1. Managing large, complex, and high-dollar value contracts, overseeing all phases of the contracting process from pre-award to post-award.
2. Ensuring compliance with Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and agency policies.
3. Conducting market research, preparing solicitations, evaluating proposals and making award recommendations.
4. Negotiating procurement related matters.
5. Providing expertise in the development of work statements and procurement requirements.
6. Experience providing expert guidance and assistance to CORs in the development of acquisition packages, contract administration and compliance with the FAR.

PART-TIME OR UNPAID EXPERIENCE: 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; religious; 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.

Subject matter experts will review your application to determine if you meet the following required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA's):

• Mastery of contracting concepts sufficient to independently plan, execute, and manage the full spectrum of highly complex negotiated procurements and acquisitions.
• Expert knowledge of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), agency supplements, OMB directives, SBA regulations, procurement statutes, and GAO/OIG protest doctrines.
• Expert knowledge of advanced acquisition planning, strategic sourcing, commercial item determinations, socio-economic programs, multi-year contracting, and performance-based acquisition.
• Expert knowledge of cost/price analysis methodologies including cost realism, weighted guidelines, price reasonableness testing, cost breakdown analysis, historical trend modeling, independent government cost estimate (IGCE) validation, market pricing intelligence, and subcontract cost analysis.
• Knowledge of contract administration functions including claims resolution, change orders, performance monitoring, option exercise analysis, CPARS evaluations, indirect rate adjustments, and closeout procedures.
• Skill in negotiation techniques to conduct contract negotiations and to meet and deal with high level business and/or Government officials.
• Knowledge of cost/price analysis techniques sufficient to evaluate contractor proposals and prepare pre-negotiation position.

If you are deemed to be qualified by the Subject Matter Experts, your application will be referred to the hiring manager for hiring consideration. Alternatively, if your application is not deemed as qualified by the Subject Matter Experts, your application will not be referred to the hiring manager for hiring consideration.

How you will be evaluated

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

As this position is being advertised under DEU and Merit Promotion hiring procedures, applicants will be rated on the extent and quality of experience and education relevant to the duties of the position using the hiring procedures outlined below.

Optional Four Essay Questions

At the time of application, applicants have the option of answering the following four short, free-response essay questions.

1. How has your commitment to the Constitution and the founding principles of the United States inspired you to pursue this role within the Federal government? Provide a concrete example from professional, academic, or personal experience.
2. In this role, how would you use your skills and experience to improve government efficiency and effectiveness? Provide specific examples where you improved processes, reduced costs, or improved outcomes.
3. How would you help advance the President’s Executive Orders and policy priorities in this role? Identify one or two relevant Executive Orders or policy initiatives that are significant to you, and explain how you would help implement them if hired.
4. How has a strong work ethic contributed to your professional, academic or personal achievements? Provide one or two specific examples, and explain how those qualities would enable you to serve effectively in this position.

Applicants will be required to certify that they are using their own words, and did not use a consultant or AI (such as a large language model [LLM]). The responses to each question cannot exceed 200 words per question.

All applicants will be rated on the extent and quality of experience and education relevant to the duties of the position.  The FCC determines the BEST QUALIFIED CANDIDATES based upon whether or not all of the qualification requirements have been met (education, basic experience requirements and specialized experience requirements).

As this position is being advertised under Direct Hire procedures, veterans preference does not apply.

A selecting official may make a selection from the list of candidates who are deemed as "Best Qualified".

Applicants under Merit Promotion will be considered in accordance with the agency's merit promotion plan and union agreement.

There are several parts to the application process that affect the overall evaluation of your application including:

1.  Resume-Must address the specialized experience
2.  SF-50-For current federal employees
3.  Supplemental documentation (e.g., DD-214, SF-50, SF-15, cover letter), if applicable; and
4.  Unofficial or official transcripts

Applicants will be rated ineligible if they do not meet all of the qualification requirements (education, basic experience requirements and specialized experience requirements).