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Contract Specialist

Department of Agriculture
Departmental Administration
PROCUREMENT OPERATIONS DIVISION

Summary

The position serves as a Contract Specialist responsible for the full range of procurement duties from inception to close-out. Contracts may be for various kinds of services, supplies, equipment, construction, information technology, and/or commodities. This announcement may be used to fill additional like vacancies within additional USDA organizations (more info in Education section). We anticipate filling 1 position in Boise, ID and many positions across remaining duty stations advertised.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
03/03/2026 to 03/09/2026
Salary
$90,925 to - $118,204 per year

Salary listed is the general base pay. Actual pay is determined by duty location. See additional information for details.

Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Locations
Many vacancies in the following locations:
Fort Collins, CO
Athens, GA
Boise, ID
Minneapolis, MN
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel 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
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
High Risk (HR)
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
Yes
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
OCP-12897908-26-PS
Control number
859543800

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Current permanent federal employees with competitive status, Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP and VEOA eligibles, Farm Service Agency permanent county employees, 30 percent or More Disabled Veterans, Certain Former Overseas and Foreign Service Employees, Military Spouses, Interchange Agreement and Other Miscellaneous Authorities, People with Disabilities, Peace Corps and VISTA, and Reinstatement candidates.

Duties

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  • Determines the type of contracts to be employed to best fulfill the proposed program requirements.
  • Develops and prepares solicitations, ensuring compliance with acquisition requirements.
  • Reviews contractor proposals/quotes, prepares appropriate Price Negotiation Memorandums, and conducts analysis ensuring reasonableness of price/costs for labor, materials, and profit.
  • Serves as an advisor to program officials in procurement planning by participating in meetings, strategic planning, and providing technical support and assistance to lower-grade personnel.
  • Negotiates procurements that may be high-dollar, high sensitivity, and/or highly visible within the agency.
  • Awards contracts in accordance with Contracting Officer warrant. Ensures all administrative contractual actions are done timely and properly, to include, but not limited to invoice processing, deobligations, unliquidated obligations, and close-outs.
  • Negotiates modifications necessitated by changes in mission requirements, defective specifications, changed site conditions, or changes in Government-furnished property.
  • Provides interpretation of contract requirements. Interfaces directly with Program Executive Offices and Contractor Program Staff to ensure contract requirements are fulfilled.
  • Coordinates with technical, budget, and program personnel for the execution of contract actions and approvals.
  • Job duties may vary slightly depending on assigned mission area. For additional information regarding mission areas participating in this recruitment effort, please review the Education section.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a US Citizen or US National.
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
  • If selected, you may be required to serve a probationary or trial period as applicable to appointment type. Refer to Next Steps section for more information.
  • Direct Deposit: Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
  • Incumbent must obtain a Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) within 6 months of entry to the position and must maintain this certification throughout their tenure.
  • If assigned to Information Technology (IT) contracting, the incumbent will also be required to obtain a FAC-C Digital Services specialization within 12 months and maintain this certification throughout their tenure.
  • Depending on the nature of the work and forthcoming Federal Acquisition Institute credentials, the position may also be required to obtain and maintain other Contract Specialist credentials as needed.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, 1102 Occupational Series individual occupational requirement, AND specialized experience, as defined below.

Time in grade:
Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled.

1102 Contracting Series Individual Occupational Requirements:

  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.

Minimum Qualification Requirements:
Applicants must meet the specialized experience requirements shown below. If qualifying based on experience, your application or resume must clearly show that you possess the specialized experience requirements. Specialized experience is defined as experience that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position.

For the GS-13 level
Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-12 level) which is directly related to the work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience in the application of contracting policies, regulations, and guidance used to plan, conduct market research, solicit, evaluate, negotiate, award, administer and closeout a variety of contract types; experience supporting customers through the contracting process to achieve mission results; and, experience utilizing innovative methods to solve contracting problems.




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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education

All applicants must meet the educational requirement for the Contracting Series, 1102 as outlined in the above Qualifications section. Transcripts must be supplied with application materials.


The following mission areas will be participating in this Shared Recruitment effort, mission area descriptions are as follows -

Departmental Administration, Procurement Operations Division (POD) is responsible for providing a full range of cradle-to-grave contracting support to the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture, Departmental Administration, and the Staff Offices, including support of Office of Chief Information Officer (OCIO), and other USDA agencies with an overall focus on Information Technology acquisitions.

Marketing and Regulatory Programs (MRP) non-commodity contracting delivers a full range of cradle-to-grave contracting support to Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). It manages a diverse and mission-critical portfolio that includes commercial supplies and services, information technology acquisitions, architect-engineering services, and construction. Many of the procurements overseen by the branch directly support national plant and animal health programs, scientific and veterinary operations, emergency response activities, laboratory and field operations, and commodity inspection and grading programs.

MRP Commodity Procurement Program (CPP) contracts for various agricultural products and related services that support nutrition assistance, humanitarian food aid, market support, and disaster assistance programs. CPP acquisition activities support nutrition and food aid programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) and Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) contracting supports the Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area which is dedicated to creating a safe, sustainable, competitive U.S. food and fiber system, as well as building strong communities, families, and youth through integrated research, analysis, and education. Incumbents in this mission area will be responsible for various types of procurement actions including, but not limited to, service and supplies contracts, commercial acquisitions, and simplified acquisitions.

Forest Service (FS) protects America's forests, supports sustainable use, and strengthens resilient communities. Acquisition professionals have the opportunity to advance this mission by securing high-quality construction and services that enable safe facilities, effective land management, and efficient stewardship of public resources. FS also delivers procurement support for the agency's Fire and Aviation Management program including emergency service acquisitions, equipment rentals, aviation support contracts, and supply purchasing.

Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is the public health regulatory agency responsible for ensuring the safety of meat, poultry and processed eggs. This position is located in the Procurement Management Branch (PMB), Administrative Service Division (ASD), of the Office of Management (OM). Contract specialists are responsible for the management and operation of a nation-wide program that provides support to FSIS in the areas of procurement and contracting for equipment, supplies and services.

Additional information

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.

Veterans who are preference eligible or who have been separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions after three years or more of continuous active service are eligible for consideration under the Veteran's Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA).

Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Employees: Permanent County employees without prior Federal tenure who are selected for a Civil Service position under Public Law 105-277 will be given a career-conditional appointment and must serve a 1-year probationary period.

For more information on applying under special hiring authorities such as 30 percent disabled veterans, certain military spouses, Schedule A Disabled, etc., explore the different Hiring Paths on the USAJOBS website.

Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) provides current or former temporary or term employees of federal land management agencies opportunity to compete for permanent competitive service positions. Individuals must have more than 24 months of service without a break between appointments of two or more years. Service must be in the competitive service and have been at a successful level of performance or better. Refer to PUBLIC LAW 114-47-AUG. 7, 2015 for more information.

If selected, you will be required to submit Form OGE-450 within 30 days of your initial appointment date, and annually thereafter. Selectee is subject to financial Disclosure Requirements in accordance with 5 CFR, Part 2635, Sub part E regarding business or personal transactions with applicants, borrowers, or business contacts who have or who are seeking business with this Agency. Selectee must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance. If selected you will be subject to a National Agency Check and Inquiry (NACI) and a credit report.

The salary ranges vary according to the geographic area locality adjustments; therefore, rates advertised represent base pay only as pay will depend upon the selectee's duty location. Please see the 2026 General Schedule (GS) Pay Tables for more 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.

You will be evaluated based on your qualifications for this position as evidenced by the experience, education, and training you described in your application package, as well as the responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine the degree to which you possess the knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies listed below:

  • Contracting/Procurement
  • Customer Service
  • Strategic Thinking
Your application, including the online Assessment Questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet (a) minimum qualification requirements and (b) the resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions. Your resume must clearly support your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position. Applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements and are determined to be among the best qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. Noncompetitive candidates and applicants under some special hiring authorities need only meet minimum qualifications to be referred.

Structured Resume Review: Subject matter experts (SMEs) will review your resume to determine your technical qualifications for this position based on the required specialized experience. SMEs will review ONLY two (2) pages of your resume, starting at your work experience. SMEs will not review additional information beyond your resume (e.g., links embedded in your resume will not be opened). Applicants passing the resume review will move on to the next phase of the assessment process.

Note: If after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.

Clicking the link below will present a preview of the application form; i.e. the online questionnaire. The application form link below will only provide a preview and does not initiate the application process. To initiate the online application process, click the "Apply" button to the right.

To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12897908

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