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Contract Specialist

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

Summary

VA is one of the largest procurement and supply agencies of the Federal Government. Pharmaceuticals, medical supplies and equipment, subsistence, and other critical patient care items are procured and distributed to VA's health care facilities and other Government agencies comprising the largest health care delivery system in the country. Supply support is provided to VA activities, State Veterans Homes, Canteen Service, as well as other Government agencies.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
04/10/2026 to 04/15/2026
Salary
$106,437 - $138,370 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Locations
2 vacancies in the following locations:
Golden, CO
Hines, IL
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
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
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
Yes
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
CCLQ-12931825-26-HLS
Control number
864639000

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 excepted 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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  • Performs the full range of contracting functions from the initial customer inquiries to market research, to development of solicitations, proposal evaluation, contract award, through contract administration and contract close-out.
  • Contract administration functions include but are not limited to cost/price adjustments, consideration of time extensions, change orders, stop work orders, cure notices, show cause letters and contract close- out.
  • Negotiates with offerors/contractors for best prices, terms and conditions, and explores new and innovative approaches to contracting.
  • Responsible for all functions and issues all notices required by the contracts and finalizes close- out of the contracts and program
  • Advises the Chief, Service Director, VA Medical Centers, VA Central Office officials and any other pertinent officials and/or customers on acquisition related matters and acts as a partner and consultant in purchase descriptions and/or statements of work.
  • Prepares Determination and Findings, Price Negotiation Memorandums and source selection plans for negotiated acquisitions and solicitation documents.
  • Implements program changes and provides advice on policy and regulations.
  • Responsible for ensuring a good knowledge of all contracting programs and for having a well-rounded knowledge of the various programs and program offices that interact and affect the contracts under his/her area of responsibility.
  • Provides advice, guidance and training to lower-graded personnel.
  • Perform other duties as assigned

Work Schedule: Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm
Compressed/Flexible: May be available
Telework: Available - Ad Hoc telework (situational telework) as determined by the agency policy.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: PD20523A
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, 04/15/2026.

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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. 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/or education as described below:

Contracting Series, 1102, Individual Occupational 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.

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.

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 1 and 2 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, 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.

In addition to the Individual Occupational Requirements listed above, applicants must meet the specialized experience as described below:

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 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 a wide range of contracting methods, contract types, regulations, policies, procedures, and requirements.
  • Conducting pre-solicitation and solicitation principles, requirements, and processes including acquisition planning for large programs.
  • Experience applying source selection principles and techniques.
Evidence of this specialized experience must be supported by detailed documentation of like duties performed in positions held on your resume. You will also need to provide work experience information such as hours per week, full-time/part-time status, and starting/ending dates of employment (month and year format) to establish you have one (1) full year of specialized experience at the required grade level.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
  • Accountability
  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Influencing/Negotiating
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork

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.

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:

  • Demonstrate knowledge of Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), and other Federal acquisition regulations such as VAAR, DFAR, GASAAR, etc.
  • Knowledge of acquisition principles, policies and processes pertaining to a major acquisition program, a major supply chain, logistics or health care organization
  • Experience with a variety of contract types and purchasing types and reviewing other contracting officers work
  • Mentoring and training contract officers and extensive experience in analyzing, formulating and recommending new policy/ program enhancements
  • Demonstrate ability to identify issues, recommend improvements, implement and deliver good customer service
  • Demonstrate excellent skills in conducting detailed analysis of complex functions and work processes, adapting analytical techniques and evaluation criteria to the measurement and improvement of programs/ organizations
  • Extensive experience in dealing with complex issues which require courtesy and effective communication skills in dealing with a variety of management officials within and outside a major logistics or health care organization

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/.

Local Commuting Area: The local commuting area for this position is defined as a radius of 50 miles from Hines, IL or Golden, CO . This includes all locations that fall within a 50-mile driving distance from 1st Avenue, One Block North of 22nd Street, Building 37, Hines, IL 60141 or 555 Corporate Circle, Golden, CO 80401

Education

Employee must meet eligibility requirements to receive and maintain a FAC-C Professional certification within 12 months upon appointment into the position. When requested by supervisor, employee must apply for up to a Level I Contracting Officer Warrant.

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

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/.

Physical Requirements: Work is generally sedentary with no special physical demands. Incumbent may be subject to stress due to changed priorities, short deadlines, limited information and uncontrollable workload peaks.

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.

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.

  • Accountability
  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Influencing/Negotiating
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork


Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be contacted 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, Acquisition, and Logistics (OPAL)
  • All other current, permanent VA employees
  • All other applicants (if status)



Executive Director, Office of Acquisition, Logistics and Construction

OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise to care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate care to Veterans?

Agency contact information

Heather Shipp
Email
heather.Shipp@va.gov
Address
Office of Procurement, Acquisition and Logistics
P.O. Box 76, Bldg. 37
1st Ave, North of Cermak Road
Hines, IL 60141
US

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http://www.va.gov/jobs

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