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Contract Specialist

Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Coast Guard
Shore Infrastructure Logistics Center (SILC) COCO Const Contracting Division

Summary

This vacancy is for a GS-1102-13, Contract Specialist located in the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, SILC Chief of the Contracting Office Division with the position located in Baltimore, MD

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
05/04/2026 to 05/13/2026
Salary
$121,785 - $158,322 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Baltimore, MD
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
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
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
Yes
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
26-12947310-SE-BK-DHA
Control number
867723700

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Open to all U.S. Citizens. This position will be filled through Direct Hire Authority (DHA). All applicants who meet the basic qualification requirements will be forwarded to the Selecting Official for further consideration. The "Rule of Three", Category Rating, Veterans Preference, and traditional rating and ranking of applicants does not apply to this vacancy.

Duties

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You will serve as a Contract Specialist and be responsible for developing and implementing acquisition strategy for the design, construction, maintenance and repair of facilities for some of the most diverse and significant activities in the Coast Guard and preparation and execution of contract documents assuring adherence with acquisition procedures prescribed by applicable regulations.

Being a Coast Guard civilian makes you a valuable member of the Coast Guard team. Typical work assignments include:

  • Prepares and assists Contract Specialists in the preparation and execution of critical documentation as the Contracting Officer
  • Serves as the Contracting Officer and on-site acquisition consultant to the Supervisory Contract Specialist and Senior Leadership on complex acquisition questions
  • Developing and implementing acquisition strategy for the design, construction, and major renovation of facilities.
  • Developing pre-negotiation positions, serving as lead negotiator, and preparing required documentation to support the acquisition action, including Determination and Findings, and pre and post negotiation memorandum.
  • Ability to communicate information and ideas clearly and concisely both verbally and in writing and reviewing other acquisition documents for conciseness.
Mandatory training is required which must be successfully completed and other training may occur as necessary for success in the position.

A. Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting Professional (FAC-C Professional) or management determined equivalent within two years of entry into the position.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.

Do NOT include the following types of information in your resume:

  • Social Security Number (SSN)
  • Date of Birth (DOB)
  • Photos of yourself (if included on your resume you will not be considered for this position)
  • Personal information: such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc.
Key Requirements:
  • Must be a U.S. Citizen.
  • Must be registered or exempt from the Selective Service. See www.sss.gov
  • A one-year probationary period may be required.
  • To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully pass a background investigation. This position requires a Public Trust clearance.
  • This is not a Bargaining Unit position.
  • All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit.
  • Must meet the requirements for FAC-C Level III Contracting Officer warrant within the first year of employment, and must maintain FAC-C Level III certification or equivalent certification throughout employment.
  • Must be able to qualify for, and maintain, qualification for a Government Travel Card.
The Office of Personnel management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule, C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements: This position has a positive Education Requirement in addition to at least one year of Specialized Experience or substitution of education for experience or combination (if applicable) in order to be found minimally qualified. Transcripts must be submitted with your application package. You MUST meet the following requirements:

EDUCATION:
You must meet all three requirements listed below; unless you are covered by an exception:
1) Completion of a 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with a major in any field, 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.

Official transcripts must be submitted at time of selection.

NOTE: The Defense Acquisition University (DAU) does not grant Academic degrees; therefore, courses completed at the DAU are not creditable towards meeting the 24-semester hour requirement, in the fields identified above, unless the coursework has been evaluated by an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and appears on a college or university transcript.

AND

2) Completion of at least 4-years of experience in a contracting or related position, 1 year of which was directly related experience equivalent to the GS-12 level in the Federal service. Directly related experience must have involved performing cost and price analyses in connection with the request for approval of awards, leases, claims, price adjustments, termination, price determination, escalation, change orders, etc.; evaluating prospective contractor's financial capability as part of pre- and post-award surveys and responsibility determination when appropriate; serving as Business Advisor to program officials in providing guidance/advice in all facets of the procurement process to include the development of the statement of work, requirements for competition, market research and request for information, past performance, preparation of evaluation criteria and safeguarding the interest of the United States in its contractual relationships, utilizing negotiation techniques to ensure contractors receive impartial, fair, and equitable treatment, and the preparation of documentation in these areas.

EXCEPTIONS TO QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: Applicants who have been in a GS-1102 position, at or above the GS-13 level, since January 1, 2000 without a break in service only need to meet the 1-year of directly related experience in order to qualify. The educational, training and additional years of contracting experience requirements do not apply to these individuals.

AND

3). SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: To qualify at the GS-13 grade level, applicants must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level in the federal sector. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular ability, skill, and knowledge to successfully perform the duties of this position and is typically in or related to this line of work.

NOTE: All experience statements (i.e., duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire) copied from this announcement and pasted into your resume will not be considered as a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

Specialized experience must include the following:

  • Executing projects for the environmental needs, design, construction, maintenance, and repair of facilities
  • Leading and developing negotiation positions, executing negotiations, and ensuring compliance with regulations.
  • Execution of contracts of variety contract types, acquisition strategies, and source selection methods.
Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular ability, skill, and knowledge to successfully perform the duties of this position and is typically in or related to this line of work.

FAC Professional certificate is required at time of appointment. Applicants will need to submit the FAC-C (Professional) or DoD Contracting Professional certifications or the hiring organization will need to request a waiver for that applicant. Certification requirements may be viewed at click here.

NOTE: The agency may obtain a waiver for any individual not meeting the certification requirements. The Coast Guard Head of the Contracting Activity must obtain the waiver from the DHS Chief Procurement Officer prior to the extension of an employment offer.

National Service Experience (i.e., volunteer 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.

Education

This position does have a positive education requirement. If you are including education on your resume, report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. See Required Documents section for detail.

Are you qualifying based on education? Submit a copy of your college transcript (unofficial is acceptable) from an accredited institution. Once selected & prior to appointment, applicants must provide an official college transcript. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet Federal qualification requirements if you can show that your foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited educational institutions in the U.S. (see FOREIGN EDUCATION below).

College Transcript: If this position requires specific educational course work to qualify, or you are qualifying based in whole or part on education, you are required to provide all unofficial transcripts (undergraduate, graduate, etc.) by the closing date of this announcement or you will be disqualified from further consideration. Transcripts should be legible and detailed, showing course number and department (i.e., bio 101, math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours, and grade earned. If course content cannot be easily identified from the title of the course as listed on your transcript, you must submit an official course description from the college/university that reflects the content at the time the course was taken.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet Federal qualification requirements if you can show that your foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence with your application. See Recognition of Foreign Qualifications click here

Only experience and education obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered.

Student Loan -
Selectee(s) for this position who are newly appointed to a permanent or term position may be eligible for student loan repayment up to $10,000 (pre-tax) for one calendar year. More than one loan may be repaid if the combined repayments do not exceed $10,000. Receipt of this incentive will require a three-year service agreement.

Additional information

E-Verify
DHS uses E-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities.

Fair Chance Act
The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Homeland Security and its Components from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to britney.kane@uscg.mil.

Suitability Statement
If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.

Shared Certificates Statement
Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.

Special Employment Consideration
The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR 213.3102(u), and or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps, VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.

Moving expenses will be paid in accordance with appropriate regulations.

If you need a reasonable accommodation for the application and hiring process, please contact britney.kane@uscg.mil. Decisions on granting reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Visit Reasonable Accommodation

More than 1 selection may be made from this announcement if additional identical vacancies in the same title, series, grade, and unit occur within 45 days from the date the certificate was issued.

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.

We will review your resume and supporting documentation to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. Under the provisions of direct hiring authority, rating, ranking and veterans' preference does not apply; therefore any responses to the questionnaire will not be used to determine a scored rating. All applicants who meet the minimum qualifications in the job opportunity announcement, will be referred for selection consideration. The necessary competencies to perform this job are:

  • Acquisition Strategy
  • Contracting/Procurement



To preview the announcement questionnaire, click here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12947310

While veterans' preference does not apply in DHA, preference eligibles are encouraged to submit their supporting documentation (DD-214 stating disposition of discharge or character of service, VA letter, SF-15, etc.).

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) documentation. CTAP and ICTAP Eligibles: CTAP candidates will be eligible for selection priority if it is determined that they have exceeded the minimum qualifications for the position. If you are a Federal employee in the competitive service and your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority for this position. Individuals must be well-qualified. Information about CTAP and ICTAP eligibility is on the Office of Personnel Management's Career Transition Resources website.

U.S. Coast Guard

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is calling on those who want to help protect American interests and secure our Nation. DHS Components work collectively to prevent terrorism; secure borders and our transportation systems; protect the President and other dignitaries; enforce and administer immigration laws; safeguard cyberspace; and ensure resilience to disasters. We achieve these vital missions through a workforce spanning hundreds of occupations. Make an impact; join DHS.

Apply for this exciting position to support U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) missions of safeguarding our Nation's maritime interests in the heartland, in the ports, at sea, and around the globe.

Agency contact information

Britney Kane

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