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Contract Specialist - DIRECT HIRE

Department of Justice
Drug Enforcement Administration
Financial Management Division - Office of Acquisition

Summary

This position is located in the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Financial Management Division, Office of Acquisition (FA).

This position(s) primary purpose is to carry out operations in the area of contract operations in coordination with the Department of Justice (DOJ). The incumbent serves as a Contract Specialist responsible for contract operations.

Overview

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Accepting applications
This job will close when we have received 75 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Location
4 vacancies in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$70,623 - $91,815 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 9
Promotion potential
13
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
No
Drug test
Yes
Security clearance
Top Secret
Position sensitivity and risk
NCS/High Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Financial disclosure required
Yes
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
H-DEA-26-13003262-DHA-LK
Control number
878153700

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This position is being filled under a Direct Hire Authority. Open to U.S. Citizens, Nationals, or those who owe allegiance to the U.S. The Governmentwide (GW007, issued October 11, 2018) Direct Hire Authority will be used to fill this position. The 'Rule of Three', Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking does not apply to this vacancy.

Duties

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As a Contract Specialist - DIRECT HIRE, your typical work assignments may include:

  • Drafts responses to inquiries including formal protests and Congressional inquiries.
  • Provides technical front-line assistance to DEA users in their use of Unified Financial Management System (UFMS) and other DEA and federal acquisition systems, including the Integrated Award Enterprise (IAE) systems.
  • Participates with senior analysts and contract specialists in the Contract Review Board (CRB) process.
  • Evaluates and provides draft documentation on such review issues as compliance with
    Federal Acquisition Regulations and other legal requirements, adherence to DEA and DOJ policy and procedural guidance, allowance of competition, etc.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship is required.
  • Employment is subject to the successful completion of a background investigation. Must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance.
  • Incumbent is subject to random drug testing.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit: http://www.dhs.gov/E-Verify/.
  • Selective Service: Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see http://www.sss.gov/).
  • Selectee will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period (OR 1-year OR 2-year trial period, as appropriate) during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest.
  • Incumbent is required to submit a Financial Disclosure Statement, OGE-450, the purpose of this report is to avoid conflicts between official duties and private financial interests or affiliations.
  • Employee required to become certified Federal Acquisition Career – Contracting Level 1 in within 24 months of assignment.

Qualifications

For more information on eligibility requirements see: DEA Employment Eligibility

Applicants must meet all of the required qualification requirements described below by the closing of this announcement. If you are qualifying based on education or if there are mandatory education requirements listed below, you MUST submit a copy of your college transcript with your application.

Basic Qualification Requirements

A. A 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with a major in any field;

OR

B. 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.

AND

Applicants applying for the GS-09 must meet one of the following requirements:

A. Have at least one full year of qualifying specialized experience that is at least equivalent in difficulty and complexity to work performed at the GS-07 grade level. Specialized 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.

Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following: 1) Receiving and analyzing routine requirements for supplies, equipment, and services from organizations throughout an organization and/or agency; 2) Participating with senior level staff in planning procurement actions with technical, legal, and policy staff; 3) Determining and recommending the type of contract best suited for requests; and 4) Assisting with performing legal sufficiency reviews and developing legal briefs under supervision.

OR

B. Education: 2 full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education or masters or equivalent graduate degree or LL.B. or J.D.

OR

C. Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify.). (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)

Additional information on the position qualification requirements are located in the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Qualifications Standards Handbook.

Education

This position requires specific coursework and/or a degree to meet the basic education requirement. You must submit an official transcript, unofficial transcript, or a list including courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Your transcript(s) must clearly demonstrate the course(s) listed in the qualification requirement section. If the transcript(s) does not clearly demonstrate this you must submit a copy of the course description and/or other documentation demonstrating that the courses are equivalent.

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. For a list of accredited organizations recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials, visit: www.naces.org/members.php.

If you are claiming education as any part of your qualifications for this position, you must submit an official transcript, unofficial transcript, or a list including courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned.

Additional information

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. (https://appsupport.usastaffing.gov/hc/en-us/sections/28980686389652-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information)

Current or Former Political Appointees: 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.

Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement. If eligible, applicants to this announcement may be referred to similar positions in any Division/Office listed in this announcement. Telework eligibility and security clearance requirements may vary for such similar positions.

Recruitment and/or Relocation Incentives may be considered and approved if the DEA has determined that the position is likely to be difficult to fill in the absence of an incentive and funding for such an incentive is available.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary 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, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

If eligible, telework and/or remote work agreements may be permitted with supervisory approval. Please note that any approved remote work arrangement is subject to the locality pay area of the alternative telework worksite.

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 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.

Under the provisions of the Direct-Hire Authority, veterans' preference and traditional rating and ranking of applications does not apply. For this announcement, all applicants will be assessed to determine if they meet the qualifications for this position, specifically the education, specialized experience, and knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) necessary to perform the work of the position. All applications that meet the required qualifications will be referred to the selecting official.

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

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


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.

The assessment questionnaire includes four short, free-response essay questions which provides an opportunity for you to highlight your dedication to public service for the hiring manager and agency leadership (or designee(s)). While your responses are not required and will not be scored, we encourage you to thoughtfully address each question in 200-words or less. You will be asked to certify that you are using your own words and have not used a consultant or artificial intelligence (AI) such as a large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT or Copilot.

Agency and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP and ICTAP) Eligibles: View information about CTAP and ICTAP eligibility on OPM's Career Transition Resources website. You must be rated in the Highly-Qualified category for this position and submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this job announcement to receive consideration for selection priority.

Drug Enforcement Administration

TOUGH WORK. VITAL MISSION. Challenge yourself! You have the power to help combat drug trafficking. Be a part of DEA! It's tough work, but a vital mission. Whatever your background or expertise, your work at DEA will be tremendously rewarding because it will have a daily impact on national security and the quality of life of all Americans.

The DEA is our country's leading organization in charge of enforcing the controlled substance laws of the United States. The DEA provides employees with an exciting career whether supporting missions at home or abroad. Our employees make a difference by working together as a team to keep Americans safe from dangerous drugs and those who traffic them.

Please visit www.dea.gov to learn more about who we are and career opportunities that our organization offers.

Agency contact information

LaNesha Kearse
Email
LaNesha.E.Kearse@dea.gov
Address
Drug Enforcement Administration
Do Not Send Postal Mail
Springfield, VA 21310
US

Visit our careers page

Learn more about what it's like to work at Drug Enforcement Administration, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

https://www.dea.gov/careers

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