Clarification from the agency

This position is a Title 5 Excepted position open to the public. Military membership is not required, and Veteran's Preference applies.

As a CONTRACT SPECIALIST (Title 5), GS-1102-9/11/12, you will perform the following duties.

1. Plans the overall approach to meet contracting program objectives for a variety of requirements with multiple complexities. Analyzes difficult/controversial contracting issues, determines, recommends and/or implements course of action which may depart from previous approaches for long-term contract performance or short-term contracts with extremely stringent time frames. Provides business advice and assistance to technical personnel involved in the development of the performance work statement/statement of work/statement of objectives or data requirements. Reviews a diverse variety of requisition packages for adequacy and compliance with administrative, regulatory, and procedural requirements and consistency with current market practices and conditions. Serves as a contracting authority and advisor to management, customers, and contractors in assignment area relative to the market, the industry, specifications, socioeconomic concerns, and similar matters. Performs acquisition planning, along with the program manager/customer, technical, legal, and finance personnel to develop market research, acquisition strategy, milestones, evaluation/source selection criteria, and/or incentive or award fee provisions, as applicable. Exercises experienced judgment, initiative, and resourcefulness to identify regulations and laws which do or do not apply to the particular procurement, to consider financial arrangements and incentives, and to develop justifications for adopting a contractual posture. Prepares required documents to support solicitation issuance and reviews and advises less experienced specialists in the preparation of documents. Determines appropriate method of procurement, contract type, and financing arrangements to fit special circumstances. Reviews and evaluates requisitions for which previous experience and historical data are not usually directly available or applicable such as complex services, architect and engineering services or environmental related construction. Reviews procurement requests to determine whether, based on market analysis, the requirement can be performed by and should be set aside for small businesses; actively solicits Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, Women-Owned Small Business, HUB Zone Small Business, and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business participation. (30%)
2. Oversees the procurement of a wide variety of services, supplies, construction and architect and engineering. Researches, interprets, analyzes, and applies all regulations, business and industry practices, market trends, Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Comptroller General decisions, public law, case law, and precedents. Devises special terms, provisions, clauses, and conditions applicable to the solicitation and contract as required. (30%)
3. Executes post-award contract performance management actions on assigned contracts. Appoints Contracting Officer Representatives (CORs) within delegated authority and manages the COR program as required. Evaluates contractor performance for compliance with terms and conditions of contracts and ensures timely submission of contract deliverables and performance metrics. Makes field site visits, if necessary, detecting and correcting labor standards violations, taking appropriate action to expedite delivery or performance when required by mission changes, monitoring the contractor's use of government-furnished property inventories, and issuing change orders as necessary. Obtains additional funds or de-obligates funds as necessary. Analyzes a variety of unusual conditions, questions, or issues including complex contract administration problems, e.g., disputes, labor violations, and claims, and identifies alternative courses of action which may depart from previous approaches. Determines the reasonableness of claims. Researches and recommends appropriate action for resolution of difficult problems or claims through interpretation of contract requirements. (20%)
4. Serves as business advisor to a wide range of customers. Represents the interest of the organization in a professional manner in meetings and various contacts outside the agency on a variety of issues that often are not well defined. Provides business advice, guidance, training, and assistance to team members, technical or program personnel, functional commanders, and/or contractors on contractual language, legal responsibilities, acquisition and business-related issues. Assists in providing interpretation/clarification to contractors and customers on contractual language, contractual and federal/state/local regulatory requirements, and business opportunities. Prepares correspondence, reports, memoranda or other documents and briefings (scheduled or ad hoc) that support contractual actions or recommendations.
5. Performs other duties as assigned. T0047000

Conditions of employment

• May be required to successfully complete a probationary period.
• Participation in direct deposit is mandatory.
• Perform irregular/overtime hours in support of operational requirements and contingencies
• Failure to complete prescribed courses may be cause for reassignment or termination of FTS.
• May be required to travel by military or commercial aircraft in the performance of TDY assignments.
• The incumbent must meet the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) requirements applicable to the duties of the position
• The incumbent must meet the continuing acquisition education, training and experience requirements IAW DoDI 5000.66
• In accordance with the Ethics in Government Act, 1978, incumbent is required to file an OGE Form 450, Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, upon appointment and will be required to file annually
• The incumbent must obtain and maintain secret security clearance
• This position is designated as Essential Personnel and may be subject to duty in preparation for, or in response to, a state emergency or disaster declaration.
• May be required to pass the Contracting Officer Review Board (CORB) and hold a warrant.

Qualifications

In describing your experience, please be clear and specific. We will not make assumptions regarding your experience. Applicants who do not fully address the minimum/specialized experience needed for the position in their resume will not be referred for consideration. Your resume must contain your own words. Resumes that are verbatim, from this announcement, any PD's, or any other applicants will not be considered.

MINIMUM EXPERIENCE: Must have experience in positions supporting competencies in business, finance, risk management, project management, or supply chain management. Experience must include competencies such as skill in collecting and analyzing data and the ability to communicate clearly and effectively and other professional competencies in procurement administration or purchase card management.

Minimum education requirement: A Bachelor's Degree from an accredited educational institution authorized to grant baccalaureate degrees.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE:GS11029/11/12- Applicant must have the following experience:

GS-09:

• Must have one year of experience in contracting at the GS-07 grade level that provided exposure to the full scope of contracting and acquisition and a working knowledge in one or more of the following areas: (1) A knowledge of contracting authority and responsibility, (2) Contract principles and knowledge of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, (3) Contractor responsibility standards, (4) Regulatory compliance, (5) Knowledge of Federal supply schedule contracting, and (6) Knowledge of acquisition definitions and applicability. In addition to participating in education and training courses, individuals are expected to develop their required competencies through relevant on-the-job experience, which may include rotational assignments.

• Must have one year of contracting experience at the GS-09 level performing work in the following areas as applicable to the position being filled: (1) Pre-award of contracts related to development of a solicitation. Acquisition planning, requesting offers, and developing offers by evaluation of solicitation and finalizing offers, (2) Award of contracts that includes forming a contract, and (3) Post-Award actions to administer the contract. Competencies at the practitioner category emphasize functional specialization in contracting. Specialized experience may have been gained while providing business advice to customers and performing all pre-award/post-award functions, using a wide range of contracting methods and types to procure complex and/or diversified commodities, services and/or construction. Individuals at this category are expected to have and apply journeyman level acquisition-related skills.

• Must have one year of contracting experience at the GS-11 level. Specialized experience must demonstrate the following: (1) Performing acquisition planning including market research and knowledge of a wide variety of contracting methods that satisfy mission needs and meet customer requirements, (2) Advising Contracting Officer Representatives and advising customers on procurement preparation and development of contractually acceptable specifications, work statements, and quality assurance criteria, (3) Reviewing procurement requests to assure clarity, adequacy, and completeness, and (4) Reviewing contract terms and technical specifications to identify any special requirements.

How you will be evaluated

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

Once the announcement has closed, your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine if you meet the qualifications listed on this announcement. If you are found to be among the qualified candidates, you will be referred to the selecting official for employment consideration.

Verbiage displayed on your resume or application must contain your own words. You may refer to position descriptions, i.e. the general and specialized experience located within the vacancy announcement, to assist with describing work experiences; however, resumes or applications received in verbatim will not be considered. In your resume you will need to address the general and specialized experience listed above. Please use as much detail as needed, giving dates (months and years) of the experience, position title and how the experience was gained. This information is needed to determine if you are qualified for the position.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the minimum/specialized experience provided in the announcement and the KSA's (knowledge, skills, and abilities) listed below:

• Knowledge of contracting principles, laws, statutes, Executive Orders, regulations, and procedures applicable to pre-award and post-award duties sufficient to plan and carry out procurement actions and administer contracts for a variety of specialized services, commodities and/or construction using a wide range of contracting methods and contract types.
• In-depth knowledge of commercial business practices and market conditions to evaluate offer acceptability, contractor responsibility, and/or contractor performance, and to determine acquisition strategy and sources.
• Knowledge of up-to-date market research procedures.
• Knowledge of a wide range of contracting methods and contract types sufficient to perform pre-award, post-award, and price/cost analysis functions.
• Knowledge of negotiation techniques and technical requirements sufficient to procure complex and/or diversified services, commodities, and/or construction.
• Knowledge of contract administration sufficient to monitor a group of diverse contracts, understanding quality assurance, inspection, acceptance, and corrective action terms and conditions.
• Knowledge of contract termination procedures sufficient to recommend or determine allowable costs, profit to be allowed, disposal of government property, and similar issues and to negotiate settlements with contractors.
• Knowledge of contract cost analysis techniques sufficient to gather and evaluate price and/or cost data for a variety of pre-award and/or post-award procurement actions.
• Knowledge of the GPC program to analyze issues and identify alternative courses of action, modify standard procedures and terms to satisfy requirements, and solve a variety of common problems.
• Knowledge of public speaking and publicity techniques sufficient to plan or conduct training sessions designed to enhance/facilitate the GPC.
• Knowledge of Contract Regulations to verify contractual documents for compliance and accuracy of terminology.
• Ability to interpret and clarify regulatory contractual material.
• Knowledge of standard automated systems, non-standard systems, and Web postings that affect the organization's mission execution to review and evaluate of automated systems to determine their overall effectiveness and recommend changes to improve system performance.