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Contract Specialist (Non-Supervisory, Supervisory or Team Lead)

Department of Health and Human Services
Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services
Office of Acquisitions Management
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in the Department of Health and Human Services, Assistant Secretary for Administration, headquartered in Washington, District of Columbia.

This position is within the Office of Acquisition Management Services (OAMS).

This job will close at 11:59 pm on the date that it has received 75 applications.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
08/04/2025 to 08/06/2025
This job will close when we have received 75 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$142,488 to - $185,234 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 14
Location
many vacancies in the following location:
Rockville, MD
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
25% or less - 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
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
High Risk (HR)
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
Yes
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
HHS-ASA-DHA-25-12777638
Control number
842461600

Duties

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WHAT YOU'LL BE DOING DAY TO DAY

As a Contract Specialist, you will use your knowledge and experience to optimize business results and customer experience by:

  • Ensuring that the organization's strategic plan, mission, vision and values are communicated to the team and integrated into the team's strategies, goals, objectives, work plans and work products and services.
  • Performing contract award and contract administration work.
  • Serving as a senior Contract Specialist (CS) and lead Negotiator and may have Contracting Officer (CO) authority for acquisition planning, preparation of price/cost analyses for designated actions, formulation of negotiation strategies, and development of negotiation objectives.
  • Performing procurement planning to develop objectives in terms of competition and price range, and developing the contractual vehicle applying procurement expertise to make decision in the best interest of the government.
  • Developing acquisition planning documents, tracking and monitoring contract reviewer of pre-solicitation and/or pre-award files.
  • Developing and maintaining effective and efficient working relationships with various parties involved in the acquisition process in order to support the acquisition needs of stakeholders and affiliated client service centers.
  • Reviewing and providing comments on or developing proposed team or division acquisition policies and procedures.
  • Performing the full range of contract administration duties and responsibilities for assigned acquisitions.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship required
  • Males born after December 31, 1959 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service - http://www.sss.gov
  • Suitable for federal employment
  • Appointment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. All information concerning qualifications is subject to investigation.
  • Documentation that you present for purposes of completing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Form I-9 will be verified through the DHS "E-Verify" System.
  • All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choice.
  • All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.
  • Financial disclosure statement may be required.
  • Probationary (or trial) period may be required.

Qualifications

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Applicants must demonstrate that they meet the Basic AND Specialized Experience requirements as noted below.

Basic Qualifications:

Basic Requirement: You must meet one of the items listed below:

  • A. Completion of Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) requirements and certification at either the legacy FAC-C Level I, II, or III or the new single-level FAC-C (Professional) or a DAWIA level I, II or III at the time of application (https://www.fai.gov/certification/fac-c/contracting-fac/fac-c-legacy-cert-reqs), including at least 4-years experience in contracting or related positions. At least 1 year of that experience has been specialized experience at or equivalent to work at the next lower level of the position, and provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the work of the position.
AND
  • B. Completion of 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. (Must provide transcripts.)
OR
  • C. 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.
  • D. 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.
Specialized Experience:GS-14: You must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the GS-13 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors) performing four (4) of the following five (5) duties listed below:
  • Utilizing contracting methods to plan and carry out pre-award and/or post-award procurement actions.
  • Providing leadership and/or consultation during the contractual phase.
  • Establishing goals and program objectives for monitoring and evaluation.
  • Serving as a contract officer authority responsible for legally binding contract decision-making.
  • Communicating in writing to prepare reports and/or correspondences.
Documenting experience: IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Qualifications are based on breadth/level of experience. In addition to describing duties performed, applicants must provide the exact dates of each period of employment (from MM/YY to MM/YY) and the number of hours worked per week if part time. As qualification determinations cannot be made when resumes do not include the required information, failure to provide this information may result in disqualification. Applicants are encouraged to use the USAJOBS Resume Builder to develop their federal resume.

Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational application questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

In accordance with Office of Personnel Management policy, federal employees are assumed to have gained experience by performing duties and responsibilities appropriate for their official series and grade level as described in their position description. Experience that would not normally be part of the employee's position is creditable, however, when documented by satisfactory evidence, such as a signed memorandum from the employee's supervisor or an SF-50 or SF-52 documenting an official detail or other official assignment. The documentation must indicate whether the duties were performed full time or, if part time, the "percentage of times" the other duties were performed. It is expected that this documentation is included in the employee's official personnel record. In order to receive credit for experience in your resume that is not within the official series and grade level of your official position, you must provide a copy of the appropriate documentation of such experience as indicated above.

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; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to gain employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. If such experience is on a part-time basis, you must provide the average number of hours worked per week as well as the beginning and ending dates of the experience so it can be fully credited.

OPM Qualification General Policies Website

Education

Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov.

Note: Applications can be accepted from students who expect to complete qualifying education within 9 months from the date of application. Education was completed successfully before the applicant can be appointed.

Additional information

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Incentives may be authorized; however, this is contingent upon multiple factors, including funds availability. If authorized, certain incentives may require you to sign a service agreement to remain in the Federal government for a period of up to 3 years. Note: This statement does not imply nor guarantee an incentive will be offered and paid. Incentives may include the following: moving expenses, recruitment or relocation incentive; student loan repayment, superior qualifications appointment, creditable service for annual leave for prior non-federal work experience or prior uniformed military service, etc.

Bargaining Unit Position: MAYBE

Research position: No

Drug Screening Required: No

Career Transition Assistance Program/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP/ICTAP): For information on how to apply as an CTAP/ICTAP eligible see http://opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp#ictap. To be considered well-qualified under I/CTAP, you must be rated eligible based on minimum qualifications for this position and submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this job announcement.

Beginning January 1, 2010, agencies must seek prior approval from OPM before they can appoint a current or recent political appointee to a competitive or non-political excepted service position at any level under the provisions of title 5, United States Code. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-career SES employee in the executive branch, you MUST disclose that to the Human Resources Office.

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.

Additional selections may be made for similar positions across the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) within the local commuting area(s) of the location identified in this announcement. By applying, you agree to have your application shared with any interested selecting official(s) at HHS. Clearance of CTAP/ICTAP will be applied for similar positions across HHS.

In accordance with Executive Order 12564 of September 14, 1986, The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is A Drug-Free Federal Workplace. The use of illegal drugs, on or off duty, by Federal employees is inconsistent not only with the law-abiding behavior expected of all citizens, but also with the special trust placed in such employees as servants of the public.

Note: This vacancy will be filled through OPM's Direct Hire Authority. Veterans' Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants do not apply to positions filled under this announcement. Please click here for more information on OPM's Authorization of Direct Hire authority"

Traditional rating and ranking of applications does not apply to this vacancy. Applications will be evaluated against the basic qualifications. Qualified candidates will be referred for consideration in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management direct hire guidelines. Veteran's Preference does not apply to the direct hire recruitment procedures. Selections made under this announcement will be processed as new appointments to the civil service. Current civil service employees would, therefore, be given new appointments to the civil service.

To preview the application questionnaire, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12777638

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