The position of Contract Specialist is located in the Office of Budget, Finance, and Awards Management (BFA), Division of Acquisition and Cooperative Support (DACS), and serves as one of several contract specialists responsible for pre-award and post-award functions, including price/cost analysis, negotiation, and administration for services, materials and equipment associated with research, development, test, evaluation, and/or production activities of one or more organizations.

Duties

As a Contract Specialistyou will perform the following duties: Serves as one of several contract specialists responsible for pre-award and post-award functions, including price/cost analysis, negotiation, and administration for services, materials and equipmentassociated with research, development, test, evaluation, and/or production activities of one or more organizations. Requirements typically involve the following: Research, development, and production of extensive, specialized equipment or systems; or newly developed items, major components, or items which require special testing, approval, tooling, and Government-furnished property; or automatic data processing systems. Reviews requests for the procurement of complex equipment, services, and/or construction, Analyzes the requirement, recommends revisions to the statement of work or specifications as necessary, and decides on the type of contract, milestones, and procurement plan. Reviews justifications for sole source and other required clearances and prepares documentation. Prepares solicitation documents. Incorporates provisions, such as cost accounting standards, requirements for technical proposals with appropriate weighing factors, testing procedures, cost escalation factors, cost data requirements, and socioeconomic programs. Solicits proposals from prospective contractors. Analyzes proposals for conformance with the solicitation. Performs cost or price analysis, including review of cost breakdowns to determine reasonableness, Coordinates the establishment of a technical evaluation committee to determine acceptability of technical proposals. Obtains required pre-award surveys to establish contractor responsibility and obtains audits and pricing reports to develop negotiation strategy. Negotiates with potential contractors. Awards contracts within delegated contracting officer authority or recommends award to contracting officer on contracts outside delegated authority. Assists contract administration offices in the administration of contracts, including performance of termination actions, until final delivery and payments are completed and the contract is closed and retired; or personally monitors contractor's performance through telephone conversations, correspondence, reports, vouchers, and visits for status of contract performance, scheduling, problems that have arisen and proposed solutions, verification of deliveries, and similar activities. Interprets contract provisions for contractors and for officials of the agency, and provides appropriate advice and guidance. Negotiates contract modifications. Prepares initial agency position on protests from unsuccessful bidders and renders or recommends a decision on claims arising under the contract. Closes- out the contract, or issues termination notices and reviews settlement proposals.

Requirements

Qualifications

Qualifications: To qualify at the GS-11 level, you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 Level in Federal Service participating in the Federal financial assistance (grants / cooperative agreement) process from inception through closeout. Examples of specialized experience include- reviewing requisitions and recommending appropriate methods of procurement; developing procurement plans for review; reviewing existing contract inventories to identify potential qualified vendors; preparing and issuing solicitation and request for quote documents; preparing preliminary price analysis based on received quotes; and preparing commercial contracting documents for contracting officer review. OR You must have competed three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education or Ph.D. OR an equivalent doctoral degree. OR You must possess a combination of high school education and experience that together meet the qualification requirements for this position. To qualify at the GS-12 level, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in Federal Service participating in and initiating the Federal financial assistance (grants / cooperative agreement) process from inception through closeout. Examples of specialized experience include- reviewing requisitions and recommending appropriate methods of procurement; developing procurement plans for review; reviewing existing contract inventories to identify potential qualified vendors; preparing and issuing solicitation and request for quote documents; preparing preliminary price analysis based on received quotes; and preparing commercial contracting documents for contracting officer review. Basic Requirements for GS-5 through GS-12 A 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with a major in any field; or 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. Applicants who meet the criteria for Superior Academic Achievement qualify for positions at the GS-7 level. The following table shows the amounts of education and/or experience required to qualify for positions GS-7 thorough GS-12 covered by this standard. Experience refers to paid/unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) & other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, & skills & can provide valuable training/experience that translates directly to paid work. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education

GS 11- Education may be substituted for experience as described in "Qualifications. "If qualifying based on education, you must submit TRANSCRIPTS (unofficial copies are acceptable) or a DIPLOMA that verifies that the requirement is met.

GS 12- Education may enhance skills required for this position; however, no substitution of education for specialized experience may be made at this level.

Contacts

• Address NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION, DIVISION OF ACQUISITION AND COOPERATIVE SUPPORT 2415 Eisenhower Ave Alexandria, VA 22314 US
• Name: Staffing and Classification Branch
• Email: [email protected]