The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is hiring for contract specialist positions located in the Office of Acquisition and Grants Management. The positions support awarding and administering complex acquisition portfolios for various program areas throughout FHWA and the Department of Transportation.

Duties

As a Contract Specialist, you will:

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. citizen & meet specialized experience to qualify
• Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date
• Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.
• Direct Hire Authority will be used to fill this position

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must (1) meet the Individual Occupational Requirement for the series, (2) provide a copy of transcripts for verification, AND (3) meet the additional grade level requirements. (1) All applicants must meet the basic requirements to qualify for applying to a position under series 1102: BASIC MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS FOR GS-13 and above: A. Completion of all mandatory training prescribed by the head of the agency for progression to GS-13 or higher level contracting positions, including at least 4-years’ experience in contracting or related positions. At least 1 year of that experience must have been specialized experience at or equivalent to work at the next lower level of the position, and must have provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the work of the position. AND B. 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. 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. For additional reference, please refer to the OPM qualifications standard for GS-1102: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1100/contracting-series-1102/ (2) Upload the appropriate document(s) to your application for verification purposes. (3) Specialized Experience: To further determine eligibility, review the following grade specific details. You will be asked a few questions as part of your application but make sure to verify how you meet these grade levels in your resume. For the GS-13: You qualify for this grade level if you have at least one year of specialized experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-12 grade level, which included:  Experience in the implementation of the principles of contract formation using the Federal Acquisition Regulation and other Federal contracting statutes/regulations and policies including the award and administration of fixed price and cost reimbursement type contracts; and Experience in several areas of the FAR especially FAR Part 15, "Contracting by Negotiation" and FAR Part 16, “Types of Contracts” including best value source selection techniques and cost/price analysis. For the GS-14:You qualify for this grade level if you have at least one year of specialized experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-13 grade level, which included:  Expertise the implementation of the principles of contract formation using the Federal Acquisition Regulation and other Federal contracting statutes/regulations and policies including the award and administration of fixed price and cost reimbursement type contracts; AND  Expertise in several areas of the FAR especially FAR Part 15, "Contracting by Negotiation" and FAR Part 16, “Types of Contracts” including best value source selection techniques and cost/price analysis. Experience presenting findings and written documentation to senior level leadership on procurement related topics and training junior staff and/or program office representatives on contracting related topics. Although you must meet the mandatory education requirement for the series, you cannot qualify for GS-12 and above grades based solely on education, you must meet the specialized experience for each grade, which is cited above. KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas: Technical Skills Contracting/Procurement - Knowledge of various types of contracts, techniques, or requirements (for example, Federal Acquisitions Regulations) for contracting or procurement, and contract negotiation and administration. Teamwork - Encourages and facilitates cooperation, pride, trust, and group identity; fosters commitment and team spirit; works with others to achieve goals. Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing  presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately. 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.Applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

See the Qualifications section for Mandatory Individual Occupational Requirements. 

Contacts

• Address DOT, FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION Submit Application and Documents Online 1200 New Jersey Ave SE / HAHR - 50 Washington, District of Columbia 20590 United States
• Name: Automated Staffing Office
• Phone: 000-000-0000
• Email: [email protected]