As the Acquisition Utilization Specialist you will serve as the medical center liaison and advisor on contract related services focusing on critical clinical and healthcare services, product acquisition and support services required by project managers, program managers, upper management and stakeholders on all aspects of procurement for a wide variety of items to include specialized services.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/18/2024. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7; for a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: To qualify for this position at the GS-9 level, you must meet one of the following: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: One (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal service that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of an Acquisition Utilization Specialist, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position. Specialized experience includes: General knowledge of negotiation techniques and skills in devising negotiating strategies to deal with contractors in resolving such problems as reducing costs, adjusting delivery schedules, and negotiating in sole source environments in the pre and/or post-award stages. Knowledge of contract termination functions to review and make recommendations for settlement proposals, audit reports, technical evaluations, and subcontractor claims; to determine allowable costs, proper profit to be allowed, and similar issues; and to assist in the settlement negotiations. Understanding of acquisition statutes, regulation, directives, and procedures as well as business practices associated with supporting VA services to effectively assist by making recommendations, advising, and serving as the liaison with a VA HCS and their supported catchment area. OR, Education: Applicants must possess a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or three (3) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related to position, that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must possess an equivalent combination of successfully completed graduate education and specialized experience, as described above, which meets the total qualification requirement for the GS-11 grade level. To qualify for this position at the GS-11 level, you must meet one of the following Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: You must have one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the Federal service that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of this Acquisition Program Specialist position. Specialized experience includes: handling contract related services, product acquisition, and procurement of items in a healthcare environment; overseeing contracts including pre-award and post-award; preparing procurement packages with unique, emergent and complex requirements including development of requirement documents (e.g. performance work statements and objectives, cost benefit analysis, gap analysis, sole source justifications, past performance, market research, etc.); developing sole source justifications; developing and analyzing reports to make recommendations on acquisition and contracting issues; participating in negotiations with other officials throughout all phases of contract administration; and monitoring expenditures and reporting on deviations from contract terms. OR, Education: Applicants must possess a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or three (3) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related to position, that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must possess an equivalent combination of successfully completed graduate education and specialized experience, as described above, which meets the total qualification requirement for the GS-11 grade level. CommunicationContracting/ProcurementControl of FundsNegotiationReasoningTechnical Competence 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; religions; 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: Work is primarily sedentary in nature. Requires occasional travel to conduct inspections of contract facilities or motor vehicles providing contracts for healthcare resources to ensure joint commission and safety requirements are met. Work is performed primarily in an office setting with adequate lighting, heating, and ventilation. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Birmingham VA Medical Center 700 South 19th Street Birmingham, AL 35233 US
• Name: Edmund Crawford
• Email: [email protected]