Organizational Location: Positions are with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Acquisition, and will be located in one of the following locations: San Diego, CA Erlanger, KY Del Rio, TX Spokane, WA Imperial, CA (El Centro) El Paso, TX Euless, TX Tucson, AZ Washington, DC Indianapolis, IN Edinburg, TX Laredo, TX Laguna Niguel, CA

Duties

Joining Customs & Border Protection (CBP), Office of Acquisition, will allow you to utilize your expertise in procurement to serve as a contract specialist with responsibility for contract solicitation, selection, and post award administration for CBP contracting missions. Positions start at a salary of $86,962.00 (GS-14, Step 1) to $158,860.00 (GS-14, Step 10). Apply for this exciting opportunity to strengthen the Department's ability to perform homeland security functions. In this Contract Specialist position you will become a key team member of Homeland Security professionals involved in negotiating and administering contracts to procure a program or system; developing and implementing contracting policy and regulations; developing new approaches or innovative acquisition plans, source selection plans; negotiate strategies and contract terms, conditions or financial arrangements; and making authoritative recommendations that serve as the basis for committing the agency to courses of action on projects which are of multiyear duration. Typical Work assignments include: Serving as contract specialist for a significant system or program with authority for all contractual actions (pre-award and post-award functions) and phases of the program; which includes contract specializations such as negotiation, cost and price analysis, and administration. Serving as principal contracting advisor and subject matter expert to program officials and to program management office, representing the Office of Acquisition as contractual authority for assigned programs at conferences and in meetings, and advising program officials of the procurement objectives to be used and assisting in the preparation of statements of work. Planning, developing, and establishing the contractual strategy for the assigned acquisition programs, with authority for all contractual actions and phases of the procurement, including requirements definition, advanced acquisition planning and development, contract negotiation, award and contract administration, and management in accordance with established procedures. Serving as a lead negotiator, developing a pre-negotiation position, determining the types of contracts and negotiation authority to be used, preparing justification, planning the negotiation strategy, and leading the negotiations which are conducted with contractors.

Requirements

Qualifications

You qualify for this position if you possess one year of specialized experience, as described below and meet the basic requirement listed in the Education Section. Specialized Experience: You qualify for the GS-12 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as: Performing Pre-Award functions using a variety of contract types which include providing acquisition guidance to customers, reviewing solicitation documents, coordinating with vendors, developing procurement plans and providing analysis as needed. Performing post-award functions such as monitoring contractor performance and completion schedules, making periodic visits to contractor's facility or work site; monitoring contractor's use of Government furnished property, issuing change orders, making recommendations concerning problems, exercising contract options, reviewing, and evaluating contract clauses, and processing contractor claims. Assisting with planning and coordinating the negotiation strategy to develop contract prices and terms and actively participating in negotiation procedures. Providing acquisition support, guidance, and advice on contracting matters to internal and external business partners. Drafting replies to other agencies, appeal boards, or Congressional inquiries for management review and approval. Specialized Experience: You qualify for the GS-13 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as: Performing pre-award services on complex purchases which include providing acquisition guidance to customers and officials on contracting matters; providing formal advertising, utilizing a wide range of complex contracting methods and types (e.g. price redetermination provisions, cost reimbursements, contracts with incentive provisions, special pricing of Government furnished property, inspecting and testing requirements, ownership patents and payment of royalties, and/or presence of unfavorable market conditions in supplies, systems, services, equipment, and/or construction), and assist Lead Contracting Officer on project management teams. Performing post-award functions that involves providing consultation for post-award contract administration, negotiating contract modifications and the terms and costs of contract changes, negotiating settlement with contractor, reviewing termination notices, analyzing contract and related documentation, issuing, monitoring, or revoking delegations of authority to settle subcontractor claims, and conducting post-award conferences. Preparing acquisition plans independently, which include (but not limited to) detailing the acquisition objectives to be used and providing guidance for the preparation of Statements of Work (SOW), preparing determination documents (e.g. price with redetermination provisions, cost reimbursements, or contracts with incentive provisions) and findings/solicitation documents, exploring new or innovative contracting approaches, conducting pre-proposal conferences, planning and coordinating negotiation strategy to develop contract price and terms, and independently executing award of contract . Performing complex contractual work through the use of in-depth negotiation techniques and performing a full-range of contract negotiation tasks such as developing pre-negotiation memorandums with negotiation objectives, handling all aspects of the exchanges with offerors after receipt of proposals, establishing competitive ranges and conducting financial analysis, coordinating a team consisting of technical and special advisors to obtain thorough and mutual understanding of scope of effort, and negotiating terms and conditions of source selection decisions. Serving as a contracting advisor or subject matter expert to program officials and to program management office and serving on project review committees. Specialized Experience: You qualify for the GS-14 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as: Performing a full-range of pre-award functions that involve a variety of contracts that frequently require special handling or specialized terms and conditions, which include authority for all contractual actions or phases of procurement (e.g. acquisition planning, developing, and establishing contractual strategies, requirements definition, advanced acquisition planning and development, contract negotiation, cost and price analysis, and exploring news or innovative contracting approaches). Performing post-award functions such as (but not limited to)preparing rate and cost adjustments, redirection of effort, coordination of time extensions, incorporation of change orders, issuance of stop work orders, issuance of cure notices, approval of progress payments, final payment and contract closeout, developing unique alternate dispute resolution techniques, and resolving complex contractual issues/claims/termination settlements. Serving as lead negotiator, planning negotiation strategy, coordinating strategy with negotiating team and leading negotiations and independently awarding contracts. Utilizing advanced price/cost analysis techniques, such as learning curve analysis and cost estimating relationships sufficient to evaluate contractor proposals and prepare a pre-negotiation position. Serving as an advisor to program officials and leadership in procurement planning meeting, advising leadership on procurement objectives, performing detailed analysis of all elements of cost in contractor proposals, conducting pre-proposal conferences and providing guidance and advice to subordinates. NOTE: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible. Please see the "Required Documents" section below for additional resume requirements. 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. You must meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process by 03/19/2024. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

Education

Please see the Qualifications and Required Documents sections for more information if education is applicable to this position.

You qualify for this position if you possess one year of specialized experience, as described in the Qualifications section and meet the basic requirement listed below.

Basic Requirement 12: You must provide supporting documentation in your application to show you meet the basic requirement below.

A. A 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with a major in any field;

OR

B. 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. Employees who occupy GS-1102 positions at grades 5 through 12 will be considered to meet the basic requirements for other GS-1102 positions up to and including those classified at GS-12. This includes positions at other agencies and promotions up through grade 12. However, employees must meet specialized experience requirements when seeking another position.

Basic Requirement 13/14: You must provide supporting documentation in your application to show you meet the basic requirement below.

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.

Certifications:


Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C): Positions at the GS-12, GS-13 and GS-14 level require employees to hold the FAC-C (Professional). Employees who do not meet the FAC-C training requirements, may be approved for an Individual Training Waiver, at the discretion of the senior procurement executive of the selecting agency. If a training waiver is approved, the FAC-C training requirements must be met within 24 months of placement. The Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) modernized the FAC-C program and issued a memo that established the new FAC-C (Professional). The FAC-C (Professional) shall be accepted by the Department of Homeland Security, in accordance with subject memo and as evidence that an employee meets initial readiness requirements to perform contracting functions.

• Current workforce members certified at Levels I, II, or III of the legacy FAC-C Program will automatically be certified in the FAC-C (Professional).

Defense Acquisition Work Improvement Act (DAWIA): For DoD applicants seeking to meet the certification requirements for FAC-C Professional through an equivalency determination, please provide one of the following required verification documents:

1. Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) Contracting Level II or Level III Certification, or
2. Acquisition Career Record Brief (ACRB) showing proof of a DAWIA Level II or III certificate, or
3. Department of Defense Contracting Professional/Foundational Certification along with your DAU transcript.

Contacts

• Address Office of Acquisition Please read entire announcement Please apply online Washington, DC 20229 US
• Name: CBP Hiring Center
• Phone: 952-857-2932
• Email: [email protected]