THIS ANNOUNCEMENT WILL CLOSE AFTER 250 APPLICATIONS ARE RECEIVED, WHICH MAY BE SOONER THAN THE LISTED CLOSING DATE. A USAHIRE ASSESSMENT is required as part of your application (see HOW TO APPLY). This is a mid-level developmental position leading to GS-12. The hiring office may conduct an initial formal training program for new hires. See RESPONSIBILITIES for information about the duties of a Contract Specialist. See QUALIFICATIONS for information about qualifying for this position.

Duties

*Duties at the full performance level include: Plans, solicits, negotiates, awards, administers and closes out the most complex and difficult acquisitions of materials, systems, services and equipment in support of agency goals and initiatives. Formulates contracting strategies and secures commodities through negotiated and sole-source acquisitions using a variety of acquisition methods and contract types. Performs cost and price analyses on contractor proposals to ensure fair and reasonable pricing and negotiates for lower pricing when appropriate. Reviews acquisition actions to determine cost effectiveness and compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.

Requirements

• U.S. Citizenship required. Selective Service Registration, if applicable (www.sss.gov).
• Fingerprinting and background and/or security investigation may be required. Job offers are contingent on fingerprinting and background / security investigation results.
• You must complete and pass the USAHire Assessment as part of the application process (See HOW TO APPLY).
• See QUALIFICATIONS, EDUCATION, ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED, REQUIRED DOCUMENTS and HOW TO APPLY for important information about this position.

Qualifications

This announcement will close after 250 applications are received, which may be significantly sooner than the listed closing date. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS To qualify for this GS-07 Contract Specialist position you must demonstrate: (1) a passing score on the USAHire Assessment (see HOW TO APPLY) -- AND -- (2) the Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) for the federal 1102 series -- AND -- (3) at least 52 weeks of Specialized Experience -- OR -- (4) Optional Education (separate from the education required for the IOR) -- OR -- (5) Combination of Specialized Experience and Optional Education (1) USAHIRE ASSESSMENT - Look for a notification pertaining to the USAHire Assessment after you submit your initial application -- see HOW TO APPLY for more information. (2) INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT (IOR): A. a bachelor's degree with a major in any field OR B. successful completion of at least 24 semester hours in any combination of the following fields: (1) accounting (2) business (3) finance (4) law (5) contracts (6) purchasing (7) economics (8) industrial management (9) marketing (10) quantitative methods or (11) organization and management Applicants who don't meet the requirements of this IOR will be ineligible. (3) SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE must have been gained in a federal position at or above GS-05 OR (if your position and/or experience is in another federal pay scale OR outside of federal service) by performing duties at a level equivalent to GS-05 or above. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE is work that primarily consists of performing functions related to the purchase of supplies or services, including conducting market research, determining appropriate sources, negotiating or evaluating prices and selecting a supplier or service provider. If you have this experience, you must describe, in your own words, the duties you perform that pertain to the requirements for this position. Since Specialized Experience also has a time component, it must be evident that the duties you describe are at the required level for at least 52 weeks. Reviewers cannot assume you perform duties you don't describe. An affirmative response to the online questionnaire is not sufficient to demonstrate experience. TYPICAL DUTIES THAT DEMONSTRATE SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE INCLUDE: (a) purchasing goods or services; (b) requesting quotations for goods or services; (c) researching prices for goods or services; (d) negotiating prices or terms and conditions in a professional setting; and (e) making written recommendations in a professional setting. SEE RESUME REQUIREMENTS UNDER REQUIRED DOCUMENTS. (4) OPTIONAL EDUCATION: Applicants without Specialized Experience can meet Minimum Qualifications with: A. a bachelor's degree that demonstrates Superior Academic Achievement (SAA)* OR B. a bachelor's degree followed by at least one full year of graduate education or law school (see below). Graduate Education: To qualify for GS-1102 positions on the basis of graduate education, graduate education in one or a combination of the following fields is required: accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods or organization and management. *See EDUCATION for information on SAA. (5) COMBINATION: Applicants without the full amount of Specialized Experience or the full amount of Optional Education can meet Minimum Qualifications with a portion of each that can be combined to meet the full requirement: A. Except for the 52-week requirement, Specialized Experience must be as described above. B. Only graduate education, as described above, can be considered. HR will determine if the combination of experience and graduate education is sufficient to meet Minimum Qualifications. NOTE -- you must submit transcripts to substantiate all claimed education. 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. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS (e.g., USAHire Assessment, IOR and Specialized Experience [and/or Optional Education]) must be met by the closing date of this announcement. See EDUCATION and REQUIRED DOCUMENTS for more information on demonstrating your eligibility and qualifications. Information on this job series can be found at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1100/contracting-series-1102/ NOTES SPECIFIC TO THIS CAREER-LADDER POSITION: The hiring office may conduct an initial formal training program for new hires. This is a mid-level developmental position leading to the GS-12 full performance level. Assignments in this position are developmental in nature. Management devises structured training and development activities to provide experience and technical competence in the methods, procedures, principles and techniques of the full performance level. Trainees perform a variety of functions in support of higher graded specialists and consult with those analysts to identify problems and methods of approach, but is expected to perform standard, routine duties independently. Management defines the objectives, priorities and deadlines for projects or assignments and is available for consultation and to assist trainees with unusual situations, problems or studies that do not have clear precedents. Management evaluates reports and other completed work for technical soundness, appropriateness of conclusions or recommendations, consistency and relevance. During this period of training, management broadens assignments to enable the incumbent to eventually perform all the duties of the next higher grade. Consideration for promotion is at the discretion of management and is based on the existence of higher-level work your ability to perform that work, administrative requirements and current agency and/or organizational restrictions.

Education

This position has an Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) that must be met and demonstrated by all applicants. (See QUALIFICATIONS above.)

In addition to the education required by the IOR, you can use Optional Education, as described above, in lieu of (or in combination with) Specialized Experience.

For example, a bachelor's degree meets the IOR. If your degree demonstrates *Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) or is followed by at least one academic year of **graduate education, it also meets the Optional Education portion of Minimum Qualifications and eliminates the requirement for 52 weeks of Specialized Experience. (18 semester hours will be considered as satisfying 1 academic year of graduate education.)

*Superior academic achievement must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for this position.

**You must submit the transcript for your bachelor's degree and the transcript for your graduate education.

If you have a portion of Specialized Experience and a portion of graduate education, submit the transcript for your bachelor's degree (to support the IOR) and the transcript for your graduate education, in addition to a resume which demonstrates a portion of the Specialized Experience. HR will determine if the full requirement is met.

TRANSCRIPTS -- For application purposes, you may submit unofficial transcripts, but all transcripts must show your name, the name of the school, the program in which you were enrolled, the degree earned (or successful completion of *24 credits in any of the 11 creditable fields) and your GPA. Transcripts that do not show that a degree was conferred cannot be considered to have resulted in a bachelor's degree.

*Since course titles do not always indicate that a course pertains to a creditable field, highlight qualifying courses to ensure they are given consideration. This may require you to print a copy of your transcript, highlight the qualifying courses and upload the highlighted copy of your transcript.

If you completed your qualifying education in more than one school, you must submit full transcripts for all schools you attended.

TRANSCRIPTS MUST BE LEGIBLE or you may not receive credit for completed courses.

DO NOT SUBMIT A DIPLOMA IN LIEU OF A FULL TRANSCRIPT THAT SHOWS THE REQUIRED INFORMATION.

EDUCATION IN LIEU OF SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE:
If you claim a bachelor's degree with *Superior Academic Achievement, submit
-- a full transcript showing your final GPA OR
-- a full transcript and official documentation of your class-ranking OR
-- a full transcript and official documentation of your National Honor Society Membership.

If you claim a bachelor's degree with at least one academic year of graduate education (generally at least 18 graduate-level credits) submit the full transcript for your bachelor's degree as well as the full transcript for your graduate education. Your education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work.

EDUCATION IN COMBINATION WITH SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE:
You must have successfully completed at least some graduate level courses and performed duties that meet Specialized Experience for a portion of the required 52 weeks - you must submit the transcript for your bachelor's degree and the transcript for your graduate education, along with a resume describing your experience. HR will determine if the full requirement is met.

If selected, you may be required to provide your official college transcripts prior to the effective date of your appointment.

*Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) can be demonstrated by

1. Class standing -- must be in the upper third of graduating class in the college, university or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses.

2. GPA (no more than 10 percent of total credit based on pass/fail or similar systems) -- must have a GPA of:

(a) at least 3.0 out of 4.0 as recorded on official transcript or as computed on 4 years of education or as computed on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or

(b) at least 3.5 out of 4.0 based on the required courses in the major or the required courses in the major completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.

3. Election to qualifying National Honor Society: National Honor Societies Membership in a freshman honor society cannot be used to meet the requirements of this provision.

You must provide appropriate documents to support your claim.

HR reviewers will make the final determination on the relevance of completed courses and the computation of your GPA.

Foreign Education: If your qualifying education was completed in a foreign college or university, you must also provide, as part of your application, documentation 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 a conventional/accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.

Contacts

• Address DCBFM - OAG 6401 Security Boulevard Baltimore, MD 21235 US
• Name: OPE Staffing DCBFM
• Phone: 410-965-1234
• Email: [email protected]