Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Acquisition, Strategic Initiatives and Program Branch, located in Washington, DC. Additional selections may be made for other organizational divisions and/or units within the duty location(s) listed above.

Duties

Joining Customs & Border Protection (CBP), Office of Acquisition, will allow you to utilize your expertise in procurement to perform a full range of contracting services and functions that improve the efficiency of acquisition programs. This position starts at a salary of $139,395.00 (GS-14, Step 1) to $181,216.00 (GS-14, Step 10). Apply for this exciting opportunity to strengthen the Department's ability to perform homeland security functions by serving as a senior contract specialist with responsibility for contract solicitation, selection, and post award administration for CBP contracting missions. GS Salary: Visit this link to view the locality pay tables by geographic area. If you do not see your geographic area listed, select the "Rest of United States" pay table. Some positions fall under a special pay rate depending on the series, grade level and location of the position.Please visit this link to view special pay rate charts. In this Contract Specialist position you will become a key team member of Homeland Security professionals involved in performing a full range of contract service duties as part of an acquisition team; which includes serving as a subject matter expert in contract selection and review, providing support to assigned CBP/DHS organizations, programs, projects, or activities, and responsible for a variety of contracts that frequently require special handling or specialized terms and conditions. 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

Basic Requirement: 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. OR 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. You qualify for this position if you meet the basic requirement listed above and possess one year of specialized experience, as described below . 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: Serving as a contract specialist for a significant system or program, involving a range of contract specializations such as negotiation, cost and price analysis, and administration. Planning, developing, and establishing contractual strategy for assigned acquisition programs. Serving as a contracting advisor or subject matter expert to program officials and to program management office. Resolving complex contractual issues, claims, and termination settlements in accordance with established procedures. 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; and Meet all applicable Time in Grade requirements (current federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent grade band in the federal service) by 12/23/2024. 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. Background Investigation: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency that requires all applicants to undergo a thorough background investigation prior to employment in order to promote the agency's core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity. During the screening and/or background investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any felony criminal convictions or current felony charges, the use of illegal drugs (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, methamphetamines, ecstasy), and the use of non-prescribed controlled substances including any experimentation, possession, sale, receipt, manufacture, cultivation, production, transfer, shipping, trafficking, or distribution of controlled substances. For additional information, review the following links: Background investigation and the e-QIP process. Residency: There is a residency requirement for all applicants not currently employed by CBP. Individuals are required to have physically resided in the United States or its protectorates (as declared under international law) for at least three of the last five years. If you do not meet the residency requirement and you have been physically located in a foreign location for more than two of the last five years, you may request an exception to determine if you are eligible for a residency waiver by meeting one or more of the following conditions: Working for the U.S. Government as a federal civilian or as a member of the military A dependent who was authorized to accompany a federal civilian or member of the military who was working for the U.S. government Participation in a study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. affiliated college or university Working as a contractor, intern, consultant or volunteer supporting the U.S. government Probationary Period: All employees new to the federal government must serve a one year probationary period during the first year of his/her initial permanent federal appointment to determine fitness for continued employment. Current and former federal employees may be required to serve or complete a probationary period. Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not CTAP/ICTAP eligible. View information about CTAP/ICTAP eligibilityon OPM's Career Transition Resources website. To be considered well qualified under CTAP/ICTAP, you must be rated at a minimum score of 85 for this position. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the Required Documents section of this announcement. View common definitions of terms in this announcement.

Education

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

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]