Job opening: Contract Specialist
Salary: $117 962 - 181 216 per year
Published at: Dec 20 2024
Employment Type: Full-time
This position is located in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Procurement Operations (OPO).
The purpose of this position is to serve as a senior contract specialist responsible for pre-award and/or post award and will be responsible to plan, direct, and administer the most complex and major acquisitions which are Department-wide in scope. OPO's mission is to obtain best value products/services and improve acquisition processes.
Non-BU: This is a non-bargaining unit position.
Duties
As a Contract Specialist, GS-1102-13/14, your typical work assignments may include:
Serving as a Contracting Officer authorized to solicit contract proposals, negotiate, enter into, execute, and administer/terminate difficult public contracts for DHS.
Managing complex and important DHS procurement programs and initiatives that serve as a guide for other DHS procurement activities.
Validating the integrity of the procurement process by ensuring that all requirements of law, executive orders, regulations, and other applicable procedures including clearances and approvals are being met.
Providing authoritative recommendations to improve procurement operations and customer service.
All DHS-HQ announcements have a 5 business day open period due to the number of applications received. This announcement will be open for 5 business days OR until the first 100 applications have been received, whichever happens first.
View common definitions of terms found in this announcement: Common Definitions.
Requirements
- You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
- Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service.
- You must successfully pass a background investigation.
- You must submit to a pre-employment drug test.
- You may be required to serve a one-year probationary period.
- Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.
- Work may occasionally require travel away from the normal duty station on commercial aircraft.
- You will be required to complete an OGE 450, Confidential Financial Disclosure Form annually.
Qualifications
APPLICANTS MUST DEMONSTRATE THAT THEY MEET THE INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENTS, SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE, AND SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR AS NOTED BELOW.
INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT
This position has an Individual Occupational Requirement that must be met prior to meeting the specialized experience.
A. A 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with a major in any field 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.
-AND-
B. Completed 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 with at least 1 year of that experience satisfying the specialized experience described further below in this qualifications section; AND applicants seeking to meet the training requirements for this GS-13/14 position in accordance with the OPM Contracting Series 1102, Hiring Qualifications, are required to meet the Selective Placement Factor requirement described below in this qualifications section. Note: After September 30, 2023, applicants will need to submit the FAC-C (Professional) or DoD Contracting Professional certifications or a hiring organization will need to request a waiver for that applicant.
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 (waiver information provided below). NOTE: This exception only applies if you held a GS-1102 position prior to January 1, 2000. If you have not held a GS-1102 position prior to this date, this exception does not apply to you. This exception only allows you to apply for positions at the grade level you held as of January 1, 2000. In order to be promoted to a higher grade level, you must meet the Basic requirement above. You must provide an appropriate SF-50 to verify your grade level if you are a federal employee and applying for this exception.
When filling a GS-1102 vacant position for a GS-13 and above, the Senior Procurement Executive of DHS, at his or her discretion, may waive any or all of the requirements of paragraphs A and B of the OPM Contracting Series 1102, Hiring Qualifications 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, the Senior Procurement Executive must document for the record the basis of the waiver. If an individual is placed in a position at DHS based on a waiver, DHS may later reassign that individual to another position at the same grade within that agency without additional waiver action.
NOTE: To receive consideration for this position, you must submit a copy of your transcripts for review. Your supporting documents must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible.
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE GS-13
You qualify for the GS-13 grade level if you possess at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service or equivalent private/public sector experience.
For this position, specialized experience is defined as:
Administering contracts using formal advertising or negotiation procedures;
Determining the appropriate contract methods to use;
Conducting price/cost analysis techniques for procurement actions; AND
Applying knowledge of statutory and regulatory requirements when making procurement decisions.
NOTE: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible.
Substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience may not be used for this grade level.
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE GS-14
You qualify for the GS-14 grade level if you possess at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service or equivalent private/public sector experience.
For this position, specialized experience is defined as:
Managing complex, sensitive, and unique procurement programs and initiatives;
Developing and modifying guidelines and procedures related to acquisition;
Detecting irregularities in offers/proposals by applying knowledge of fraudulent procurement practices; AND
Applying knowledge of statutory and regulatory requirements when making procurement decisions.
NOTE: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible.
Substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience may not be used for this grade level.
SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR
This position has a Selective Placement Factor (SPF). Applicants must possess and submit the following certification:
FAC-C (Professional) or DoD Contracting Professional Certification
NOTE: If you do not submit one of the above certifications to demonstrate possession of the SPF or request a waiver, you will be rated ineligible.
All qualifications and eligibility requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.
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.
Current or Former Political Appointees: 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
This position requires specific coursework to meet the basic education requirement. You must submit an official or unofficial transcript which list courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Your transcript(s) must clearly demonstrate the course(s) listed in the qualification requirement section. If the transcript(s) does not clearly demonstrate this, you must submit a copy of the course description and/or other documentation demonstrating that the courses are equivalent.
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications; applicant's resumes and supporting documentation should only reflect education received from schools accredited by such institutions. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following Website:
https://ope.ed.gov/dapip/#/home.
If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency (a U.S. private organization's interpretation that such education has been deemed at least equivalent to conventional U.S. education programs) with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For more information regarding evaluation of foreign education for federal employment, please visit the U.S. Department of Education webpage on the
Recognition of Foreign Qualifications.
Contacts
- Address Department of Homeland Security Headquarters
OCHCO/HRMS/MS #0170
6595 Springfield Center Drive
Springfield, VA 20598-0170
US
- Name: Tiana Bryant
- Email: [email protected]
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