Contracting Officer

Summary

For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorneys' Offices, visit

As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement.

This position is also being announced to All U.S. Citizens and Nationals under 26-ME-12936395-DE.

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Duties

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The Office has one opening for an experienced contracting officer in the Administrative Division in our Portland office. First round consideration will be given to applications submitted by May 15, 2026, at 11:59 pm EST. Thereafter, the applicant list will be reviewed every 30 days. As needed, additional positions may be filled.

If selected for this position, you will join a well-respected team within the Procurement Unit of the Administrative Division and will serve as a District-level Contracting Officer that is responsible for exercising delegation of authority to contract for a variety of services, supplies and equipment.

As an Administrative Services Specialist, you will be responsible for:

• Assisting managers with budget formulation, presentation, and execution, including the review and preparation of vendor payments;
• Performing a variety of studies and analyses to identify program resource needs and improve operating effectiveness and efficiency;
• Procuring supplies and services for the office, including items that will require a warrant for procurement because they exceed the micro-purchasing level, and reconciling all related charges;
• Compiling bidders' lists and utilizing other source lists to facilitate requirements;
• Preparing recommendations for award, documenting reasons for decisions, including justifying basis for not recommending lowest bidder;
• Performing cost analysis and other evaluation actions to determine best value or lowest bid in Award decisions;
• Developing security plans for personnel, facilities, and records;
• Assisting with accountable and non-accountable property inventory; and
• Preparing a variety of reports and presentations for management on the results of administrative studies or surveys

Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory pre-employment adjudication. This includes fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing. Continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation.
• You must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable.
• If selected, you may be required to complete a one year probationary period.
• Time-in-Grade: Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements within 30 days after the closing date of this announcement.
• You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements within 30 days after the closing date of this announcement and before placement in the position.

Qualifications

NOTE: To be considered "qualified" for this position, your specialized experience must be described in your resume. Please be sure your resume clearly states any and all of the specialized experience you may have. If your specialized experience is not clearly stated in your resume, you will not be considered for this position.

To be qualified for this position, you must meet both the basic requirement and meet the education and/or specialized experience as specified below.

Basic Requirement:

A . Completion of a 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree or higher with a major in a related field. OR

B . Completion of 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

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.

You must submit your transcripts (unofficial or official) to verify basic qualifications for this position or you will be disqualified.

Minimum Qualification:

GS-12: To qualify for the GS-12 Contracting Officer, you must have one year of specialized experience at the GS-11 level.

Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in development of all aspects for pre-award and post-award functions, including price/cost analysis, negotiation, and administration for services, materials, and equipment or related to the work of the position to be filled. Examples of specialized experience are: using solicitation methods or a combination of methods identified in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement regulations, processes and procedures; developing, preparing and overseeing Statements of Work (SOW) or typically involving specialized equipment, professional or technical services; determining sole source and other required document; preparing solicitation documents and incorporating specific provisions; analyzing proposals for conformance with the solicitation; awarding contracts within delegated contracting officer authority.

*** Must be able to attain and retain at least a level 1 (one) Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) as a federal contracting professional. FAC-C has specific training requirements with some courses online as well as classroom courses. To maintain a FAC-C, contract professionals are required to meet the continuous training requirement. ***

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)- The ICTAP provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your ICTAP eligibility; 2) you apply under the instructions in the announcement; and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and receive a score of 85 or better on established ranking criteria. You must provide proof of eligibility to receive selection priority. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation personnel action form. Additional information about ICTAP eligibility is at:

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)- The CTAP provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees in the Department of Justice with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your Department of Justice component has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your CTAP eligibility, 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement, and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and receive a score of 85 or better on established ranking criteria. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Additional information about CTAP eligibility is at

Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) -VEOA allows eligible veterans to apply and compete for positions announced under merit promotion procedures when the hiring agency is recruiting from outside its own workforce. To be eligible for a VEOA appointment, a veteran must be honorably separated and either a preference eligible or have substantially completed three (3) or more years of continuous active military service. If you are applying for a Merit Promotion announcement and wish to be considered under VEOA, you must submit a copy of the Member Copy 4 of your DD-214, in addition to any other required documents listed on this announcement.

Special Employment Consideration - Persons with disabilities, veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more, certain other veterans, spouses of certain members of the armed forces, and returning Peace Corps volunteers are examples of individuals who are potentially eligible for non-competitive appointments. For further information, click on the links provided below . You must specify in your online questionnaire under what authority you wish to be considered and submit appropriate documentation to verify your eligibility.

Noncompetitive Appointment Authorities Links:

Education

Additional information

Payment of relocation expenses will not be authorized.

The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation; sick leave; holidays; telework; life insurance; health benefits; and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System.

Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See

Reasonable Accommodation Statement: Federal Agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities, where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the hiring agency directly. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

EEO Statement/Policy: The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. More information can be found here:

Political Appointees (Current or Former ): 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 or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.