Contract Specialist

Summary

The Department of Veterans Affairs Technology Acquisition Center (TAC), headquartered in Eatontown, New Jersey, is a multi-disciplined organization of acquisition professionals and support staff which provides streamlined business and contracting solutions for a variety of major Information Technology programs. The TAC leverages its Procurement, Engineering, and Operations Divisions to provide its customers with innovative acquisition guidance in support of their complex IT procurement needs.

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Duties

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Major duties include but are not limited to:

• Serves as a Contract Specialist for the Department of Veterans Affairs with responsibility for performing professional work involving the procurement of supplies and services using procedures outlined in the Federal Acquisition Regulations, VA Acquisition Regulations, Public Laws, and Agency policy;
• Assists the Acquisition Team Supervisors in coordinating contracting activities, performs contract reviews and provides guidance regarding complex contracts administered by other Contract Specialists, identifies special training needs, and conducts mentoring and contract training;
• Guides, assists, mentors, and trains junior level contract specialists;
• Provides full range of pre-award and post-award functions in contracting, including negotiation, award, cost analysis, and administration functions for market wide contracts or complex/master contracts for supplies, services, related to the acquisitions in support of VA and Technology Acquisition Center activities;
• Offers advice, assistance, and technical direction to customers and program managers ensuring that the development of contractual and legally sufficient statements of work, surveillance plans, etc., are completed;
• Plans, develops, and issues solicitations for contracting requirements including such services as consolidated contracts, complex, unique, specified program requirements, environmentally sensitive services, those which lack historical precedent, and those that require unusual and innovative approaches;
• Reviews requests for the procurement of complex equipment and services;
• Analyzes the requirement, recommends revisions to the statement of work or specifications as necessary, and decides on the type of contract, milestones, and procurement plan;
• Reviews justifications for sole source and other required clearances, and prepares documentation;
• Develops solicitations that incorporate appropriate evaluation criteria, technical and pricing requirements, contract provisions and clauses, and socioeconomic program considerations consistent with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and agency policy; and
• Performs cost or price analysis, including review of cost breakdowns to determine reasonableness.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. EST.

Compressed/Flexible: Available

Telework: Available - Ad Hoc telework (situational telework) as determined by the agency policy.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: PD44151A

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Financial Disclosure Report: Required

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
• Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (
• Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a one year probationary period or two year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period one year probationary period or two year trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/03/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement : Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to some former Federal employees applying for reinstatement, as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. See the Required Document section below for more information regarding the SF-50s needed to verify time-in-grade.

Selective Placement Factor: Applicants must possess an active Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) (Professional) from the Office of Federal Procurement Policy's (OFPP) at the time of application. Applicants who do not meet this requirement will be found ineligible for further consideration.

Individual Occupational Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the individual occupational requirements for Contracting Series, 1102 for GS-5 through GS-12 include:

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

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 may qualify based on your experience as described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:
  • utilizing specialized knowledge of Government contract termination concepts, procedures, and precedents sufficient to evaluate contractor claims or proposals, and to execute settlement agreements relating to a broad range of contract termination or claim problems (e.g., partial payments, claims, unsettled change proposals, and subcontract problems) to secure and administer a variety of complex procurements of complex Information Technology equipment (i.e., items which require special manufacturing, have special regulatory requirements, are interrelated with other agencies, etc.) and professional or technical services; or
  • serving as a mentor to junior acquisition professionals on various types of contracts, methods of contracting, and selection factors to plan appropriate strategies to procure complex requirements, and to conduct negotiations in the pre-award and post-award phases of contracting to regularly balance program and technical needs, the interests of the contractors, statutory and regulatory requirements, and the prevailing socioeconomic climate to make decisions based on sound business judgment that are in the best interest of the Government; or
  • applying the full range of Government termination and claim settlement methods and techniques required to analyze, evaluate, negotiate, and settle, within contracting officer delegation, a variety of contractor claims and/or settlement proposals, unresolved issues, and equitable adjustments complicated by cost analysis involving cost proposals, determining allowable costs, and determining profit to be allowed.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Accountability
• Acquisition Strategy
• Attention to Detail
• Contract Administration
• Contracting/Procurement
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Influencing/Negotiating
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Oral Communication
• Reading Comprehension
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork
• Written Communication

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; religions; 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.

Note : Resume must include job title and employer name, number of hours worked per week, start and end dates (including month and year), list of duties and responsibilities for each position held. In addition, if the experience was a federal position, you must list series and grade for each position held. Failure to include this information may result in an ineligible rating. A full year of work is considered to be 40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at

The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be found well qualified, applicants must meet the following qualifications:

• five years of performing Federal acquisition program and project management activities and functions;
• possess a Federal Acquisition Certification for Program and Project Managers (FAC-P/PM) Certification; and
• has served as a lead negotiator responsible for planning, coordinating, and negotiating a variety of procurements pertaining to streamlined business and contracting solutions for a variety of major Information Technology programs essential to the VA's mission.

Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at

Local Commuting Area: The local commuting area for this position is defined as a radius of 50 miles from either Eatontown, NJ or Austin, TX. This includes all locations that fall within a 50-mile driving distance from either 23 Christopher Wy, Eatontown, NJ 07724 or 1615 Woodward St, Austin, TX 78741.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office.

Additional information

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration (HRA) at The Fair Chance Act.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members : Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here:

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.

VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

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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.