Contract Specialist

Summary This position is being offered through OPM's Direct Hire Authority. See more about Direct Hire under Conditions of Employment below. Plans, solicits, negotiates, awards, administers and closes out the most complex and difficult acquisitions of materials, systems, programs, services and equipment in support of agency goals and initiatives for the most specialized, state-of-the-art, critical or scarce requirements. See QUALIFICATIONS and EDUCATION for more information about this position. Responsibilities Procurements may be characterized by lack of previous cost data, cost or fixed-price contracts, long-term contracts, subcontractors, changes in terms, unusual conditions or funding, unique terms and conditions and other difficult situations. Formulates contracting strategies and secures the aforementioned commodities for the most complex acquisitions through the use of negotiated and sole-source acquisitions. Uses a variety of acquisition methods (e.g., open market contracts, orders against existing agency contracts, orders against other agencies’ contracts) and contract types (e.g., firm-fixed price, cost reimbursement, time-and-materials/labor-hour). Serves as an acquisition official on the most complex acquisitions by executing contracts and contract modifications. Performs all other duties and responsibilities of a Contracting Officer within the limits of delegated authority, which may be over $7 million per award. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS To meet Minimum Qualifications for this GS-13 Contract Specialist position you must demonstrate: (1) the Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) for the federal 1102 series including (2) at least 52 weeks of Specialized Experience (1) INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT (IOR) A. Successful 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 (described below) and must have provided you with the knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the work of the position. (*SSA does not currently have mandatory training requirements for progression to GS-13 or higher contracting positions.) AND B. Successful completion of a 4-year course of study resulting in 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 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, unless granted a waiver. D. Waiver: When filling a specific vacant position, the senior procurement executive of the selecting agency, at his or her discretion, may waive any or all of the requirements of Paragraphs A and B above 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 granted under this Paragraph D, the senior procurement executive must document for the record the basis of the waiver. If an individual is placed in a position in an agency on the basis of a waiver, the agency may later reassign that individual to another position at the same grade within that agency without additional waiver action. See EDUCATION for information on transcripts. (2) SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE must have been gained in a federal position at or above GS-12 OR (if your position and/or experience is in another federal pay scale OR outside of federal service) by performing duties at a level of responsibility and difficulty equivalent to GS-12 or above. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE is work that primarily consists of performing pre- and post-award contract functions involving procurements of significant importance to an agency or organization, including procurement planning, negotiation strategies and contract administration. If you have this experience, your resume must describe, in your own words, the specific duties you perform that demonstrate it. If your experience was gained in the federal government, you must upload an SF-50 documenting your grade at the time experience was gained. 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. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS (IOR and Specialized Experience) must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Information on this job series can be found at: Education This position has an Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) that must be demonstrated by all applicants (see QUALIFICATIONS). To satisfy the IOR, submit a copy of your full transcript(s), even if you already hold a federal 1102 series position. APPLICATIONS WITHOUT ALL REQUIRED TRANSCRIPTS WILL CAUSE YOU TO LOSE CONSIDERATION FOR THIS POSITION. DO NOT SUBMIT A DIPLOMA IN LIEU OF A FULL TRANSCRIPT THAT SHOWS THE REQUIRED INFORMATION. TRANSCRIPTS MUST BE LEGIBLE or you may not receive credit for your degree or completed courses. Submit a copy of your full transcript showing your name, the name of the school, the program in which you were enrolled and your degree (or completion of *creditable courses). If you attended more than one college or university, submit transcripts for all schools attended. Transcripts that do not show that a Degree was conferred cannot be considered to have resulted in a Degree. Check your transcript to be sure this information is shown. Since course titles do not always indicate that a course pertains to a creditable curriculum you are advised to highlight qualifying courses on your transcript to ensure that consideration is given. Unofficial transcripts or screenshots of electronic/web transcripts with the required information will be accepted for application purposes. CHECK YOUR UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT TO CONFIRM IT SHOWS THE REQUIRED INFORMATION. You must upload your transcripts as part of your application. Documents will not be accepted via email or regular mail. Foreign Education: If your transcripts show education completed in foreign colleges or universities, you must also provide 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. If selected, you may be required to provide your official college transcripts prior to the effective date of your appointment. Additional Information STEM position(s) are being filled through the Office of Personnel Management's delegated Direct Hire Authority and are open to all U.S. citizens. Selections made under this Direct Hire Authority will be processed as new appointments to the civil service. Current federal employees will be given a new appointment to the civil service, if selected. Under the provisions of the Direct Hire Authority, Veterans Preference and the "Rule of Many" do not apply. Additional selections may be made for this vacancy six months from the closing date of this announcement. If you are a male born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt under the Selective Service Law. See . If you are a federal contractor, do not identify yourself as a federal employee. OTHER NOTES: See QUALIFICATIONS and EDUCATION for information on qualifying for this position. See HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED and REQUIRED DOCUMENTS for information on applying for this position. This is a non-bargaining unit position. This position is not authorized to be filled virtually or through outstationing. The Official Duty Station (ODS) for this position is SSA-HQ, Woodlawn, Maryland. This position is on a full-time, flex-time schedule; Alternate Work Schedules (AWS) may be authorized. Telework may be approved after all conditions for telework have been met. To participate in telework, when authorized, you must reside within a 2-hour commute to the assigned ODS. Relocation expenses will not be paid; salary will be set in accordance with locality pay provisions. Successful performance of work in this position and adherence to conditions of this position will be assessed during the 1-year probationary period that may be served by new appointees (e.g., new to SSA and/or new to this series). You may be required to file an OGE form 450, Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, in accordance with 5 CFR section 2634, subpart i. This is a moderate-risk public trust position. You may be required to complete SF-85P, Questionnaire for Public Trust Positions to have the appropriate investigation conducted. Position is assigned to: SSA-HQ / Woodlawn, Maryland Office of the Commissioner Strategic Sourcing