CONTRACT SPECIALIST

You may qualify at the GS-14, if you fulfill the following qualifications: A. One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service: Developing alternatives and executing procurement instruments for acquiring supplies and services, as well as, manage all aspects of the life cycle of a contract or other vehicle ( e.g. orders, basic ordering agreements, etc.) Applying statutory and policy procurement-related requirements; support attainment of government socio-economic objectives; conduct market research; acquisition planning; cost and price analysis; solicitation and selection of sources; preparation, negotiation, and award of contracts through various methods to include negotiation; and perform all phases of contract administration to include property management, and terminate or close out of contracts Applied knowledge of contracting methods, negotiation techniques and contract types sufficient to perform pre-award, post-award, and price/cost analysis functions to procure complex and/or diversified supplies and services. Knowledge of post award procedures sufficient to administer complex cost type contracts which may require day-to-day negotiations of significant contract changes and monitoring special provisions. Experience in directing contract management and oversight for all acquisition strategies, plans, procedures, and contracts from development through final closeout. Providing expert consultation services to Management concerning acquisition planning, development, and progress. Experience in developing local policies and procedures for a wide range of contracting actions. 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. In addition to meeting qualifications, your application package must reflect the applicable experience to meet the Individual Occupational Requirements for the series as listed below: 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 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. 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 under Paragraph 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.
This position is part of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. This position is being filled under the memorandum from the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (USD(P&R)) “Expansion of Direct Hire Authority for Certain Personnel of the Department of Defense,” dated October 15, 2021.