Contract Specialist

Time-in-Grade: In addition to specialized experience and the basic requirements, you must meet the time in grade requirement. Current and former Federal civilian employees must have held a position at the grade 12 for at least 52 weeks in the Federal Service for promotion to the grade 13. Time-in-grade/band requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement. Basic Requirements: A. 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 B. 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. 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 under Paragraph D. 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. Specialized Experience: You qualify at the grade 13 level if you possess one year of specialized experience that equips you with the skills needed to perform the job duties. This specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the grade 12 level to meet the qualification requirements in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is defined as: Developing acquisition strategies and documents to procure a variety of both common and highly complex goods and services. Performing and leading pre-award functions to include communication with internal customers, other government entities, and industry; proposal review and evaluation; conducting negotiations; and issuing awards. Performing and leading both routine and complex post-award contract administration functions to include preparing modifications, administering award fee plans, reviewing and processing invoices, reviewing and processing claims or disputes, documenting and resolving matters related to contract performance, and contract close-out and terminations. Participating in the review of procurement policies and procedures. Education cannot be substituted for the specialized experience at this grade level. Employees on a permanent appointment who were hired through a Recruiting Bulletin, who have not served in their current appointment for at least 90 days, are not eligible to apply. However, if this vacancy is in the same line of work as your current position (same qualification requirements), and selection for this position would not result in a promotion action the 90-day waiting period does not apply. 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.
Applications under this job opportunity announcement will be considered under merit promotion (internal competitive) procedures only and consideration is limited to those specified in the “Hiring Path”.