Business Opportunity Specialist

Basic Education Requirement: 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. AND Specialized Experience for GS-12: One year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service, obtained in either the private or public sector that demonstrates the ability to work independently in all of the following: utilizing procurement laws, regulations, policies, and procedures; recruiting, training, educating or developing businesses interested in working with the government or with prime contractors; promoting an organization’s programs and services through outreach and marketing. All of these qualifications must be clearly referenced in your resume. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on OPM’s Qualifications web site: Business Opportunity Specialist (Small Business Administration) Series 1101 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. TIME-IN-GRADE: If you are a current career or career-conditional federal employee applying for promotion under Merit Promotion you must have completed a minimum of 52 weeks in positions at the next level lower than the position being filled Selective Placement Factors: This position requires a special qualification that has been determined to be essential to perform the duties and will be used as a screen out element. Those who do not provide evidence they possess the following selective factor(s) will be rated not qualified. A. Possess a valid level I Federal Acquisition Certification-Contracting (FAC-C) or FAC-C (Professional) or level I Department of Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) certification or DAWIA Professional. As of October 1, 2023 all applicants will be required to be certified as the FAC-C (Professional). You can find additional information regarding the certifications at https://www.fai.gov/certification/fac-c/new-fac-c-professionaland https://www.dau.edu/You MUST submit your qualifying certification with this application or you will be rated ineligible for consideration. OR B. You must agree to complete the training program required to obtain Level I FAC-C certification, as a current or future employee of the SBA, by the date that is one calendar year after the date you are appointed as a Business Opportunity Specialist. You will be required to sign a training agreement if selected. All qualification requirements must be met by 11:59 pm (Eastern Time) on 11/12/2024.
This position is located in the Small Business Administration, Office of Field Operations – Region VI in New Orleans, LA. The incumbent is responsible for the full scope of the Agencys government contracting and business development programs, as well as developing and conducting outreach and training to strengthen and improve business opportunities for eligible small businesses.