Duties

Summary

The incumbent serves as the Quality Assurance Specialist for the National Cemetery Administration Contracting Service and reports directly to the Director of Contracting Service or the Deputy Director of Contracting Service as delegated. The incumbent provides contract quality assurance support to a team of contract specialists and purchasing agents. Incumbent will conduct required reviews of all contract phases and will perform various contract review functions for the Contracting Service.

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Responsibilities

Technical Expertise and Technical Expert Support
The incumbent is responsible for providing expert acquisition advice, guidance, insight and direction to all levels of administrative and technical management in matters related to acquisition policy, procedures and documentation in accordance with Handbook, standard operating procedures, Federal Acquisition Regulation, Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulation and NCA Directives, Handbooks and Standard Operating Procedures.

Conducts Contract Reviews/ Monitoring Contract Compliance
The incumbent conducts highly complex independent reviews of acquisition requirements for Architect & Engineering (A&E) services, construction, services and commodities requirements prior to review and approval by management. The reviews are to ensure accuracy, completeness and feasibility through the review process and to ensure adherence to established technical and acquisition policies and procedures. The incumbent is a technical expert in matters pertaining to contracting. The incumbent insures that all review comments are in accordance with applicable procurement regulations, directives, policies and handbooks. Provides guidance and feedback with Contracting Officer/Contract Specialist and purchasing agent regarding contract review write ups.

Program Review/Report Development
Identifies improvements to the contracting process/program within the Contracting Service. Makes recommendations to the Director and contracting supervisors. Participates in regional and national compliance meetings and teleconferences. Performs pre-approval reviews on all actions requiring Contracting Service, Head of Contracting, or other higher-level agency approvals prior to Director's signature and submission. Provides routine reports. Develops action plans and submits recommendations to meet performance monitors/measures when the organization is falling short of the established monitors and/or measures. Develops, coordinates, and participates in the Contracting Service 's internal acquisition performance review program.

Work Schedule: Telework and/or Compressed Work Schedule may be available per agency guidelines.
Position Description Title/PD#: Procurement Analyst/ 944186
Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. Some travel may be required. The subject position is primarily of an administrative nature in an office setting, however where travel to work sites is required there may be light physical work required, such as walking over uneven surfaces.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
14

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
• Subject to a background/suitability investigation
• May serve a probationary period
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• A complete application package; Resume, Transcripts, etc
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

Qualifications

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

For this GS-1102-14 level position there are Basic Requirements:
You must meet the following:
1. 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
2. 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.

• This position requires a FAC III level certification or equivalent. You must provide documentation supporting this level of certification.

GS-14 grade level: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-13 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes: Regulations (VAAR) to perform comprehensive technical review on pre-solicitation, pre-negotiation, and pre- and post-award documents. Identify and document deficiencies and weaknesses and provide results to management. Provide technical guidance and training to contracting officers. comprehensive knowledge audit functions in enough detail to detect inconsistencies in cost/price proposals and to prepare, in easily understood terms, results of audit reports; in-depth knowledge of contract types; knowledge of a wide range of qualitative and quantitative methods used to assess and improve acquisition policies and processes and provides support to management in making decisions; knowledge of the relationship of processes supporting the acquisition lifecycle that includes but is not limited to contracting, resource management, etc. needed to analyze the relationship of changes to one process in the overall acquisition framework.

There is no educational substitution for experience at the GS-14 level.

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.

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: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/ .

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.

Additional information

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.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/ .

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

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

If you are unable to apply online view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application .

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Applicants will be referred in alphabetical order.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Confidential

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

Documents Accepted:

• Cover Letter
• DD-214
• OF-306
• Documentation of FAC Level III Certification or equivalent
• Other Veterans Document
• Resume
• SF-15
• SF-50
• Transcript

Documents Required:

• Documentation of FAC Level III Certification or equivalent
• Resume
• Transcript

Please review the above list(s) to ensure you have included all necessary documents required for your application.Not every applicant will require the same documents, therefore it is the applicants responsibility to ensure that their application package includes all necessary documents to determine qualifications and eligibility for appointment, such as a copy of your SF-50, transcript, ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees). You will not be contacted for additional information. Applicants will be deemed ineligible if supporting documentation is not submitted.

Veterans' Preference: Since the Direct-Hire Recruitment Authority is being used, traditional Veterans' Preference rules do not apply. Qualified veterans will, however, be given full consideration for this position.

Applications are accepted online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application.