Duties

Summary

Securing Travel, Protecting People - At the Transportation Security Administration, you will serve in a high-stakes environment to safeguard the American way of life. In cities across the country, you would secure airports, seaports, railroads, highways, and/or public transit systems, thus protecting America's transportation infrastructure and ensuring freedom of movement for people and commerce. For additional information about our agency please: Click Here
Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

This position is also being announced through the public procedure (all US citizens) under announcement #HQ-ES-CP-19-589165-P. Candidates who wish to be considered under both public (US Citizens) and government-wide procedures must apply to both announcements.

Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.

This Contract Specialist position is located within Contracting and Procurement (C&P), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS). If selected for this position, you will serve as a senior level Contract Specialists) for complex acquisition programs. Typical assignments include, but are not limited to:

• Planning, negotiating, and/or administering complex contracts/procurement of goods, systems, or services;
• Developing and/or reviewing complex contractual pricing arrangements and incentives;
• Managing all contractual aspects of a major program that requires long-range procurement planning;
• Administering complex contracts that require day-to-day negotiations of significant contract changes, monitoring numerous special provisions, and coordinating extensive subcontracting involvement; and
• Auditing or reviewing major acquisitions, presenting findings, and recommending corrective actions and policy or procedure improvements.

The major duties described above reflect the full performance level of this position. Typically, the lower pay band (H band) performs the same duties but will receive more guidance and training; projects or work assignments may be less complex.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
I

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must possess U.S. citizenship or be a U.S. national.
• You must complete a favorable Background Investigation (BI).
• You must be able to obtain and maintain a Secret Clearance.
• You must comply with education and training requirements for this position.
• Disclosure of your financial information is required.
• See additional "Conditions of Employment" in "Other Information" section

You must meet the qualification requirements for this position no later than the closing date of the vacancy announcement.

Qualifications

Basic requirements for the H pay band:

• 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.

Required specialized experience for H pay band:

To qualify for the SV-H pay band (equivalent to the GS-12 grade level), you must have one year of specialized experience at the SV-G pay band or GS-11 grade level in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience for this position is:

Utilizing the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and related procurement statutes to perform pre- and post-award analysis or contract/cost analysis in evaluating contractor cost and pricing data; AND

Applying acquisition laws, regulations, and policies for the source selection process under Government-Wide Acquisition Contracting (GWAC) or Multiple Award Contracting (MAC).

Exceptions to qualification requirements (applicable to internal or status applicants only):

Employees in GS-1102 positions will be considered to have met the standard for positions they occupy on January 1, 2000. Employees who occupy GS-1102 positions at grades 5 through 12 or equivalent will be considered to meet the basic requirements for other GS-1102 positions up to and including those classified at the GS-12 grade level or H pay band. This includes positions at other agencies and promotions up through grade 12 the H pay band. However, employees must meet specialized experience requirements when seeking another position.

Basic requirements for the I pay band:

Selective Placement Factor for the I pay band: You must possess a Level II Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) or a Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act Level II certification in Contracting (DAWIA Level II).

A. Completion of all mandatory training prescribed by the head of the agency for progression to GS-13 (I pay band) 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. Specialized experience for this position is:

Utilizing the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), related procurement statutes, and regulations to negotiate procurement contracts with a wide variety of requirements; AND

Evaluating contractor proposals for the preparation of a pre-negotiation position; AND

Conducting negotiations on difficult or non-standard contracts.

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.

TRAINING REQUIREMENTS: DHS training requirements are further defined in DHS, CPO Policy on Professional (GS-1102) Career Information and the Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) Program. This information may be found at: http://www.fai.gov/drupal/certification/contracting-fac-c . Please provide training transcripts that verify CLP credit hours.

The Department may obtain an Individual Training Waiver for an individual who does not meet the DHS Training Requirements so that applicants who do meet the above education and specialized experience requirements, but do not meet the above listed DHS Training Requirements, are encouraged to apply. The Assistant Administrator for the TSA Office of Acquisition must obtain the waiver from the DHS Chief Procurement Officer prior to extension of an employment offer.

Note: Credit for experience is given based on a 40-hour workweek. Part-time experience is credited on a part-time ratio, i.e., working 20 hours per week for two months equals one month of experience. No additional credit is given for overtime. 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.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

Education

See Qualifications section.

Additional information

Eligibility to apply for other Federal positions: TSA is an Excepted Service agency exempt from most of Title 5 United States Code, including regulations which apply to displaced Federal employees (CTAP/ICTAP) of other agencies, and employment with TSA does not confer "Competitive Status" that generally results from selection and service in Competitive Service agencies. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has established an Interchange Agreement, which allows most permanent TSA employees to apply and be considered for vacancies in Competitive Service agencies. Information from OPM on this or other Interchange Agreements is available at: http://www.opm.gov .

To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully pass a background investigation as a condition of placement into this position.

DHS uses E-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify including your rights and responsibilities.

If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.

TSA employees who are absent for the purpose of performing military duty may apply for any vacancies announced in their absence.

It is the policy of the Government not to deny employment simply because an individual has been unemployed or has had financial difficulties that have arisen through no fault of the individual. Information about an individual's employment experience will be used only to determine the person's qualifications and to assess his or her relative level of knowledge, skills, and abilities. Although an individual's personal conduct may be relevant in any employment decision, including conduct during periods of unemployment or evidence of dishonesty in handling financial matters, financial difficulty that has arisen through no fault of the individual will generally not itself be the basis of an unfavorable suitability or fitness determination. For more information, click here .

Payment of relocation expenses (Permanent Change of Station) is not authorized.

More than one position may be filled from this announcement.

If you are entering TSA employment on an appointment without time limitations, you must serve a basic trial period unless you have already met the requirement.

TSA policy requires verification of Selective Service registration for male applicants born after 12/31/59. For more information click here .

View common definitions of terms found in this announcement.

Veterans and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the documentation that is required, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

You will be evaluated based on a comparison of the position requirements against the quality and extent of the experience and/or related education as reflected in your resume and supporting documentation. You are encouraged to ensure work experiences clearly show possession of the competencies required for this position. We will compare your resume and supporting documentation to your responses on the assessment questionnaire. If, after reviewing your resume and any supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your category placement may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job.

When completing the assessment questionnaire for this position, you will be prompted to elect if you are eligible for consideration as Status (Current or former Federal Employees), Internal to TSA as a current permanent or competitive temporary employee, and/or based upon your eligible Veterans' Preference status or Veterans' Service (a veteran who was honorably discharged from the armed forces after completing at least three (3) years of continuous active duty service). At that time, please select the answer(s) that apply to you and your application to this position.

Candidates will be rated and ranked using Category Grouping procedures. Under Category Grouping, candidates will be rated and ranked into one of three categories:

Best-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate high proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all Selective Placement Factors (SPF) and appropriate Desirable (Quality Ranking) Factors as determined by the job analysis.

Well-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrates acceptable proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all SPFs as determined by the job analysis.

Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate basic proficiency in most of the critical competencies, including all SPFs as determined by the job analysis.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Secret

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

In addition to a resume and the assessment questions, you must submit copies of any of the following documents if you are applying based on current or former Federal Government Status, Veterans' Preference or eligible Veterans' Service (a veteran who was honorably discharged from the armed forces after completing at least three (3) years of continuous active duty service), or education or a combination of education and experience:

SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action - Current TSA employees are not required to submit an SF-50 to support eligibility for Status consideration.

If you are not a current TSA employee: you must submit your most recent Notification of Personnel Action SF-50 (or equivalent document) to support your eligibility for Status consideration.



NOTE: An award SF-50 (i.e. cash or time off award) does not indicate grade or level (i.e. pay band) or tenure to determine your eligibility for this position and will not be accepted.


DD-214 - If you are claiming Veterans' Preference or eligible Veterans' Service, provide a copy of your DD-214 (Member Copy 4), Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, or other appropriate documentation to prove your entitlement and to provide verification of an Honorable Discharge.

SF-15 and VA Letter - If you are claiming Veterans' Preference based upon a Compensable Disability, Widow or Spouse Entitlement, or as a Purple Heart recipient, you must submit your DD-214 or other proof of entitlement; an SF-15, and the required proof of disability, i.e., Department of Veterans Affairs letter dated 1991 or later.

Transcripts - If you are qualifying based on education OR if there are mandatory education requirements listed under the Qualifications and Evaluations section, you MUST submit a copy of your college transcript(s) with your application. If selected, an official/sealed college transcript(s) will be required to verify education prior to employment.

Certification (I pay band) - You must submit a copy of your Level II Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) or a Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act Level II certification in contracting (DAWIA Level II). Additionally, you must provide training transcripts that verify continuous learning points (CLP) credit hours.

If you do not submit required documentation described in this job opportunity announcement, your application will be deemed incomplete and you will be ineligible for further consideration for this vacancy.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.