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Contract Specialist

Employer
USAJobs
Location
Sterling, Virginia
Closing date
Nov 17, 2019
Duties

Summary

This position is located in the Acquisition Branch of the office of the Chief of Business Operations, Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division (EFLHD), Sterling, Virginia. The EFLHD provides transportation and engineering services to Federal agencies. These services include the planning, design, construction, and rehabilitation of federally owned highways and bridges.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

The Contract Specialist:
  • Reviews the Federal Register to maintain and update all FAR provisions and clauses for all types of contracts, to maintain and update listing of acceptable sureties, and to identify other material for follow-up by the Contract Specialists to determine impacts on EFLHD activities.
  • Responds to contractor questions and provides advice to EFLHD employees on procurement matters.
  • Maintains procedural guidelines and checklists to detail current procurement procedures. This maintenance is based on the incumbent's awareness of changing statutes, regulations, and management instructions.
  • Receives and opens bids for all EFLHD procurement.
  • Makes responsiveness review and determination of bids by examining bid submissions for compliance with the FAR and legal precedents. Makes responsibility determination for low bidders based on recommendations.
  • Prepares letters for the procurement process and prepares required documents for review by award boards and the Contracting Officer.
  • Coordinates with the EFLHD Regional Counsel on all matters which require reviews for legal sufficiency.
  • Reviews bid, performance, and payment bonds for acceptable support format, and sureties. Makes appropriate recommendations for acceptance to the Contracting Officer.
  • Participates with the Contract Specialists in preparing EFLHD positions and documents for protest and mistakes in bids.

The ideal candidate for this position has the ability to communicate orally and in writing regarding acquisition issues. One who works well in a team environment and can perform research on acquisition issues / concerns to develop best / worst case scenarios so that the best acquisition strategy could be used.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - Some travel is required.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
09

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • You must meet specialized experience to qualify.
  • Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date.
  • Review Required Documents Section as documents are required by closing date
  • Selectee will be required to complete an OGE-450 Financial Disclosure form.
  • This position is telework eligible.


CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:
  • SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
  • GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel. A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.
  • FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 requires the applicant selected for this position to submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) within 30 days of appointment and annually thereafter.
  • PROBATIONARY PERIOD: You must complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
  • TIME-IN-GRADE: - Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions contained in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.


Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet the MANDATORY education requirements and specialized experience requirements for the grade at which you are requesting consideration.

MANDATORY EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS:
  • 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.

  • Note - For positions at GS-7 through GS-12, applicants who are qualifying based on experience must possess at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to work at the next lower level, that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the work of the position, in addition to meeting the basic requirements in paragraph A or B, above.

    Applicants who meet the criteria for Superior Academic Achievement qualify for positions at the GS-7 level.

    Graduate Education: To qualify for GS-1102 positions on the basis of graduate education, graduate education in one or a combination of the following fields is required: 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. Employees who occupy GS-1102 positions at grades 5 through 12 will be considered to meet the basic requirements for other GS-1102 positions up to and including those classified at GS-12. This includes positions at other agencies and promotions up through grade 12. However, employees must meet specialized experience requirements when seeking another position.

    PLEASE NOTE: This Position has Mandatory Education Requirements; Transcripts are required.

    SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:

    To qualify for the GS-7 on Experience, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-05, it must include:
    • Experience supporting contract and/or procurement actions such as preparing contracts, reviewing bids, and making determinations.

    To qualify for the GS-7 on Education alone, you must have:
    • 1 full academic year of graduate education or law school or superior academic achievement.
    • You can also qualify based on a combination of higher level graduate education and experience. This must be fully supported by your resume and transcripts, provided with your application.

    To qualify on for the GS-9 on Experience, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-7, it must include:
    • Experience performing contracting actions such as preparing contracts, reviewing bids, and making determinations.

    To qualify for the GS-9 on Education alone, you must have:
    • 2 full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education or masters or equivalent graduate degree or LL.B. or J.D.
    • You can also qualify based on a combination of higher level graduate education and experience. This must be fully supported by your resume and transcripts, provided with your application.

    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.

    For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4

    Students enrolled in a qualifying degree program can apply if the anticipated graduation date is within six months of closing date of the announcement. Graduation transcript must be received before start date.

    Other applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.






    Education

    Please see the Qualifications section.

    Additional information

    Displaced employees may be eligible for ICTAP or CTAP priority consideration. For more information, please review the OPM Employee's Guide to Career Transition .

    EEO STATEMENT: The Department of Transportation (DOT) maintains a model federal work environment that is free of discrimination. DOT ensures equal employment opportunity for employees and applicants for employment, regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), genetic information, age, disability, sexual orientation, or protected activity.

    PLEASE NOTE: This vacancy may be used to fill similar positions within 90 days for this location.

    How You Will Be Evaluated

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

    DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume/ application does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level.

    If you meet the qualification requirements, your application will be scored based upon your responses to the vacancy questions. The top rated applications will be reviewed for the quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position.

    Your application will be rated on the extent and quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position. The answers you select in the on-line process must be substantiated in your application package. If upon review, it is determined that your described work history, competencies, and/or supporting documents do not support your answer choices, your application may be updated or you may not be referred to the selecting official. Please ensure that your work history provides enough details to support your answers. If referred, all relevant documents including performance appraisals and awards submitted with your application package will be forwarded to the hiring official for review. The Automated Staffing Office is ultimately responsible for determining your final rating.

    To preview questions please click here .

    Background checks and security clearance

    Security clearance
    Other

    Drug test required
    No

    Required Documents

    ALL Applicants must provide a resume that fully supports the required specialized experience and was created within USA Jobs Resume Builder and respond to the vacancy questions by the closing date of the vacancy.

    The following is a list of documents that are only required based on the type of position and consideration for which you are applying.

    TRANSCRIPTS - Transcripts are REQUIRED as there is a stated education requirement for the series. The transcripts need not be official, but must show that you meet the stated education requirements, including specific major or class requirements.
    • If you have previously held a government position in the same series as this position, you may be able to provide an SF-50 showing that you have already qualified and worked in the federal service in this series.

    PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS/INCENTIVE AWARDS: If applicable, performance appraisals and/or Incentive award documentation may be submitted and will be forwarded to the selecting official as support in consideration of your application in the evaluation process. To receive due weight, you must submit a recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable (do not submit a performance plan) and/or incentive award documentation dated within the last 18 months (i.e. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increases, etc.).

    VETERANS: Your last DD214, Certificate of Release or Discharge From Active Duty, that shows the type of discharge and all dates of active duty is required to verify your eligibility. It need not be official.
    • If you are applying to a vacancy opened to all US Citizens under category rating and wish to be considered as a preference eligible, you need to submit a copy of your DD214.
    • If you are claiming preference eligibility as a disabled veteran, you must submit proof of entitlement of this preference which is normally a valid letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs certifying to the present existence of the service-connected disability and indicating the percentage of your disability. An SF-15 is desired, but not required.
    • If you are applying to a vacancy opened Status and you are requesting consideration under Veteran's Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) ( https://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/shav/#veoa ), you need to provide a copy of your last DD214, which verifies your military service dates, reason for separation, OR certification of separation that shows a discharge date within 120 days of the closing of this announcement, and eligibility for consideration under the Veterans Employment Opportunity Act.


    NON COMPETITIVE APPLICANTS: If requesting concurrent consideration for Non-competitive (NC) appointment eligibility, you must provide the appropriate SPECIAL APPOINTING AUTHORITY DOCUMENTS, such as PCS orders (military spouse) describing move & marriage certificate; letter from VA or DD214 describing 100% disability of spouse; letter from State Vocational Office certifying disability (schedule A), etc. For more information, visit military spouse NC appointments or Persons with Disabilities NC appointments.

    DISPLACED EMPLOYEES: If requesting consideration under the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency CTAP program (ICTAP), you must meet the well qualified standards for this vacancy (meeting minimum requirements for position and scoring at least an 85 or falling in the Gold Category) and provide all of the following documents:
    • your most recent performance appraisal,
    • the proof of eligibility letter from the Agency, and
    • your most current SF-50, displaying current series and grade.


    Failure to submit any of the required documents by the closing date of the vacancy will result in your removal from consideration for this position. Please review your application prior to final submission and ensure you have submitted all appropriate documents. Uploading documents to USAJobs does NOT ensure inclusion with your application to our system. You must verify that the documents are in the system with your application prior to final submission.

    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.

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