Duties

Summary

This position is located in the Office of Finance and Operations (OFO), Contracts and Acquisitions Management (CAM). The incumbent serves as a Senior Contract Specialist responsible for planning, negotiating, awarding, and administering contract actions that support multiple organizational segments of the Department.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

THIS IS AN OPEN CONTINUOUS (STANDING REGISTER) ANNOUNCEMENT WITH ESTABLISHED CUTOFF DATES. APPLICATIONS WILL BE REFERRED BASED ON RECEIPT OF APPLICATION AND ESTABLISHED CUTOFF DATES AS FOLLOWS:

1ST CUTOFF: AUGUST 17, 2020

2ND CUTOFF: SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

3RD CUTOFF: OCTOBER 19, 2020

As a Contract Specialist you will independently perform the following actions to support highly complex requirements and programs:

Workload Management : Work in partnership with the relevant stakeholders and customers to mitigate risk, resolve workload issues, and manage contract actions. Ensure contract management activities are undertaken in a manner consistent with internal protocols. Build and maintain relationships with both internal and external customers to facilitate the timely delivery of goods and services.

Acquisition Planning and Solicitation : Meet with program officials early in the development stage of assigned actions to provide strategic business advice to ensure that program and procurement objectives are met. Lead market research efforts, assist with the development of clear and concise requirement documents, and advise program officials of clearances needed, required procurement acquisition lead times, and other information necessary to facilitate the development of timely and complete procurement packages. Document acquisition strategy in coordination with the relevant stakeholders that is fully compliant with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Departmental regulations, policies and procedures. Establish proposal instructions and evaluation criteria that remove competition barriers to promote a fair and unbiased source selection. Develop solicitation documents with appropriate terms and conditions, resulting in contracts to meet the Government's needs at a reasonable cost.

Contract Negotiation and Source Selection : Provide oversight of the source selection process to ensure the integrity of the Department's acquisition process is maintained. Coordinate the technical evaluation of offers and participate in technical panel consensus meetings to ensure compliance with solicitation requirements. Evaluate business proposals based on evaluation techniques set forth in FAR, and develop negotiation objectives in conjunction with program officials. Lead the Government's negotiating team by facilitating discussions between the Department and potential vendors creating solutions that present win-win scenarios for all stakeholders. Employ sound business judgment in making best value source selection recommendations, which are fully documented and supported via award documentation. Develop contracts that include the agreed upon terms, conditions, and negotiated price. Conduct debriefings with unsuccessful offerors and respond to protests.

Contract Administration : Serve as a contract administrator, conducting the full range of contract administration actions from award to contract close-out, to include interpreting requirements; scrutinizing proposed modifications, changes, contractor past performance evaluations and contractor claims. Monitor the terms of the contract, including the small business subcontracting plan. Serve as a point of contact concerning contractual matters.

Leadership : Maintain composure, direction and professionalism in high-pressure situations. Display a high level of initiative, effort, accountability, and commitment towards achieving results. Consider and respect the opinions and perspectives of others. Maintain effectiveness, quality, and morale during periods of organizational change. Accept feedback in a constructive manner and adjusts behavior accordingly. Stay current in professional and technical area of expertise.

The duties described above are at GS-13 level. Incumbent at GS-12 level will perform with more supervision and less complexity.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - 10% or less

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
13

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Must be a U.S. citizen.
• Must complete a Background Investigation and fingerprint check.
• Must complete a One-year Probationary Period.
• Males 18 and over must be registered with the Selective Service.

You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement.

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. We will consider all qualifying experience, including any volunteer experience.

Qualifications

Selective Placement Factor

You must meet the following selective placement factor:

Candidate must have Federal Acquisitions Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) in Contracting - Level II or Defense Acquisitions Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA )Level II by the closing date of the job announcement. Applicants who fail to meet the selective factor are ineligible for further consideration.

AND

Specialized Experience

GS-12

In addition to meeting the Selective Placement Factor and basic requirement for the 1102-12, you must meet the following:

One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 performing all three (3) of the following duties or work assignments:

Experience in performing contracting functions to procure goods and services.

Experience in applying Federal contracting laws, regulations, principles, policies, and procedures to develop and issue solicitations and contracts.

Experience in working in collaboration with stakeholders to obtain quality products and services in a timely manner that meets program needs.

GS-13

In addition to meeting the Selective Placement Factor and Basic Requirement for the 1102-13, you must meet the following:

One year of experience equivalent to the GS 12 performing all three (3) of the following duties or work assignments:

Experience in performing contracting functions (i.e. pre-award, post-award, cost/price analysis, negotiations, or administration) for the acquisition of goods or services.

Experience interpreting and applying Federal contracting laws, regulations, principles, policies, and procedures to develop and issues solicitations and contracts.

Experience working with stakeholders to assess their needs, offering solutions that will meet or exceed their expectations and providing quality products and services in a timely manner.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)

The quality of your experience will be measured by the extent to which you possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs). You do not need to provide separate narrative responses to these KSAs, as they will be measured by your responses to the occupational questionnaire (you may preview the occupational questionnaire by clicking the link at the end of the Evaluations section of this vacancy announcement).

Knowledge of a wide range of contract types, methods, and techniques and in applying innovative ways to achieve better value procurement.

Knowledge of Federal Acquisition laws, regulations and procedures.

Ability to effectively communicate with stakeholders (internal/external) at all levels of the organization or agency regarding contractual and/or acquisition matters.

Education

Basic Requirements GS-12

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.

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

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.

Basic Requirements for GS-13

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

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.

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.

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.

Foreign Education:

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. Click on the link for a list of accrediting organizations recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials.

Additional information

Veterans' Career Counseling: If you are a veteran interested in receiving tips on preparing a Federal resume and/or how to prepare for an interview, you may email sro_recruiting@ed.gov to schedule a session with a career counselor ("Veterans Counseling Session" should be placed in the subject line of the email).

Student Loan Default: If selected for this position, we will verify that you have not defaulted on any loan funded or guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Education. If you are found to be in default, we will contact you to make arrangements for repayment prior to making an official offer of employment.

Suitability and Investigation: If selected for this position, you will be required to complete the Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) to determine your suitability for federal employment and successfully complete a pre-appointment investigation/background check.

Essential/Non-Essential: This position is considered non-essential for purposes of reporting to work during federal government closures.

Financial Disclosure: This position does not financial disclosure.

Telework: This position is telework eligible. At the discretion of the supervisor, generally employees may be authorized to telework one day per week if they are on regular 8-hour work schedule. Teleworkers may participate in some Alternative Work Schedules (AWS) in combination with a Telework Agreement. However, all employees must work from the official worksite location a minimum of four (4) days per work week.

Bargaining Unit: This position is not included in the bargaining unit.

Selections: Agencies have broad authority under law to hire from any appropriate source of eligibles and may fill a vacancy in the competitive service by any method authorized. We may make additional selections from this vacancy announcement within 90 days from the date the selection certificates are issued, should vacancies occur. We may also share selection certificates amongst program offices across the agency.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

We use a multi-step process to review and evaluate applicants:

Eligibility and Minimum Qualifications
Once the vacancy announcement closes, we will review your submitted resume and documents to determine if you meet the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements, including any required education, experience, and/or selective placement factors. You will be rated as ineligible if you do not meet U.S. Citizenship requirements or your application is missing any required documents. You will be rated as not qualified if you do not possess the minimum qualification requirements.

If you are found to meet both the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements, we will assess the quality of your experience and the extent to which you possess the required KSAs by comparing your submitted resume and documents against your responses to the occupational questionnaire. (The occupational questionnaire is the list of questions in the automated system that you will have an opportunity to answer once you apply for the position).

If your responses to the occupational questionnaire are not substantiated by your submitted resume, you may be eliminated from receiving further consideration.

If you are found to be a qualified applicant, you will be referred to the selecting official. As part of the assessment and selection process, the selecting official may invite you to participate in a structured interview, check your references, and/or request that you submit a writing sample or complete a written assessment or exercise to further evaluate your qualifications for this position

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)

Trust determination process

Required Documents

You must submit (REQUIRED FOR ALL APPLICANTS):
• A resume demonstrating your education, experience, training, and accomplishments as it relates to the qualifications for this position and substantiating your responses to the occupational questionnaire.
• Certification of Federal Acquisition Certification (FAC) II or Defense Acquisitions Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) II.

Transcript:
• This position has a positive education requirement and requires proof of education for eligibility. You must submit an unofficial transcript that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, major(s), grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. If any required coursework is not easily recognizable on transcripts, or if you believe a portion of a particular course can be credited toward meeting an educational requirement, you must also provide a memorandum on letterhead from the institution's registrar, dean, or other appropriate official stating the percentage of the course that should be considered to meet the requirement and the equivalent number of units. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable; however, if you are selected for the position, you will be required to produce the original official transcripts. This also applies to ED employees.

If you are claiming Veterans' Preference, you must submit:
• A copy of your DD-214 that shows active service and character of discharge, member copy 4 (Separated Members only); OR
• A certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions within 120 days from the date of application (Current Active Duty Members only); AND/OR
• The Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference (SF-15) AND all documents indicated on the form as proof of type of preference; AND/OR
• Proof of Sole Survivorship Preference (e.g., certificate of death or 100% disability as a result of serving in the armed forces).

If you are claiming selection priority under Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), please visit:
CTAP: http://www.ed.gov/about/jobs/open/edhires/ctap.html
ICTAP: http://www.ed.gov/about/jobs/open/edhires/ictap.html

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.