Duties

Summary

This position is located in the United States Mint, Financial Directorate, Procurement and Division.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

The following are the duties of this position at the GS-13 level. If you are selected at a lower grade level, you will have the opportunity to learn to perform all these duties, and will receive training to help you grow in this position.

As a Contract Specialist, you will:

• Perform authoritatively in applying contracting systems, practices, regulations, and operations to major, complex procurement activities.
• Conduct procurement activity for major and complex systems (e.g., nationwide manufacturing and IT systems) where little or no contractual precedent exists to serve as guidance; develop and modify procurement strategies or pricing structures based on sound business judgment in the best interest of the Government.
• Manage all contractual aspects of a major program involving coordination of numerous contracts, long-range procurement planning based on a thorough knowledge of the program objectives and interrelationships with other programs, and skill in interpreting policies to solve unprecedented problems.
• Procure extensive technical services, which involve use and accountability for large amounts of Government owned property, numerous sub-contractual arrangements, and accommodation of continuous contractual changes.
• Administer extensive and highly complex contracts that extend over several years and require monitoring the performance of prime contractor and a large number of subcontractors, negotiating forward pricing rates and claims, complex changes, and terminations or close out.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - 1-5 nights per month

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
13

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

This announcement is issued under "direct-hire" authority. Consistent with 5 U.S.C 3304 and OPM regulations (5 CFR 337 Subpart B) on direct-hire: All candidates who meet all the qualification and other eligibility requirements may be referred for consideration. Competitive examining rules providing for rating and ranking and veterans' preference do not apply.

The experience may have been gained in either the public or private sector or volunteer service . One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/day/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week on your résumé.

Qualifications

You must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Selective Factor:

For the GS-13, you must be certified at Level III in either Federal Acquisition Contracting-Certification (FAC-C) or Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) or equivalent for this position.

For the GS-12 and GS-11, you must be certified at Level I in either Federal Acquisition Contracting-Certification (FAC-C) or Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) or equivalent for this position.

Specialized experience: For the GS-13, you must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience or General experience for this position includes:

- Performing contracting activities such as planning, directing, and coordinating a procurement program.

Specialized experience: For the GS-12, you must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience or General experience for this position includes:

- Experience with a variety of contracting and procurement principles and procedures, such as pre-award, fixed price, cost, incentives, and regulations; sufficient to procure a wide variety of goods, services, and small construction projects.

Specialized experience: For the GS-11, you must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience or General experience for this position includes:

- Providing principle contracting process support pertaining to the implementation of acquisition policy and guidance, procurement, and contract management systems in a financial management environment.

OR
You may substitute education for general or specialized experience as follows: 3 full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.

OR
You may qualify by a combination of experience and education. This is creditable providing the combination consists of 100% of the requirement. Only graduate level education in excess of the first 36 semester hours (54 quarter hours) may be combined to be considered for qualifying education. (Attach a copy of transcripts to ensure you receive proper credit). To qualify 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.

Education

Education Requirements:

Basic Requirements for GS-13 and Above:

A. 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
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.



Basic Requirement for GS-12 and below:

A. A 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with a major in any field;
or
B. 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.
or
C. 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.

Additional information

- We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.
- This is a bargaining unit position.
- We offer opportunities for telework.
- We offer opportunities for flexible work schedules.

- Veterans Preference does not apply to the Direct Hire Authority.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:
- All employees are required to wear face masks while on MINT property.
- A one year probationary period may be required.
- Public Trust - Background Investigation will be required.
- Must successfully complete a background investigation.
- Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency.
- If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so.
- Have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer.
- Go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form I-9 . Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S.
- Obtain and use a Government-issued charge card for business-related travel.
- Undergo an income tax verification.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Your application includes your résumé, responses to the online questions, and required supporting documents. Please be sure that your résumé includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this position; failure to provide sufficient evidence in your resume may result in a "not qualified" determination.

Rating: Your application will be evaluated in the following areas: Organizational Awareness, Federal Acquisition Planning and Execution, Research and Analysis, Communication.

Referral: If you are among the top qualified candidates, your application may be referred to a selecting official for consideration. Competitive examining rules providing for rating and ranking and veterans' preference does not apply. You may be required to participate in a selection interview.

This position is being filled through the Direct Hire Authority (DHA). Applications identified outside this JOA through supplementary recruitment efforts may be considered before the selection(s) is/are made.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Not Required

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

A complete application includes 1. A résumé, 2. Vacancy question responses, and 3. Submission of any required documents. Please note that if you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, you may not be considered for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible).

All applicants are required to submit a résumé either by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one of their own choosing. (Cover letters are optional.) To receive full credit for relevant experience, please list the month/date/year and number of hours worked for experience listed on your résumé. We suggest that you preview the online questions, as you may need to customize your résumé to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions. Please view résumé tips.

VETERANS' PREFERENCE DOCUMENTATION: Veterans' Preference does not apply to the Direct Hire Authority however, you are still encouraged to submit your documentation. Please see applicant guide for required documentation .

EDUCATION DOCUMENTATION: For positions with an education requirement, or if you are qualifying for this position by substituting education or training for experience, submit a copy of your transcripts or equivalent. An official transcript will be required if you are selected.

A college or university degree generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools which meet these criteria, please refer to Department of Education Accreditation page .

If you are qualifying based on foreign education, you must submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. Refer to the OPM instructions .

Recommended Documents:
In addition, we recommend that you submit copies of the following:
- A list of awards received (if applicable). DO NOT send copies of awards.
- A copy of your most recent completed performance appraisal.

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.