Duties

Summary

Tour of Duty: 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Position Description Title/PD#: Supervisory Contract Specialist (Branch Chief)/ PD# 50009-A
Compressed/Flexible Schedules: Eligible
Telework: Eligible
Virtual Position: Not Eligible

This recruitment is for one position with the VHA Regional Procurement Office East, Network Contracting Office (NCO) 5 located at 515 Boiler House Rd in Perry Point, MD 21902, serving as the Commodities Team Branch Chief.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

Supervisory Contract Specialist (Branch Chief)/ PD# 50009-A

Serve as a Supervisory Contract Specialist (Branch Chief) for the US Department of Veterans Affairs, Network Contracting Office (NCO) 5, with responsibility of supervising a groups of employees performing work at the GS-05 through the GS-12/13 level. Major duties of the Supervisory Contract Specialist (Branch Chief) include: Performing professional work involving the procurement of supplies and services using procedures outlined in the Federal Acquisition Regulations, VA Acquisition Regulations, Public Laws, and Agency policy. Exercises supervisory authorities and responsibilities involving work assignment and review, as well as the administrative and personnel management functions relative to the staff supervised. Provides administrative and technical supervision necessary for accomplishing the work of the team. Distributes workload within the team and ensures the work assignments of employees in the team are carried out. Reviews the work of team members at various stages of completion, to assure compliance with Federal and VA Acquisition Regulations, Veterans Administration (VA)/Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Policies, VA/VHA Directives, VA/VHA Information Letters, VA/VHA Handbooks, and Network Contracting Office (NCO) standard operating procedures (SOP)s. Tracks work assigned to the team from receipt of procurement requests through contract close-out. Develops work improvement plans, recommending personnel actions as necessary. Effects minor disciplinary measures as appropriate to the authority delegated in this area. Trains subordinates in methods and techniques of performing contract actions, and provides or arranges for specific administrative or technical training necessary for accomplishment of individual and team tasks. Incumbent provides status reports to the Director of Contracting (DoC). Establishes guidelines and performance expectations for staff. The incumbent assists the requiring activities by serving as a member of acquisition planning teams from pre-award to contract close-out. Serves as contract administrator on awarded contracts. Conducts public bid openings, reviews bids and determines responsiveness and responsibility of low bidder in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements when using sealed bidding. Performs other duties as assigned.

Travel Required

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

Supervisory status
Yes

Promotion Potential
None

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

REQUIREMENTS:
You must be a US citizen to apply for this job.
Subject to a background/suitability investigation.
Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
Position requires filing a Financial Disclosure report.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: The Contract Specialist (Branch Chief) 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, or assisting technical personnel in taking measurements or elevations. Government travel for training, meetings, or customer interactions will be required in this position.

Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference on the Occupational Questionnaire in the section provided and provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) and/or documentation related to your active duty service which shows dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), or dates of impending separation.

Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veterans Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. For more information, please review the information for disabled Veterans in the application checklist or visit http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/ vetpref /index.aspx.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/19/2020.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials.

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.

NOTE: The Defense Acquisition University (DAU) does not grant Academic degrees; therefore courses completed at the DAU are not creditable towards meeting the 24 semester hour requirement, in the fields identified above, unless the coursework has been evaluated by an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, and appears on a college or university transcript.

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.

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 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, 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.

AND

Specialized Experience GS-13:

Applicants must have One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Performs contract reviews and provides guidance regarding complex contracts administered by other Contract Specialists. Prepares detailed price negotiation memoranda, outlining in writing the details of negotiations with contractors in competitive and noncompetitive negotiations. Conducts public bid openings, reviews bids and determines responsiveness and responsibility of low bidder in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements when using sealed bidding. Aids requiring activities in performing market research, reviewing specifications and statements of work, and approving acquisition milestone plans. Develops, reviews, and mentors subordinates in source selection and evaluation planning, provides guidance in negotiation strategy and tactic development, negotiates contracts, perform comprehensive price and cost analysis and resolve contract disputes. Provides signatory authority and executes contract awards within warrant authority, as requested by supervisor. Plans work to be accomplished by subordinates, sets and adjusts short term and long term priorities, and prepare completion of work. Identifies developmental and training needs of employees. Ability to give advice, counsel or instruct employees on both work and administrative matters. Ability to take appropriate action related to issues of non-compliance. Ability to communicate orally and in writing in writing in a clear and concise manner. Maintains good interpersonal skills when communicating with internal and external customers.

There is no educational substitution for the GS-13 level.

Graduate Experience: 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.

Additional information on the qualification requirements are outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on OPM's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/classifying-general-schedule-positions/ .

Education

APPLICANTS PLEASE NOTE: 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 (particularly positions with a positive education requirement). Therefore, applicants must report attendance and/or degrees from only these schools. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following websites: www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html and http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/ .

Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs.

Additional information

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified, you must submit appropriate documentation and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. Information about CTAP and ICTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp

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.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

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.

You will be rated on the following competencies based on your application for this position:

Competency 1 - Knowledge of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), VA, and/or similar laws, rules, regulations, policies and procedures that apply to contracting programs.

Competency 2 - Knowledge of and ability to use qualitative and quantitative analytical measurement techniques.

Competency 3 - Ability to develop, review, and mentor subordinates.

Competency 4 - Knowledge of and ability to supervise a Federal work unit.

Competency 5 - Ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing.

If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to: responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview.

IN 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).

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.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
NCS/High Risk

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

The following documents are required:

Your Résumé (Must include series, grade, step, starting and ending dates of employment, month and year, and hours worked per week, and salary information).

If you are a current or former Federal employee, you must submit a copy of your last or most recent signed Notification of Personnel Action (SF50) showing your position, title, series, grade and eligibility. Applicants who fail to submit this form will be rated INELIGIBLE (SF-50 must be in PDF format; text format will not be accepted). Note:. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Award 50's do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade. Examples of appropriate SF-50's include:

• Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or
• Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or
• SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old.

Copy of unofficial transcripts. Must show name of college to determine accreditation. If qualifying based on degree, or for positions requiring a degree, the transcript must show date the degree was conferred. If selected, you must provide official transcripts. NOTE: Transcripts should state degree conferred, and have a date.

Please use this checklist to ensure you have included other documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), documentation to support Veterans Preference claims, or ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees). You will not be contacted for additional information.

Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/index.aspx .

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.