Duties

Summary

IMPORTANT APPLICATION DEADLINE: The first referral of candidates from this announcement will be made from applications received by 11:59 PM EST, Wednesday, November 11, 2020. Subsequent cut off dates will be December 11, 2020, January 11, 2021. The announcement will close February 12, 2021.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

The Enterprise Services Organization (ESO) Office of Acquisition is designed to provide exceptional levels of customer service and performance to meet the multiple critical missions of customers. The ESO provides a fluid work environment pursuing innovative acquisition strategies to achieve supreme responsiveness and service in Federal contracting. Contract Specialist in this office support of an exciting new customer-focused delivery model within the Department of Commerce (DOC).

The selected candidate will be responsible for Contract Specialist Duties including, but are not limited to:

• Performs as a Contract Specialist supporting the ESO acquisition service delivery model, supervising the award and administration of a full array of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) compliant contracts and agreements;
• Plans, develops, negotiates, awards and administers innovative and complex procurements of goods and services with specialized terms and conditions to meet ESO customer service goals as required across the acquisition office;
• Performs effective direct customer engagement, assisting with requirements development and resolving issues to improve the efficiency of delivery;
• Performs acquisition operations and tracks progress of procurement activities in terms of mission accomplishment, quality and quantity of standards, procedural, policy and regulatory compliance, and technical competence. Applies knowledge of business and industrial practices to establish goals and meet objectives;
• Conduct training, and consult with ESO customer program managers to increase the efficiency of procurement transactions;
• Advise management on the status of procurement actions, including problems encountered and proposed solutions to program difficulties.

This Job Opportunity Announcement may be used to fill other Contract Specialist ZA-1102-3 FPL 4 positions within Office of the Secretary in the same geographical location with the same qualifications and specialized experience.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
4 - You may be non-competitively promoted if you perform successfully, if recommended by management and have met ALL basic requirements for the ZA-1102-4 level

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be suitable for Federal employment.
• You must be a U.S. citizen.
• You must be registered for Selective Service if applicable (www.sss.gov).

• A one year probationary period may be required.
• Payment of relocation expenses is not authorized.

SECURITY CLEARANCE: This position requires a PUBLIC TRUST CLEARANCE. Any required investigations and clearances must be completed before the selectee can be placed in the position.

Time-after-competitive-appointment restrictions apply.

Qualifications

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: Contract Specialist .

INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

This position has a positive education requirement, transcripts must be submitted. CANDIDATES MUST MEET ONE OF THE FOLLOWING BASIC QUALIFICATION 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.

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.

*SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION - All documentation supporting the Basic Qualification Requirement MUST be submitted with your application package. Failure to submit documentation may result in an ineligible status.

IN ADDITION TO THE BASIC QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government.

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.

To qualify at the ZA-III or GS-11 level:

One full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZA-II or GS-09 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following:

• Performing independent contracting assignments in the award, administration or closeout of contracts for goods and services assuring that all activities performed are in compliance with applicable procurement regulations and procedures.

OR

EDUCATION: 3 full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, if related.

OR


COMBINATION: A combination of graduate level education, beyond two years, or 36 semester hours, in a related field or study and specialized experience that together, meet the qualification requirements for this position.


Education

Additional information

CTAP and ICTAP candidates will be eligible if it is determined that they have exceeded the minimum qualifications for the position by attaining at least a rating of 85 out of 100. Information about ICTAP eligibility is on the Office of Personnel Management's Career Transition Resources website at: Employee Guide to Career Transition

CTAP applicants MUST submit the following documents:

A copy of your specific RIF notice; notice of proposed removal for failure to relocate; a Certificate of Expected Separation (CES); or certification that you are in a surplus organization or occupation (this could be a position abolishment letter, a notice eligibility for discontinued service retirement, or similar notice).

A copy of your SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action", noting current position, grade level, and duty location;

A copy of your latest performance appraisal including your rating; and

Any documentation from your agency that shows your current promotion potential.

ICTAP applicants MUST submit the following documents:

A copy of your RIF separation notice; notice of proposed removal for failure to relocate; notice of disability annuity termination; certification from your former agency that it cannot place you after your recovery from a compensable injury; or certification from the National Guard Bureau or Military Department that you are eligible for disability retirement;

A copy of your SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action" documenting your RIF separation, noting your positions, grade level, and duty location, and/or Agency certification of inability to place you through RPL, etc;

A copy of your latest performance appraisal including your rating; and

Any documentation from your agency that shows your current promotion potential.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Your resume, optional cover letter and supporting documentation will be reviewed to determine if you meet the minimum qualification requirements for the position. Under the provisions of the Direct-Hire Authority (DHA), rating, ranking and veterans' preference does not apply; therefore, your responses to the questionnaire will not be used to determine a scored rating. All applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements, as defined in the job opportunity announcement, will be referred for selection consideration. While veterans' preference does not apply in DHA, preference eligibles are encouraged to submit their supporting documentation (DD-214 stating disposition of discharge or character of service, VA letter, SF-15, etc.) .

Applicants applying as CTAP or ICTAP candidates and determined CTAP or ICTAP eligible must exceed the minimum qualification requirements to be referred under this selection priority placement program by attaining at least a rating of 85 out of 100. For those CTAP or ICTAP candidates who meet the minimum qualifications, we will compare your resume, optional cover letter and supporting documentation to your responses on the scored occupational questionnaire (True/False, Yes/No, Multiple Choice questions).

Your resume and/or optional cover letter must support your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire, or your score may be lowered. CTAP or ICTAP eligibles who are not determined well-qualified by scoring at least 85 will not be referred under the CTAP or ICTAP selection priority placement program; however, will be referred for selection consideration with other minimally qualified applicants . The scored occupational questionnaire will evaluate you on the following competencies; please do not provide a separate written response:

Knowledge of acquisition planning and pre-award and post-award actions associated with the federal contracting process.

Ability to develop briefing materials, reports and presentations.

Skill in awarding and administering various contract types including firm fixed pricing, cost reimbursement, time and material and incentive based contracts.

Your responses will be validated by a human resource specialist and/or a subject matter expert against the information you provide in your online resume and/or by reference checks. Falsifying your background, education, and/or experience is cause for non-employment.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

• Resume showing relevant experience; cover letter optional. Your resume must indicate your citizenship and if you are registered for Selective Service if you are a male born after 12/31/59. Your resume must include information about your paid and nonpaid work experience related to this position including: job title, duration of employment (mm/dd/yy - mm/dd/yy), hours per week, duties and accomplishments, salary, and your education. For work in the Federal service, please include the grade level for the position/s. Your resume may be used to validate your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire.
• Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) documentation if applicable (see other information).
• Education. If this position requires proof of higher education, you must submit an unofficial transcript or a list of courses that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education's website. You MUST provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing along with your application. Failure to provide such documentation by the closing date of the announcement will result in lost consideration.

You are not required to submit official documents at this time; copies are sufficient.

Failure to provide such documents when requested may result in lost consideration.

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.