Duties

Summary

This position is located in the Director of the Acquisitions Office (FSI/EX/ACQ). As a Contract Specialist, with warrant authority for independently approving and signing contracts, performs work in full range of activities involved in the contracting and procurement function.

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Responsibilities

• Identifies large scale subsystems, components, equipment, and services (e.g. professional services, information technology (IT), telecommunications, specialized security and/or communications services,) to be acquired via contract.
• Conducts pre-proposal conference(s) with prospective contractor(s) to ensure understanding of solicitation requirements.
• Performs incremental funding, preparation of rate and cost adjustments, redirection of effort, coordination of time extensions, incorporation of change orders, and, when appropriate, issuance of stop work orders, cure notices, show cause letters.
• Manages/oversees projects in support of customer requirements.
• Performs market surveys to identify potential sources for contracted goods and services both in the U.S. and overseas, as well the availability of products or producers.

Travel Required

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

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
14

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing.
• Verification of employment eligibility in the United States is required.
• One year probationary period, unless excepted by regulation.
• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Statement of Employment & Financial Interest required prior to appointment.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Secret security clearance.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all the required qualification requirements, including education, and any selective placement factors described below by the closing date of this announcement. If you are qualifying based on education OR if there are mandatory education requirements listed below, you MUST submit a copy of your college transcript with your application.

NOTE: Applicants must meet time-in-grade and time after competitive appointment requirements, by the closing date of this announcement.

Time-In-Grade Requirements: Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions, per 5CFR 300, Subpart F.

Applicants applying for the GS-14 grade level must meet one of the following requirements to qualify for this position:

IN ADDITION to the requirements below, all applicants must be Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) Level III certified, as outlined on the Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI) website ( https://www.fai.gov/certification/contracting-fac-c ) or Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) Level III certified, as outlined on the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) website ( http://icatalog.dau.mil/onlinecatalog/CareerLvl.aspx?lvl=3&cfld=3 ). Applicants whose certification is over two years old, must also have completed 80 Continuous Learning Points (CLPs) every two years. The 80 CLPs every two years must be from the issuance date of certification and valid through the closing date of the announcement.

Applicants must submit the following documentation:

1. Copy of initial FAC-C Level III certification or DAWIA Level III certification.

AND

2. If initial Level III certification is over two years old from the closing date of the announcement, a Certificate of Achievement from the Federal Acquisition Institute Training Application System (FAITAS) in recognition of attainment of continuous learning requirements showing certification valid through the closing date of the announcement;

OR

An equivalent transcript or list of training from DAWIA that shows 80 CLPs obtained within the previous two years from the closing date of the announcement (the transcript or list of training must assign CLP numeric values to each eligible activity/course or must clearly reflect the numeric total of 80 CLPs).

AND

A. In addition to completing the mandatory FAC-C Level III or DAWIA Level III training requirements, you must have at least 4 years of experience in contracting or related positions AND at least 1 full year of this experience is specialized and equivalent to at least the GS-13 level in the Federal service AND completed a 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with a major in any field from an accredited college or university AND this degree included or was supplemented by 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.

Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

Experience performing pre and/or post award contracting actions that may include, but not limited to developing solicitation, issuance of contracts and contract administration.

OR

B. In addition to completing the mandatory FAC-C Level III or DAWIA Level III training requirements, you have occupied your position, which is classified in the GS-1102 series, since January 1, 2000 AND have one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level in the Federal service that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position as described in paragraph A above under qualifying specialized experience.

Note: All applicants WILL BE required to submit transcripts and/or training certificates as verification of educational requirement. If you fail to provide requested information, or the information you submit is insufficient to verify your eligibility, you will be rated ineligible for this position.

Education

See the qualifications section of this vacancy announcement for education requirements, if applicable.

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the 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 accredited organizations recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials.

Additional information

For reasonable accommodation at the U.S. Department of State, please contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations at (202) 663-3474 or ReasonableAccommodations@state.gov .

If eligible, applicants to this announcement may be referred to other positions in other Bureaus/Offices in the Department.

EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION PROGRAM (E-Verify) - U.S. law requires organizations to employ only individuals who may legally work in the United States - either U.S. citizens, or foreign citizens who have the necessary authorization. This agency utilizes E-Verify to compare information from the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to data from U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) records to confirm employment eligibility. If the employee's information does not match DHS and/or SSA records, the employee is given an opportunity to resolve the problem. If eligibility cannot be verified, employment will be terminated.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs) and other characteristics that are relevant to the duties of this position and must be fully supported by information in your resume:

• Knowledge of contracting laws, regulations, principles, policies and procedures.
• Ability to communicate orally and in writing.
• Ability to negotiate.
• Knowledge of project management principles.
• Knowledge of a wide range of concepts, principles and practices relative to procurement transactions.

Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable) as it relates to this job opportunity. 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). Your resume should include the dates of all qualifying experience (from month/year to month/year) and the number of hours worked/volunteered per week. For assistance with creating a resume, please click here .

Qualified candidates are assigned a score between 70 and 100. Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) candidates must be rated "Well Qualified" for the position and earn a score of at least 85 (when applicants are rated in a range of 70 to 100) to receive consideration for selection priority. If, after reviewing your resume and self-assessment questionnaire responses and a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, a score will be manually determined that reflects your documented experience. This may result in a lower score, which may also eliminate you from consideration for this position.

Applicants must meet all the qualification requirements and submit any required supporting documentation by the closing date of this job opportunity. Your application package must contain sufficient information to make a valid determination that you fully meet the basic/specialized experience requirements as stated in this job opportunity announcement for each grade level(s) for which you are applying. Applicants found to be among the top qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring official for further consideration and possible interview.

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Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Secret

Drug test required
Yes

Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk

Trust determination process
National security

Required Documents

All required documents listed below, that are applicable to you, must be submitted to our automated system "Gateway to State" by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.

1. Resume - your resume or any other written format you choose should contain the required information as specified in the "How You Will Be Evaluated" section. Insufficient information will result in an ineligible rating.

2. A completed online job specific self-assessment questionnaire through the Department's automated system "Gateway to State".

3. Transcripts - if applicable, see the Qualifications section of the announcement. If selected, an official/sealed college transcript(s) will be required to verify education prior to employment.

4. If you are qualifying based on other criteria listed under the Qualification Section of this announcement, you must submit the required supporting documentation (certificates, certifications, etc.) with your application by the closing date.

5. Performance Appraisal - All current Federal employees and reinstatement eligible applicants must submit a copy of your most recent completed annual performance appraisal that includes the final rating. If a performance appraisal does not exist, is incomplete or unavailable, a Form DS-1812 (Applicant Appraisal) or equivalent form from another agency signed by the current supervisor is acceptable. Mid-year progress reviews will not be accepted.

6. Current, former, and non-competitive Federal employees must submit SF-50s (Notification of Personnel Action) that show: effective date, position title, series, grade, salary, tenure, position occupied, full promotion potential, and name of agency. Examples include promotion & within-grade increase actions. Award SF-50s often do not show this information. Multiple SF-50s may be needed to show all information.

7. Veterans who are preference eligibles OR who have been separated from the Armed Forces under honorable conditions (honorable or general discharge) after 3 or more years of continuous active service may apply under the Veterans Employment Opportunities act (VEOA). You must submit a DD-214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (Member Copy 4 is preferable) showing the dates you served as well as your type of discharge and qualifying service campaign medals OR if you are still on active duty, you MUST submit a certification on letterhead from your military branch which contains your military service dates, expected date of discharge or release, and the character of service to show that your military service was performed under honorable conditions. The expected date of discharge or release must be no later than 120 days after the certification is submitted for consideration for this job announcement.

Current Federal employees applying under the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA) must submit a qualifying SF-50 to show you meet time-in-grade requirements.

If you are applying as a preference eligible with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more, in addition to the DD-214 or certification, you must also submit a current version of the SF-15 (Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference), dated October 2013, and the required supporting documents listed on that form. Previous editions of the SF-15 will not be accepted. For more information on veterans' preference, click here . To gain access to your DD-214 online, please visit: http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/get-service-records.html.

For more information on Veteran Authorities, consult the Vet Guide .

8. CTAP/ICTAP eligibles must submit a copy of the appropriate documentation with their application. See links below:

ICTAP Considerations
CTAP Considerations

9. If you are applying under a special hiring authority you MUST submit proof of eligibility with your application. For information related to special hiring authorities for severely disabled persons visit: http://www.opm.gov/disability/PeopleWithDisabilities.asp

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.