Duties

Summary

The foundation for success of the Defense Commissary Agency mission is our people. It is DeCA's goal to have a workforce that is comprised of our nation's diverse cultures and backgrounds. DeCA operates a worldwide commissary system that provides quality grocery products to active duty military personnel and retirees, members of the Reserve and National Guard, and their families, as well as current DeCA employees. The agency employs over 15,000 people and its annual sales exceed $4 billion.
Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

This is a developmental position. Work assignments are progressively complex and intended to broaden your skills and provide you with practical experience to prepare you to perform at the target grade level. At the target grade level, the major duties are:
- Receive the education, training, and developmental assignments necessary to equip him/her to perform the duties of the Contract Specialist at the full performance level.
- Responsible for pre-award and post-award functions for a variety of supplies, services, equipment contracts.
- Perform market research, determine the most suitable methods of acquisition, and prepare acquisition plans and attendant acquisition documentation.
- Develop source selection criteria and technical evaluation plans, determines the need for and conducts acquisition conferences and other activities with industry to ensure all requirements of the agency are clearly communicated.
- Meet with contractors and technical representatives in presentations and demonstrations, negotiate terms and conditions of contracts, utilize innovative techniques and ideas to develop contractual arrangements taking into consideration life cycle management, cost benefits analysis, economic pricing arrangements, market fluctuations, distribution considerations, etc.
- Prepare contract award packages.
- Perform a full range of contract administration functions including monitoring contractor performance, interpreting contract provisions for contractors and for officials of the agency; negotiating consideration for late delivery and non-conforming products; reviewing settlement proposals and negotiating settlement actions; and closing the contract upon completion.

Travel Required

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

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
11

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Must be a United States Citizen
• Application materials must be received by 11:59 EST On the closing date.
• Work Schedule: Full-time
• Tour of Duty: Regular Schedule
• Permanent Change of Station (PCS) Costs: Are authorized
• Position Sensitivity: Non-Critical Sensitve
• Security Requirements: Must be able to obtain and maintain security clearance eligibility based on appropriate background investigation
• Overtime: Occasionally
• Temporary Duty (TDY) Travel: Occasionally
• Fair Labor Standards Act: (FLSA): Exempt
• Bargaining Unit Position: No
• Drug Testing: Not Required
• Physical Requirement: None
• Obligated Position: No
• Selective Service Requirement: All male applicants born after December 31, 1959 must be registered with the selective service system or exempt from Selective Service. Please visit https://www.sss.gov/ for more information.

Qualifications

In accordance with the Individual Occupational Requirement for the Contracting 1102 Series, http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/Standards/IORs/gs1100/1102.htm :

Applicants applying at the GS-07 grade level must possess a minimum of one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 (or equivalent) grade level OR one full year of graduate level education or law school OR superior academic achievement OR a combination of education and experience by the closing date of this announcement.

Examples of specialized experience include: Experience in contract administration principles and practices to monitor contractor performance and to solve problems relating to contract modifications, progress and other payments, and similar problems. Extensive knowledge of FAR, DFARS, FPMR, agency regulations, and precedents governing contracting and contract administration functions. Experience in contract termination procedures sufficient to perform a variety of tasks such as analyzing allowable costs and making recommendations. Experience in pre-award and post-award functions for standard, well-defined contract actions.
Applicants applying at the GS-09 grade level must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 grade level OR two full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education or masters or equivalent graduate degree or LL.B or J.D OR a combination of education and experience by the closing date of this announcement.

Examples of specialized experience include: Experience in contract administration principles and practices to monitor contractor performance and to solve problems relating to contract modifications, progress and other payments, and similar problems. Extensive knowledge of FAR, DFARS, FPMR, agency regulations, and precedents governing contracting and contract administration functions. Experience in contract termination procedures sufficient to perform a variety of tasks such as analyzing allowable costs and making recommendations. Experience in pre-award and post-award functions for standard, well-defined contract actions.

Applicants applying at the GS-11 grade level must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level OR three full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree OR a combination of education and experience by the closing date of this announcement.
Examples of specialized experience include: Experience in application of statues, laws, FAR/DFARS, FPMR, agency regulations, policies, procedures and general business practices. Experience in the use of negotiation techniques to conduct face-to-face negotiations with industry representatives. Experience in detailed cost and price analysis techniques.

Volunteer Experience: Your experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through a National Service program (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional, philanthropic, religious, spiritual, community, student, and 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.

For qualifications determinations your resume must contain your name, a description of your duties, the number of hours worked per week and the beginning and ending dates (month/year) for each position. Resumes that do not contain this information will be marked as insufficient and applicants may not receive consideration for this position.

In addition to meeting the qualifications outlined above, you must also meet the following requirements:

Time after competitive appointment: Candidates applying under merit promotion must have completed three months of civilian service after a competitive appointment by the closing date of the announcement. (5 CFR 330.501)

Time in grade requirement: Current or previous federal employees must have held a permanent appointment in the competitive or excepted service for a minimum of 52 weeks. To qualify at the GS-07 grade level, applicants must possess a minimum of 52 weeks at the GS-05 grade level (or equivalent) by the closing date of the announcement. To qualify at the GS-09 grade level, applicants must possess a minimum of 52 weeks at the GS-07 grade level (or equivalent) by the closing date of the announcement. To qualify at the GS-11 grade level, applicants must possess a minimum of 52 weeks at the GS- 09 grade level by the closing date of this announcement. Education may not be substituted for time-in-grade.

Education

If you are relying on education to qualify then:

• Your education must be from a college or university accredited by an organization approved by the U.S. Department of Education. See https://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/ for more information.
• Failure to provide transcripts will result in you being rated ineligible for this position. We accept unofficial transcripts for the application process, as long as they contain your name, the name of the school, the date and degree awarded, and the list of classes and credits earned. Transcripts must be received by this office no later than 11:59 PM EST on the closing date in order to be considered.
• If selected, an official transcript MUST be received before an Entrance of Duty date is set.

Additional information

REGARDING INTERVIEWS: Interviews may be required for this position. Accommodations may be made to conduct telephonic interviews to preclude travel hardships for applicants.

Re-employed Annuitant: A former Federal employee who has retired under either the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) is an Annuitant. An annuitant cannot be hired (i.e. re-employed) unless the vacant position meets the criteria in the Department of Defense (DOD) policy on employment of annuitants issued December 10, 2008.
The DoD criteria for hiring Re-employed Annuitants can be found at http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/1400.25-V300.pdf .

Re-employed Annuitant: This position Does not meet criteria for re-employed annuitant.

Other Notes:

• Individual with Financial Difficulty: https://hru.gov/Studio_Recruitment/tools/Mythbuster_on_Federal_Hiring_Policies.pdf .
• Deliberate attempts to falsify your application information, such as copying portions of this job announcement into your resume, may result in you being removed from consideration for this position.
• Additional vacancies may be filled from this announcement upon its closing.
• Position is being filled at the GS-07, GS-09, and GS-11 level.
• If selected at a grade below the target grade of the position, you may be non-competitively promoted to the next higher grade when all statutory and regulatory requirements have been met, performance is satisfactory, and when recommended by the supervisor.
• Promotion is not guaranteed.
• Applicants selected from this announcement may be required to serve a two-year probationary period.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Specifically you will be evaluated on the following competencies:

• Contract Administration
• Contract Award
• Contract Performance Management
• Contract Termination

REVIEW OF APPLICATION DOCUMENTS (FOR ALL APPLICANTS):

To determine your qualifications, a review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the questions. The score you receive is a measure of the degree to which your background matches the competencies required.

Please follow all instructions carefully as errors or omissions may affect your rating.To determine if you meet the qualifications, requirements and quality of experience required for this position, we review your resume, supporting documents and responses to the questionnaire. The score you receive is a measure of the degree to which your background matches the competencies required.

We will review your resume and supporting documents to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. We will evaluate each applicant who meets the basic qualifications on the information provided and evaluate your relevant work experiences as it relates to fundamental competencies identified as required for this position.

Applicants must choose ALL APPLICABLE ELIGIBILITIES in order to receive consideration for this announcement. Failure to choose any eligibility or select the wrong eligibility will result in non-consideration for this position. If you are unsure as to your eligibility, please select ALL Eligibilities.

Understanding Eligibilities and Qualifications as Part of the Application Process:
http://www.dla.mil/Portals/104/Documents/Careers/downloads/Eligibilities%20and%20Qualifications-CCP.pdf?ver=2018-10-16-084128-890

Military Spouse Preference: If you are entitled to military spouse preference, in order to receive this preference you must choose the spousal eligibility in your application package referencing MSP Military Spouse Preference. Your preference entitlement will be verified by the employing agency. If you are claiming military spouse preference and qualified for the position, your name will be placed below preference eligible veteran candidates and above non-preference candidates on a list sent to the hiring manager for employment consideration. To claim Military Spouse Preference (MSP) please complete the Military Spouse PPP Self-Certification Checklist

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

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

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

Application packages should include the following documents:

Questionnaire: Required
Transcripts: Required if using education to qualify. See Education section for more information
Resume: Required **To ensure full consideration of your experience and education we encourage you to use the USAJOBS resume builder to prepare your resume or to guide you in preparing your resume.

For qualifications determinations your resume must contain the following:

• Applicant's full legal name and contact information
• Description of your duties
• Number of hours worked per week
• Beginning and ending dates (month/year) for each position

Applicants who fail to provide the required information on their resume will not receive consideration for this position. See https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/faq/application/documents/resume/what-to-include/ for more information.

If you are currently serving on active duty and expected to be released or discharged within the next 120 days, you must submit written documentation from the armed forces that certifies you are expected to be discharged or released from active duty service in the armed forces under honorable conditions not later than 120 days from the date the written documentation is signed. If selected, additional documentation may be required prior to appointment.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Programs: This program applies to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1) meet ICTAP eligibility criteria; 2) be rated well-qualified for the position; Well qualified is defined as possessing the type and quality of experience that exceeds the positions minimum qualifications. and 3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your ICTAP eligibility. For more information: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/ .

Employees Serviced by DLA: Civilian Federal employees who receive human resources servicing through the Defense Logistics Agency DO NOT need to submit supporting documentation if applying through merit promotion. Your record in Electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF) will be used to verify your eligibility. It is your responsibility to ensure the required documents are in your eOPF for verification purposes. If your documents are not in eOPF, you must submit them to the announcement you are applying for at the time of application. Failure to submit all of the documents on time will result in automatic disqualification.

Overseas Employees: DeCA employees working overseas MUST submit copies of your current SF-50, showing your current tenure, grade and salary.

If you are claiming Military Spouse Preference, you must submit supporting documents with your application package. These documents must provide acceptable information to verify: you reside within the commuting area of your sponsor's permanent duty station (PDS); proof of marriage to the active duty sponsor, proof of military member's active duty status, and other documentation required by the vacancy announcement to which you are applying; and must meet all pre-employment criteria and be eligible for immediate noncompetitive appointment to a position in the competitive service.

Documentation required: Marriage Certificate or License, Signed Self-Certification Checklist, Veterans' Preference documentation (e.g., DD-214, VA Letter, Statement of Service, if applicable), Transcripts (if applicable).

Additional documentation required if previously held a federal position: SF-50s (e.g., LWOP, highest grade held, overseas appointments, etc.), SF-75 Information, and documentation of performance rating of record (dated within the last 12 months).

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.