Duties

Summary

The United States Marshals Service is the nation's oldest and most versatile federal law enforcement agency. The missions of the Service include protection of the judiciary, court security, witness security, asset seizure and forfeiture, apprehension of fugitives, prisoner transportation and custody.

Program Operations Division / Arlington, Virginia
Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

The incumbent serves as a Contract Specialist responsible negotiating and administering national contracts involving highly specialized procurements of significant importance to the Program Operation Division.

Duties include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Planning, developing and establishing the best contractual strategy for an acquisition, soliciting responses from contractors, performing detailed analysis, negotiating, and awarding different types of contracts
• Interpreting acquisition regulations and policies within the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Justice Acquisition Regulation (JAR)
• Examining proposals for compliance with specifications, purchase descriptions, and applicable clauses
• Advising management and/or Contracting Officers on matters pertaining to procurement actions
• Preparing letters, memorandums, documents, or reports that support contractual actions or recommendations

Travel Required

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

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
13

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. Citizenship Required.
• Must pass a pre-employment drug screening and background investigation.
• This position is a Testing Designated Position and subject to random drug testing.
• May require a one year trial/probationary period.
• Must meet all qualifications requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain appropriate Federal Acquisition Certificate in Contracting (FAC-C) certification to be assigned as a USMS warrant holder.

Qualifications

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: To be considered minimally qualified for this position, you must demonstrate that you meet the Basic Requirements, and possess the Specialized Experience and/or Education for the grade level to which you are applying.
GS-13

Basic Requirements for GS-13 through GS-15:

• 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. (You must submit college transcripts.)

OR

• Held a position in the GS-1102 series since 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, you will have to meet the basic requirements and specialized experience requirements in order to qualify for promotion to a higher grade. (You must submit an SF-50.)

AND In addition to the Basic Requirements for GS-13 through GS-15, you must have the Specialized Experience required to qualify for positions at the GS-13 grade level.

Specialized Experience: You must have at least one year (12 months) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service performing the following duties:

Awarding, administering, and terminating a variety of service and maintenance contracts, and specialized procurements;

Leading contract negotiations to find mutually acceptable terms, and resolve differences;

Conducting conferences with contractors to interpret obligations, and resolve problems; AND

Preparing contracting documents to carryout pre-award and post-award procurement actions.

(You must support this experience in your resume.)
IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).

Education

Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For more information click here .

In addition, when reviewing applicant's transcripts, assumptions will not be made. Applicants MUST state which coursework is relevant.

Additional information

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your ICTAP eligibility; 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement; and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must meet all qualification requirements for the vacant position. You must provide proof of eligibility with your application. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation personnel action form. For more information about ICTAP eligibility click here .

The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees in the Department of Justice with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your Department of Justice component has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your CTAP eligibility, 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement, and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must meet all qualification requirements for the vacant position. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. For more information about CTAP eligibility click here .

Veterans' Preference does not apply when selecting individuals under a Direct-Hire Authority (DHA). When agencies select individuals under DHA, the law allows agencies to hire them without regard to sections 5 U.S.C. 3309-3318, which eliminates the requirement for applying veterans preference. Qualified candidates with veterans' preference can be selected as they are found, just as any qualified non-preference eligible candidate would be.

Reasonable Accommodation Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. To determine if you need a Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments found here .

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Your application package will be evaluated under a Direct-Hire Authority (DHA). DHA enables an agency to hire, after public notice is given, any qualified applicant without regard to 5 U.S.C 3309-3318, 5 CFR part 211, or 5 CFR part 337, subpart A. A DHA expedites hiring by eliminating competitive rating and ranking, veterans' preference, and "rule of three" procedures. DHA must comply with public notice requirements under 5 U.S.C. 3327 and 3330, career transition requirements (CTAP/ICTAP) under 5 CFR part 330, and basic qualification requirements for the position under 5 CFR part 338. For more information about Direct-Hire Authority click here .

Your application package will be evaluated to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your application package includes: your resume and supporting documents; the responses you provide on the application questionnaire; and the result of the online assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

• Accountability
• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Flexibility
• Influencing/Negotiating
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

• Decision Making
• Reading
• Reasoning

In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the initial application questions and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.

The assessment includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Top Secret

Drug test required
Yes

Position sensitivity and risk
Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk

Trust determination process
Credentialing , National security

Required Documents

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

Your Resume showing work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment and duties performed; Cover Letter optional.

A complete initial online Assessment Questionnaire.

Other Supporting Documents, if applicable:

• College transcript(s), if qualifying based on education.
• Any other supporting documentation required for verification as described in the announcement. (e.g. certifications, licenses.)
• If you are requesting a reasonable accommodation to the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, submit documentation to support your request, including the Reasonable Accommodation Request Form found here .

Note: Failure to submit a resume or supporting documentation may result in elimination for further 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.