Duties

Summary

This position is located in the Office of Procurement Services, Department of the Chief Operating Officer, in Washington, DC.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

The incumbent will serve as a Contract Specialist responsible for all contracting transactions, i.e., initiation, award recommendation, procurement of items or services, vendor performance. Contracts can range from low dollar simplified actions to high dollar more complex actions. Primary duties include, but are not limited to:

Providing contracting files for review to the overseeing Team Lead and/or Contracting Officer for signature authority.

Articulating and communicating to the overseeing Team Lead and the requiring program office the status of requirements, the assignment details, project, problem(s) to be solved, actionable events, milestones, and/or program issues under review, and deadlines and time frames for completion;

Working closely with the assigned Programs in developing an understanding of the program's goals and objectives and it constituencies and offers support in all aspects of business and mission decisions.

Providing advice and assistance to agency leaders and program leaders in developing agency-wide long term procurement policies and strategies. Works independently with the overseeing guidance of an assigned Team Lead/Contracting Officer in the preparation of lowest price technically acceptable or best value trade-of procurements.

Collaborating with the Warranted Realty Leasing Officer in completion of leasing file documentation, drafting of correspondence, and payment of invoices; participates in meetings with lessors, audit representatives, legal officials, and the inspector general as requested.

Monitoring and reporting on the status and progress of work, checking on work in progress and reviewing completed work to see that the Director of Procurement's instructions on work priorities, methods, deadlines and quality have been met;

Maintaining current knowledge to answer questions from stakeholders on procedures, policies, and directives, pertaining to acquisitions and leasing contractual matters.

Communicating with the Team Lead, Deputy Director, and Director to obtain resources and secure needed information or decisions on major work problems and issues that arise; reports regularly on individual work accomplishments, problems, progress in mastering tasks and work processes, and individual and team training needs;

Remaining abreast of meeting established milestones and deadlines for completion of assignments, projects and tasks, and ensure that the assigned Team Lead and/or manager are aware of and participate in planning for achievement of individual goals and objectives;

Providing advice and assistance to program offices on the workings of the acquisition processes.

Preparing purchase requests, award contracts, task orders and delivery orders, and contract/lease administrative documents, and maintains reports in an automated system.

Serving as a liaison for AmeriCorps' Shared Services Provider.

Travel Required

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

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
None

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a United States Citizen
• A 2-year probationary period is required for new Federal employees
• Merit Promotion applicants must submit a SF-50 to verify Status and grade
• Must be telework ready
• Satisfactory completion of a background investigation

Qualifications

Applicants must meet the basic qualification requirements of either A or B:

A. Qualifications based on meeting all of the following criteria: 1) Certification at the level of FAC-C Level II, DAWIA Level II or equivalent courses (see note below) and 2) A minimum of 4-years of experience in contracting or related positions of which at least1 year is specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the mid-range of the NY-03 pay band which is at, or equivalent to, the GS-11 level in the Federal service that includes experience in the following: a wide range of contracting methods; contracts to plan and carry out pre-award procurement actions; or in-depth knowledge to analyze contracting issues and identify alternative courses of action.

B. Qualifications based on OPM's "grandfathering" provision after having occupied a position equivalent to the GS-12 level in the1102 series, on or prior to January 1, 2000, without a break in service.

NOTE: Classes taken for FAC-C certification purposes starting with CON must be taken from a training provider (commercial vendor, college or university, or another organization) whose class has been determined by DAU to be DAU Equivalent. A class taken for FAC-C purposes starting with FCN must be taken from a training provider (commercial vendor, college or university, or another organization) whose class has been verified by FAI.

DAU Equivalent Providers: A list of DAU Equivalent vendors and classes can be found in DAU's iCatalog (http://icatalog.dau.mil/appg.aspx) under Equivalent Providers.

FAI Verified Providers: A list of FAI Verified vendors and classes can be found on the FAI Verification Program page (https://www.fai.gov/drupal/resources/fai-verification-program).
The FAI Verification process is continuously being updated and can be found here (https://www.fai.gov/drupal/certification/contracting-fac-c).

In addition to meeting the qualifications above, applicants who qualify under the requirement of "A" must also meet one of the following:
A 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with a major in any field;

OR

Completion 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. An unofficial transcript from your college/university must be submitted with your application package or you will be eliminated from consideration.

Additional Qualification Requirements:
In addition to meeting the Basic Qualification Requirements listed above, candidates must also: Have one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the upper level of the NY-02 pay band, at or equivalent to, the GS-11 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is work that is in or directly related to the position to be filled and has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience must include all of the following:
1) Applying Federal contract and procurement regulations to prepare solicitations containing appropriate provisions, clauses, terms and conditions;
2) Evaluating responses to solicitations for price reasonableness, compliance with terms and conditions, and adequacy of competition;
3) Administering contracts to include contract scope determinations, contract modifications, supplemental agreements, justifications, approval reviews/fair opportunity evaluations and claims disputes, and contract terminations.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps VISTA) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Such experience must be clearly documented in the applicant's resume.

Education

Education may not be substituted for specialized experience for this position.

Additional information

Additional selections may be made from this announcement or for similar positions across AmeriCorps. By applying, you agree to have your application shared with interested selecting official(s) at AmeriCorps.

As a Term employee, you will not be covered be the agency's Interchange Agreement with the Office of Personnel Management, which allows for noncompetitive transfer from AmeriCorps to other agencies in the competitive service of the federal government.

If you are a male applicant who was born after 12/31/59 and are required to register under the Military Selective Service Act, the Defense Authorization Act of 1986 requires that you be registered or you are not eligible for appointment in this agency.

Veteran's Preference: If you are claiming 5-point or 10-point veteran's preference, you must submit documentation described below in "Required Documents."

Special Employment Consideration: Persons with disabilities, disabled veterans who have a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more, certain other veterans, spouses of certain members of the Armed Forces, VISTA volunteers, some Peace Corps employees and returning Peace Corps volunteers are examples of individuals who are potentially eligible for noncompetitive appointment. If you are eligible and would like to be considered for one of these noncompetitive appointments, applicable documentation that supports your eligibility must be submitted with your application package.

Ethics Requirement: Our Agency is committed to the highest ethical standards and, as an employee you will be covered by the criminal conflict of interest statutes (18 U.S.C. 201-209) and the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch (5 C.F.R. part 2635). Additionally, you may be required to complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) or Public Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 278e) within 30 days of your appointment date and on an annual basis thereafter.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Your application will be evaluated first for the basic qualifications described above. The applications that meet the basic qualifications will be evaluated further against the following criteria:

• Contracting/Procurement
• Oral Communication
• Problem Solving
• Teamwork
• Technical Competence
• Writing

Important Note: Your resume must support your answers to the job specific questions. High self-assessment on the Occupational Questionnaire that is not supported by the information in your resume or supporting documents can/will result in elimination from further consideration. If you do not answer all of the job specific questions you will not be considered. Incomplete applications (resume and required supporting documents) will be considered ineligible.

Qualified applicants will be placed in one of the following three categories:

1 - Qualified Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements as described in the Qualifications section of this announcement.
2 - Well Qualified Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and demonstrates proficiency based on the answers to the job specific questions.
3 - Best Qualified Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and demonstrates high level proficiency based on the answers to the job specific questions.

NOTE: Status candidates will be considered under the provisions of the agency's Human Resources system which allows for:
1) Non-competitive referral of lateral candidates; and
2) The separation of status and non-status applicants for referral purposes.

Status candidates will be referred on one selection list only, i.e., either merit promotion or non-competitive. Non-status candidates who are eligible for Noncompetitive referral, e.g. Peace Corps, VRA, etc., will be referred under Noncompetitive procedures only. For Noncompetitive categories, See "Special Employment Consideration" below under "Other Information."

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

• Resume showing relevant experience (cover letter optional);
• Unofficial transcript (if qualifying based on education):
• Veterans' Preference Documentation (DD-214, VA Letter, and SF-15 if claiming 10-point preference; DD-214 if claiming 5-point preference), if applicable;
• For Merit Promotion Eligibility: SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (must indicate tenure and position occupied), if applicable;
• Documentation supporting eligibility for Non-Competitive appointment, e.g., Schedule A (severely disabled), eligible veterans (VRA or 30-percent or more disabled), VISTA, Peace Corps, etc., if applicable

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.