Duties

Summary

Click on "Learn more about this agency" button below to view Eligibilities being considered and other IMPORTANT information.

Pathways is an Excepted Service Appointment, Schedule D, 5 CFR Part 362, and may NOT be combined with other Excepted Service Appointments (e.g., Schedule A).

For additional information regarding the Pathways Program, please refer to: Students & Recent Graduates on USAJOBS.

WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OTHER IRS CAREERS? Visit us on the web at www.jobs.irs.gov
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Responsibilities

IRS Recent Graduates Program affords developmental experiences in the Federal Government intended to promote possible careers in the civil service to individuals who have recently graduated from qualifying educational institutions or programs. Selected applicants are placed in a dynamic, developmental program with the potential to lead to a civil service career in the Federal Government. In addition, the IRS implemented the new IRS Forward Recent Graduate Program that includes an additional year of formal development, training, networking, project teams, and may include rotational assignments.

Following the completion of program requirements, selectees may be considered for non-competitive conversion to a career/career-conditional or term appointment. All conversion requirements will be identified in the Participant Agreement. Program requirements include but are not limited to:

• Successful completion of at least 1 to 2 years of continuous service depending on the position;
• Completion of at least 40 hours of interactive training;
• Mentorship;
• Demonstration of successful job performance; and
• Meet the qualification position standards.

Conversion to the competitive service is not implied or guaranteed.

If selected, you will be placed in a developmental position as a IRS Pathways Recent Graduate Program-Contract Specialist, GS-1102- 07/09 with promotion potential to GS-12 in the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer (OCPO) division.

A description of the business units can be found at: https://www.jobs.irs.gov/about/who/business-divisions

The following are the duties of this position at the full working level(GS-12). You will have the opportunity to learn to perform these duties and will receive training to help you grow in this position.

• Perform all segments of the pre-award and post-award procurement actions. This includes reviewing and analyzing statement of work or specifications, technical evaluation plans, and technical evaluation criteria, providing recommendations for changes when necessary to ensure documents are complete, accurate, and can be contractually enforced.
• Determine contract type, establish milestones, and formulate procurement strategy.
• Develop negotiation strategies, negotiate with potential contractors, and prepares the appropriate award vehicle and file documentation for approval.
• Perform special assignments and projects to support upper level management operations, conduct site surveys, represent the office at seminars or conference, participate in or conduct training sessions and participate as a team member in the Staff Assistance Visit Program.
• Evaluate bids, performing cost/price analysis, obtain audits and pricing reports, negotiate price and/or technical issues, ensure contractor is eligible for award and prepares documentation.
• Serve as a Contracting Officer authorized to solicit contractual proposals, negotiate, enter into, execute, administer and terminate public contracts for the Service.

Travel Required

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

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
12

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

- Undergo an income tax verification and review of prior performance/conduct.
- All selectees must sign a Pathways Participant Agreement.
- Subject to a 1-yr. trial period (unless already completed).
- Must successfully complete a background investigation, including a FBI criminal history record check (fingerprint check).
- Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency.
- The employment of any candidate selected for this position may be conditional upon classification and/or audit of federal tax returns. This audit may include up to 2 years of returns.
- If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so.
- Have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer.
- Go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form I-9 . Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S. These documents must be unexpired original or certified copies.
- Provide proof of U.S. Citizenship. (Birth certificate showing birth in the U.S; Unexpired U.S. Passport; Certificate of Citizenship or Naturalization; or Report of Birth Abroad of a U.S. Citizen (Form FS-240))
- Tour of Duty: 7:30am-4:00pm Monday-Friday
- An official transcript must be provided to confirm degree completion prior to appointment to the position.
(continued in additional information section)

Qualifications

Federal experience is not required . The experience may have been gained in the public sector, private sector or Volunteer Service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-timework is considered on a prorated basis.

To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week, on your resume.

In order to qualify, you must first meet Pathways Recent Graduate Program eligibility:

You must have, within the previous 2 years, completed all educational requirements for a qualifying associate, bachelor, masters, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying institution; or intended graduation is no more than 9 months from date of application;
-OR-
Veterans (as defined in 5 U.S.C. 2108) who, due to a military service obligation, were precluded from applying to a Recent Graduates Program during any portion of the 2-year eligibility period may have their eligibility period extended so that they receive the full 2 years of eligibility. The remaining 2-year eligibility period will begin upon his or her release or discharge from active duty. The veteran's eligibility period may not extend beyond 6 years from the date of completion of all requirements of an academic course of study.

Secondly, you must meet any basic requirements of the position and the experience requirements described in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions.

BASIC REQUIREMENT OR INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT:

Bachelor's degree in any field of study
OR
At least twenty-four (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 from an accredited college or university.
OR
Exception: Employees occupying a GS-1102 position at grades 5 through 12 on or after January 1, 2000 are considered to have met the basic requirement for other GS-1102 positions up to the GS-12 without having to meet the education requirements described above.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below:

GS-07 LEVEL: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience at the next lower grade GS-05, or equivalent in other pay systems. Examples of specialized experience includes experience using basic knowledge of general contracting terminology, principles, concepts and procedures to understand and interpret Federal contract guidelines and regulations; You must also demonstrate knowledge of business practices and skill in both written and oral communication and mathematics and the ability to gather, assemble and analyze information to draw logical conclusions about price/cost information.
OR
EDUCATION: One (1) full academic year of graduate education or law school. Graduate education must have been in one or a combination of the following fields of study: accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, or organization and management.
OR
Superior Academic Achievement may be met by having a Bachelor's degree, with one of the following: A GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale for all completed undergraduate courses or those completed in the last 2 years of study, or a GPA of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale for all courses in the major field of study or those courses in the major completed in the last 2 years of study, or rank in the upper one third of the class in the college, university, or major subdivision, or membership in a national honor society recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies.
OR
COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: You may qualify with a combination of qualifying education and experience. Options for qualifying based on a combination will be identified in the online questions.

GS-09 LEVEL: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Specialized experience for this position includes: Experience using knowledge of various types of contracts and conditions governing their use in order to determine which contracting method is more advantageous; Experience using knowledge of the contracting process, the pre-award and post-award procurement actions required to solicit and award contracts under formal advertising and negotiated procurement procedures. Your experience must also demonstrate skill in analyzing cost data and facts in order to review and make recommendations about information presented in bids/proposal; Experience using knowledge of the laws and regulations governing acquisition procedures; You must also demonstrate knowledge of business practices and skill in both written and oral communication and mathematics and the ability to gather, assemble and analyze information to draw logical conclusions about price/cost information.
OR
EDUCATION: Master's or equivalent graduate degree in one or a combination of the following fields: accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, or organization and management.
OR
Two (2) full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a graduate degree in one or a combination of the following fields: accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, or organization and management. ORLL.B or J.D., if related.
OR
COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: You may qualify with a combination of qualifying education and experience. Options for qualifying based on a combination will be identified in the online questions.

For more information on qualifications please refer to OPM's Qualifications Standards .

Education

This position has an education requirement. You MUST submit dated documentation showing completion or intended completion (if graduation is no more than 9 months from the date of application) of all educational requirements (e.g. letter from the registrar, unofficial transcripts). An official transcript will be required if you are selected. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

• Note: If substituting Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) for experience at the GS-7 level, please note that grade-point averages are rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9. The Qualifications requirements above will reflect if SAA is accepted for this position and the online questionnaire will offer the option to select SAA as a qualifying response.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. You must show proof the education credentials have been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education program. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. Click here for Foreign Education Credentialing instructions.

CERTIFICATE: If you are qualifying based on a certificate program, please refer to Treasury's Pathways Program for more information on qualifying certificate programs. A Certificate Program is a post-secondary educational program in a qualifying educational institution, equivalent to at least one full-time academic year of study, that is part of an accredited college-level, technical, trade, vocational or business school curriculum. For study at a business or technical school, 36 weeks of study (20+ classroom hours per week) is comparable to 1 academic year of full-time study. IF you are applying with a completed IT or Business Professional Certification you must submit a dated transcript or letter issued by the Academic Institution detailing your completed coursework and credit hours completed. If your Academic institution calculates a full-year of academic studies with fewer hours, or academic credits are expressed in contract months, units, or other terms that differ from the conventional hours, please have your academic advisor provide a letter certifying the Certificate program meets the regulatory definition.

For more information on education requirements go to Treasury's Pathways Program.

Additional information

Positions are located in the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer (OCPO) Division at 5000 Ellin Road Lanham-Seabrook, MD 20706

We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:
-This is a bargaining unit position.
- If you are in a telework eligible position, you may be directed to temporarily telework on a full-time basis due to COVID 19. Employees must be within a 150-mile radius of their official assigned post-of-duty (POD) while in a telework status. Once normal operations resume, employees may be directed back to the office to perform the duties of their position. Telework eligibility does not guarantee telework; employees must meet and sustain IRS telework eligibility requirements and supervisor's approval to participate in the IRS Telework Program. As a reminder - If you are selected for a position, you are responsible for reporting to your designated POD (location) on the negotiated start date or as directed by management.- This is Excepted Service appointment and will be made for a specified period of time identified in the job announcement. It will not become permanent. If you currently hold a Federal position in the competitive service and accept this appointment, you will be voluntarily relinquishing the competitive position you currently hold. Upon completion of this appointment, you will not be returned to your previous position.
-Salary: The salary range indicated in this announcement reflects the minimum locality pay up to maximum locality pay for all duty locations listed. The range will be adjusted for selected duty location. General Schedule locality pay tables may be found under Salaries & Wages .

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be determined based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents) and the responses you provide on the application questionnaire. Please be sure that your resume includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this position; failure to provide sufficient evidence in your resume may result in a "not qualified" determination. In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process and meet all qualifications. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration.

Rating: You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

• Customer Service
• Oral Communication
• Problem Solving
• Self-Management
• Teamwork
• Writing

A category-like rating (Quality Group) will be used to rate, rank and select eligible candidates. If qualified, you will be assigned to one of three quality level categories, Superior/Best Qualified, Highly Qualified and Qualified depending on your responses to the online questions, regarding your experience, education, and training related to this position. Your rating may be lowered if your responses to the online questions are not supported by the education and/or experience described in your application.

Referral: If you are among the top qualified candidates, your application may be referred to a selecting official for consideration. Candidates, if required to participate in a selection interview (telephonic and/or in person at the discretion of the Selecting Official in accordance with hiring practices), will be interviewed in quality group order. We will not reimburse costs related to the interview such as travel to and from the interview site.

Veterans' preference is applied after applicants are assessed. Preference-eligibles will be listed at the top of their assigned quality group and considered before non-preference-eligibles in that quality group. Qualified preference-eligibles with a compensable service-connected disability of 10% or more will be listed at the top of the highest quality group for this position. For scientific and professional positions in grade GS-09 or higher, names of all qualified applicants are listed in order of their ratings, augmented by veteran preference, if any.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

The following documents are required and must be provided with your application for this Public Notice:

Resume - For qualification determinations your resume (uploaded or created in USAJOBS) must contain hours worked per week and dates of employment (i.e., month/year to month/year or month/year to present). If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as insufficient and you will not receive consideration for this position. If you are a current Federal employee or previous Federal employee, provide your pay plan, series and grade, i.e. GS-0301-09. Do NOT include photographs (or links to social media such as LinkedIn ), inappropriate material, inappropriate content, nor personal information such as age, gender, religion, social security number, etc., on your resume. ( Cover letters are optional.) Please view Resume Tips.

Online Application - Questionnaire

Proof of Enrollment or Education - You must submit dated documentation showing completion or intended completion (not to exceed 9 months from the date of application) of all educational requirements (e.g. letter from the registrar, unofficial transcripts) by the closing date of the announcement. An official transcript will be required if you are selected. A college or university degree generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools which meet these criteria, please refer to Department of Education Accreditation. If you are qualifying based on foreign education, you must submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. Click here for Foreign Education Credentialing instructions. If you are qualifying based on a certificate program, please refer to the Treasury's Pathways Program for more information on qualifying certificate programs.

Registration/License (IF APPLICABLE) - active, current registration/license

Veterans' Preference (IF APPLICABLE) - If you are claiming veterans' preference, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 (Member 4 copy), or other official documentation from a branch of the Armed Forces or the Department of Veterans Affairs showing dates of service and type of discharge. Ten-point preference eligibles must also submit an Application for 10-point Veteran Preference, SF-15 , along with the required documentation listed on the back of the SF-15 form. For more information on veterans' preference view FedsHireVets.

Military Spouses - You MUST submit verification of the marriage to the service member(i.e., a marriage license or other legal documentation verifying marriage) AND (1) a copy of your spouse's active military orders; OR (2) verification of your spouse's 100% service-connected disability (e.g., VA Letter and/or DD-214); OR (3) verification of the service member's death while on active duty (DD-1300/Death Certificate). You are not eligible if you were not married to the veteran at the time of death or have since remarried.

Current and Former Federal Employees Documentation - It is recommended that you submit a copy of your most recent SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) or equivalent personnel action form which shows your current grade and competitive service status.

Submission of any required documents. Please note that if you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, you will not be considered for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible).