Contract Specialist

This position is located in the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Financial Resources, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. This announcement will close at 11:59 PM, on the day that 100 applications have been received or the closing date of the announcement, whichever comes first

Major duties

As a(n) Contract Specialist, you will: Administer acquisition actions throughout the contracting lifecycle to support significant agency program requirements. Develop acquisition strategies and oversee contract actions from requirements development through award, administration, modification, and closeout. Advise agency leadership on procurement matters and represents organizational interests in acquisition policy discussions and interagency activities. Evaluate acquisition proposals and supporting documentation to establish appropriate contracting approaches, determine price reasonableness, and support sound award decisions.

Qualifications

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR Basic Qualifications:You must meet either A and B, C or D of the basic requirements listed below and meet the minimum qualifications requirements.Basic Requirements: A. Completion of Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) requirements and certification at either the legacy FAC-C Level I, II, or III or the new single-level FAC-C (Professional) or a DAWIA level I, II or III at the time of application (https://www.fai.gov/certification/fac-c/contracting-fac/fac-c-legacy-cert-reqs), including at least 4-years experience in contracting or related positions. At least 1 year of that experience has been specialized experience at or equivalent to work at the next lower level of the position, and provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the work of the position. AND B. Completion of 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. (Must provide transcripts.) OR C. Exceptions: Employees in GS-1102 positions will be considered to have met the standard for positions they occupy on 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, they will have to meet the basic requirements and specialized experience requirements in order to qualify for promotion to a higher grade, unless granted a waiver under Paragraph D. D. Waiver: When filling a specific vacant position, the senior procurement executive of the selecting agency, at his or her discretion, may waive any or all of the requirements of Paragraphs A and B above if the senior procurement executive certifies that the applicant possesses significant potential for advancement to levels of greater responsibility and authority, based on demonstrated analytical and decision making capabilities, job performance, and qualifying experience. With respect to each waiver granted under this Paragraph D, the senior procurement executive must document for the record the basis of the waiver. If an individual is placed in a position in an agency on the basis of a waiver, the agency may later reassign that individual to another position at the same grade within that agency without additional waiver action. AND Minimum Qualifications: You must have one year specialized experience to perform successfully the duties of the position. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service performing ALL of the following: Providing contracting services involving complex and/or highly specialized acquisitions, including pre-award and post-award contracting activities. Performing senior pre-award and post-award contracting functions for highly specialized procurements, including acquisition planning, solicitation development, and ensuring compliance with procurement laws, regulations, and agency policies. Providing acquisition guidance to management and customers, implementing procurement policies, evaluating the impact of new initiatives, and representing the organization on acquisition-related committees and workgroups. Determining appropriate procurement methods; preparing required acquisition documentation; conducting cost/price analyses; and ensuring compliance with the FAR, agency policies, and procurement regulations. Documenting experience: IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Qualifications are based on breadth/level of experience. In addition to describing duties performed, applicants must provide the exact dates of each period of employment (from MM/YY to MM/YY) and the number of hours worked per week if part time. As qualification determinations cannot be made when resumes do not include the required information, failure to provide this information may result in disqualification. Applicants are encouraged to use the USAJOBS Resume Builder to develop their federal resume. Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational application questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position. In accordance with Office of Personnel Management policy, federal employees are assumed to have gained experience by performing duties and responsibilities appropriate for their official series and grade level as described in their position description. Experience that would not normally be part of the employee's position is creditable, however, when documented by satisfactory evidence, such as a signed memorandum from the employee's supervisor or an SF-50 or SF-52 documenting an official detail or other official assignment. The documentation must indicate whether the duties were performed full time or, if part time, the "percentage of times" the other duties were performed. It is expected that this documentation is included in the employee's official personnel record. In order to receive credit for experience in your resume that is not within the official series and grade level of your official position, you must provide a copy of the appropriate documentation of such experience as indicated above. 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; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to gain employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. If such experience is on a part-time basis, you must provide the average number of hours worked per week as well as the beginning and ending dates of the experience so it can be fully credited. OPM Qualification General Policies Website

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 further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov. Note: Applications can be accepted from students who expect to complete qualifying education within 9 months from the date of application. Education was completed successfully before the applicant can be appointed. How You Will Be Evaluated: You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this announcement. Evaluation will be based on your application materials (such as your resume and supporting documents), your responses to the application questionnaire, and the results of all required assessments.