Office of the Secretary
Contract Specialist
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Summary
Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=Occupational-Series Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government. 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; spiritual; community, student, 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. This position is being filled under the Department of Commerce (DOC) Alternative Personnel System (CAPS). Under CAPS, positions are classified by career path and pay band. The ZA-5 is equivalent to the GS-15 grade level. To qualify at the ZA-5 level, you must meet the Basic Requirements and the Specialized Experience outlined below. Basic Requirements: A. *Completion of all mandatory training prescribed by the head of the agency for progression to GS-13/ZA-04 or higher-level contracting positions, including at least 4 years of 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 the work of the position successfully. AND B. 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 a copy of your certificates. Also, you must submit a copy of your transcripts, official or unofficial, to document your education.) OR C. 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 based on a waiver, the agency may later reassign that individual to another position at the same grade within that agency without additional waiver action. *To meet the agency's mandatory requirements, applicants must either have obtained their FAC-C (Professional) or DoD Contracting Professional Certification. AND SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-14 (or equivalent pay band) level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as experience: Serving as an advisor/authority on acquisition operations and policies (such as evaluating contract price proposals, terminating contracts, closing contracts, analyzing cost and price, and processing complex modifications); Researching, analyzing, and interpreting the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and acquisition-related statutes and policies, including the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul; Providing acquisition guidance, advice, and counsel to senior executives and other senior-level officials; Performing acquisition planning, pre-award, award, and post-award work for supplies and services, including negotiating and awarding complex and high-visibility contracts and modifications; and Evaluating cost/price proposals utilizing cost/price analysis techniques.
Major Duties
As a Contract Specialist, you will: Perform life-cycle acquisition services for a diverse customer base. Develop, coordinate, and implement initiatives that advance the agency mission related to acquisition services. Hold unlimited Contracting Officer warrant authority and serve as Contracting Officer, negotiating terms and conditions to achieve best value on highly complex multimillion-dollar contracts. Direct the full range of purchasing and contract administration activities, including but not limited to the preparation of market research reports, acquisition plans, solicitations, contract awards, modifications, and contract administration through contract closeout, assuring compliance with Federal Acquisition Regulations, statutes, and policies and Departmental and local office supplements. Collaborate with stakeholders to define business requirements. Create a collaborative environment with technical, legal, fiscal, and acquisition representatives to achieve mission success. Monitor office-wide performance activity, resolving problems necessary to meet acquisition Service Level Agreements (SLAs). Advises executives (i.e., Director for Acquisitions) and other senior leadership on the entire range of acquisition matters and builds consensus among stakeholders regarding strategies that contribute to more efficient allocation of resources. This Job Opportunity Announcement may be used to fill other Contract Specialist ZA-1102-5, FPL 5 positions within the Department of Commerce in the same geographical location or local commuting area with the same qualifications and specialized experience.
Requirements
You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position. You must successfully pass a background investigation. This may include a credit check, a review of financial issues, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs. A probationary period may be required. Selective Service: Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/). If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application. All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing. Bargaining Unit Position: No Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE form 450): Yes Permanent Change of Duty Station (PCS) Expense: Will not be paid License required: No Drug Test Required: No
Required Documents
A complete application consists of the following: Resume. Your resume should list your educational and work experience including the dates (mm/dd/yy) of each employment along with the number of hours worked per week, if less than 40. Your resume may be used to validate your responses to the qualifications/assessments. Your resume should also indicate your citizenship and if you are registered with the Selective Service System if you are a male born after 12/31/59. Refer to the "How you will be Evaluated' section for types of information not to include in your resume/application. Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) documentation, if applicable. CTAP or ICTAP applicant(s), MUST submit the following documents: A copy of your specific RIF notice; notice of proposed removal for failure to relocate; or a Certificate of Expected Separation (CES); or certification that you are in a surplus organization or occupation (this could be a position abolishment letter, a notice eligibility for discontinued service retirement, or similar notice); or notice of disability annuity termination; or certification from your former agency that it cannot place you after your recovery from a compensable injury; or certification from the National Guard Bureau or Military Department that you are eligible for disability retirement; or a copy of your SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action" documenting your RIF separation, noting your positions, grade level, and duty location, and/or Agency certification of inability to place you through RPL, etc.; Any documentation from your agency that shows your latest performance appraisal rating; AND Any documentation from your agency that shows your current promotion potential. Education. If this position requires proof of higher education, or you are substituting education for experience, you must submit an unofficial transcript or a list of courses that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. Please refer to http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/policy/ApplicationOfStds-04.asp for more information. Certification: FAC-C (Professional) or DoD Contracting Professional Certification. Are you a current or former political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES, or Presidential Appointee employee? Submit a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment: Position title; Type of appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES, or Presidential Appointee); Agency; and Beginning and ending dates of appointment. You are not required to submit official documents at this time; copies are sufficient. Failure to provide such documents when requested may result in lost consideration. Special Instructions for Foreign Education: See Note in Education Section for additional information.
How to Apply
Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section above. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. Note: To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account (https://usajobs.gov). There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status: Visit https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/howto/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.