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National Transportation Safety Board

Contract Specialist (Direct Hire)

Washington, District of Columbia $143913 - $187093 PA GS Closes Nov 2, 2026
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Summary

To qualify for this position, you must meet the following Basic Requirements: A. You must complete 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 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 successfully the work of the position. AND B. Have 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 a copy of your college transcript with your application. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted. Official transcripts will be required if you are selected for the position. 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 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 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 level within that agency without additional waiver action. AND Certification requirement: This position requires Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) Professional or equivalent. In addition to meeting the basic requirements mentioned above, you must also meet the following: You must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-13 level) that may have been obtained in the private, or public (local, county, state, federal) sectors. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applying contracting principles, laws, regulations, and procedures sufficient to plan, develop, implement, execute, and administer contracts through the full contracting lifecycle; applying knowledge of contracting principles sufficient to provide expert contracting guidance to program officials, staff coordination, and consultation; formulating guidelines implementing new developments, and providing policy interpretation; performing in-depth evaluations of the financial and technical capabilities or the performance of the contractor; and anticipating problems and providing advice to project personnel on effective implementation and time frames required. For more information see link: Contracting Series, 1102 NOTE: IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your resume must clearly show the specialized experience and competencies related to this position. Failure to demonstrate how you possess the education, specialized experience and/or competencies will result in an "Ineligible" rating.

Major Duties

As a Contract Specialist (Direct Hire),GS-1102-14, you will perform the following major duties: Advising technical personnel on acquisition strategy and market research. Performing procurement planning and developing procurement objectives. Preparing acquisition plans and providing technical personnel support with the development of Statements of Work (SOW), Justifications of Other than Full and Open Competition (JOFOCs), and Proposal Evaluation Plans. Development of Requests for Quotes (RFQ) and Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for supplies and services. Development and coordination of pre-award documentation and activities as required by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). Performing cost/price analysis of a variety of pre-award and post-award procurement actions. Negotiation with vendors; contract administration, contract closeout; and other acquisition related tasks and activities.

Required Documents

You are required to provide documentation that supports the eligibility and qualification claims made in your resume and assessment questionnaire. You must submit the applicable documents listed here and those listed with the eligibilities you select in the announcement questionnaire with your application package. Applicants who do not provide supporting documentation that fully support their claims will not be referred to the hiring manager. Cover letter is optional. The following documents are required for a COMPLETE APPLICATION PACKAGE: A complete resume is required. Resumes are restricted to no more than 2 pages. Illegible/unreadable resumes will not be considered. Your resume must show relevant experience, job title, duties and accomplishments. Your resume must show complete information for each job entry to support minimum qualifications. The following information should be provided in your resume: employer's name, starting and end dates (Mo/Yr), hours per week, and pay plan, series and grade level (e.g. GS-0201-09) for relevant federal experience. TIP: A good way to ensure you include all essential information is to use the Resume Builder in USAJOBS to create your resume and/or review OPM's video on Resume Writing Tips: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YX7o1PBoFk. Is a possession of a license, certificate or credentials required? Check the Conditions of Employment section above to see if any are required. If you claim membership, license, certification, or credentials, you must submit a copy of said document in your application package. Is there a basic education requirement for this position? Check the Education section above to see what is allowed and what is required. Any claims you make in your resume or assessment questionnaire regarding education or degrees MUST be supported by submitting with your application official or unofficial transcripts or a list of courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned issued from your school. While unofficial transcripts are acceptable for initial application, an official transcript will ultimately be required if you are selected for the position. You may submit a copy your degree(s) if specific coursework does not have to be verified. Are you a veteran claiming 5-point veterans' preference or claiming sole survivorship preference? You must submit a copy of your latest DD-214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (any copy that shows all dates of service, as well as character of service OR a VA letter that shows dates of service or service-connected disability AND character of service. If you have more than one DD-214 for multiple periods of active-duty service, submit a copy for each period of service. If you were issued a DD-215 to amend aforementioned information on the DD-214 you must submit that too. If you are not sure of your preference eligibility, visit the Department of Labor's website: Veterans' Preference Advisor. Are you a disabled veteran or claiming 10-point veterans' preference? If you are eligible to claim 10 point veterans preference you must submit a DD-214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty as described above for 5-point preference.You must also provide the applicable supporting documentation of your disability (e.g. disability letter from the VA) as described on Standard Form-15 (SF-15). http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf. Are you an active-duty service member? Active-Duty Service Members are required to submit a statement of service printed on command letterhead and signed by the command. The statement of service must provide the branch of service, rate/rank, all dates of service, the expected date of discharge and anticipated character of service dated within 120 days (Honorable, General, etc.). For more information, please visit FedsHireVets.gov. Are you claiming eligibility under the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP), you must submit the following documentation: Proof of ICTAP eligibility. Your most recent performance appraisal showing a rating of at least Fully Successful (Level 3) or equivalent. Your most recent Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50), or equivalent personnel action, showing your tenure, position occupied, and duty station. Failure to provide all required documentation may result in a determination that you are not eligible for ICTAP consideration.For more information visit: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp Application documents, including supplemental ones, may be shared outside the Human Resources Office. Supplemental documents may contain your SSN, DOB, or personal information of others (e.g., on military orders, marriage certificates). You may redact this information before submitting; however, if selected, you must provide unredacted originals. Failure to submit required documents will result in you being considered as "ineligible" for this position.

How to Apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. 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: 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. 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 about two (2) hoursto 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. NOTE: If you have any additional questions, comments or concerns prior to the closing date please send those emails to include the vacancy announcement number, position title and your reason for contacting us to [email protected] at least 1 business day before the closing date.