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Posted: February 24, 2026 (0 days ago)

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Acquisition Utilization Specialist

Veterans Health Administration

Department of Veterans Affairs

Fresh

Location

Salary

$77,211 - $100,380

per year

Closes

March 3, 2026More VA jobs →

GS-11 Pay Grade

Base salary range: $62,107 - $80,737

Typical requirements: 1 year specialized experience at GS-10. Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 years graduate study.

Note: Actual salary includes locality pay (15-40%+ depending on location).

Job Description

Summary

This job involves acting as a key advisor on buying and managing contracts for medical supplies, services, and equipment in a veterans' hospital, ensuring everything from planning purchases to overseeing contracts runs smoothly.

It's ideal for someone with experience in procurement or contracting in healthcare who enjoys handling complex buying decisions and working with teams to meet urgent needs.

A good fit would be a detail-oriented professional comfortable with negotiations and analysis in a government setting.

Key Requirements

  • One year of specialized experience at GS-09 level in federal service, including handling contracts, product acquisition, and procurement in a healthcare environment
  • Time-in-grade requirement: 52 weeks at GS-09 for current federal employees, with SF-50 proof
  • Preferred: COR-I and COR-II certifications with at least one year as Contracting Officer's Representative or similar contracting role
  • Experience overseeing pre-award and post-award contracts, preparing procurement packages, and developing documents like performance work statements and sole source justifications
  • Skills in market research, cost-benefit analysis, gap analysis, negotiations, and monitoring contract expenditures
  • Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or three years of graduate education in a related field (transcripts required), or a combination of education and experience

Full Job Description

The Acquisition Utilization Specialist serves as the Medical Center liaison and advisor on contract related services focusing on critical clinical and healthcare services, product acquisition and support services required by project managers, program managers, upper management and stakeholders on all aspects of procurement for a wide variety of items to include specialized services.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/03/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service.

An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials.

If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement.

In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.

Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

Preferred Specialized Experience: COR -I and COR -II certification with at least One (1) year of experience as a Contracting Officers Representative (COR) with COR responsibilities on contracts or one (1) year experience as a Contracting Specialist or Contracting Officer.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: To qualify for this position at the GS-11 level, you must meet one of the following: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE - One (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level in the Federal service that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of an Acquisition Utilization Specialist, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position.

Specialized experience includes: handling contract related services, product acquisition, and procurement of items in a healthcare environment; overseeing contracts including pre-award and post-award; preparing procurement packages with unique, emergent and complex requirements including development of requirement documents (e.g.

performance work statements and objectives, cost benefit analysis, gap analysis, sole source justifications, past performance, market research, etc.); developing sole source justifications; developing and analyzing reports to make recommendations on acquisition and contracting issues; participating in negotiations with other officials throughout all phases of contract administration; and monitoring expenditures and reporting on deviations from contract terms.

-OR- EDUCATION - A Ph.D.

or equivalent doctoral degree or three (3) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related, that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position.

Note: If using education to qualify, a copy of your transcript is required.-OR- COMBINATION - Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-11 level.

NOTE: Only education beyond the second year of graduate education can be used in combination with specialized experience to qualify for this grade.

If using education combined with specialized experience to qualify, a copy of your transcript is required.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Major Duties:

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm Position Description/PD#: Acquisition Utilization Specialist/PD99810S Duties Include but not limited to: As the Acquisition Utilization Specialist you will serve as the medical center liaison and advisor on contract related services focusing on critical clinical and healthcare services, product acquisition and support services required by project managers, program managers, upper management and stakeholders on all aspects of procurement for a wide variety of items to include specialized services.

You will render expert contract pre-award and post award expertise to all administrative and clinical services within the medical center and supported catchment area.

Major duties and responsibilities include: Develops procedures, policies, and supporting artifacts to ensure procurement activities are consistent with Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), VA Acquisitions Regulations (VAAR) and other federal procurement laws and regulations; Conducts analyses and recommends courses of actions to ensure that vision clinical and administrative service requirements have addressed considerations such as construction, budgeting, supporting manpower and other factors; Provides training to the facility Contracting Officers on procurement policies and new processes and procedures related to procurement; Establishes, expedites and reviews consolidation of all procurement packages including unique, emergent and complex requirements to meet timely and technical needs of assigned acquisitions; Develops and conducts presentations/recommendations to leadership and other stakeholders to explain regulations and procedures; Negotiates performance requirements among multiple sites and service lines in order to obtain agreement, standardize enterprise equipment, supply and/or service requirements in support of strategic acquisition plans; Establishes and maintains controls to ensure that contracts are executed in accordance with terms; Advises on all phases of negotiation with the contract specialist/contracting officer for contract modifications, change orders, supplemental agreements and delivery order processes including requirements, definition, justification and approval for service contract extension, method of contracting, evaluation of proposals and all phases of contract administration; and Monitors quality assurance surveillance plans to ensure that contracted services meet the expectations and needs of the facility.

Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Telework: This position may be authorized for ad hoc telework as approved by Supervisor. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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Posted on USAJOBS: 2/24/2026 | Added to FreshGovJobs: 2/24/2026

Source: USAJOBS | ID: CBSZ-12892797-26-MB