Contract Specialist

Full Job Description

This position is located in the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Office of Acquisition and Grants Management (OAGM), Acquisition & Grants Group (AGG) or Customer Relations Group (CRG).

As a Contract Specialist, GS-1102-11/12, you will be responsible for pre/post-award duties such as price/cost analysis and administration for services, materials, and equipment for Health & Human Services (HHS) organizations.

ALL QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS MUST BE MET WITHIN 30 DAYS OF THE CLOSING DATE OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.

Your resume (limited to no more than 2 pages) must include detailed information as it relates to the responsibilities and specialized experience for this position.

Evidence of copying and pasting directly from the vacancy announcement without clearly documenting supplemental information to describe your experience will result in an ineligible rating.

This will prevent you from being considered further.

In order to qualify for the GS-11, you must clearly demonstrate in your resume at least one year (52 weeks) of qualifying specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal government, obtained in either the private or public sector, to include: Preparing acquisition documents or reports (e.g., solicitations/contracts, market research, justifications & approvals, or award documents) to support the procurement process; AND Reviewing acquisition documents to confirm adherence to terms and conditions or regulations.

- OR - Substitution of Education for Experience: You may substitute education for specialized experience at the GS-11 level by possessing a Ph.D.

or equivalent doctoral degree from an accredited college or university, or three full years of progressively higher level graduate education 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 - Combination of Experience and Education: Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the GS-09 grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grades GS-11.

Therefore, only education in excess of a master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, may be used to combine education and experience.

TRANSCRIPTS (official or unofficial) are required at the time of application to verify satisfactory completion of the educational requirement related to substitution of education for experience and combination of experience and education.

Please see "Required Documents" section below for what documentation is required at the time of application. If selected, official transcripts will be required.

In order to qualify for the GS-12, you must clearly demonstrate in your resume at least one year (52 weeks) of qualifying specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal government, obtained in either the private or public sector, to include: Preparing acquisition documents or reports (e.g., solicitations/contracts, market research, justifications & approvals, or award documents) to support the procurement process; AND Gathering and analyzing data to draw conclusions about contract or proposal information; AND Providing acquisition-related guidance to stakeholders (e.g.

contractors, program office) to support contract administration.

Substitution of Education for Experience: There is no substitution of education to meet the specialized experience requirement at the GS-12 grade level.

Combination of Experience and Education: There is no combination of experience and education to meet the specialized experience requirement at the GS-12 grade level.

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.

Time-in-Grade: To be eligible, current or former Federal employees and current or former Federal employees applying under the VEOA eligibility who hold or have held a permanent General Schedule position in the previous year must have served at least 52 weeks (one year) at the next lower grade level from the position/grade level(s) to which they are applying.

Major Duties:

• Prepare solicitation documents which incorporate required Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and HHS policies and provisions.
• Coordinate and conduct negotiations on assigned programs, persuade audiences and to deal effectively with resistance.
• Assemble and prepare all documentation necessary to support the negotiation and award of the contract.
• Collaborate with program officials and contracting officer representatives (CORs).
• NOTE: This is a developmental position leading to the full performance duties listed above. The primary difference between the grade levels is in the areas of supervisory control and level of responsibility.