Contract Specialist

Full Job Description

This position is located in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO), with one vacancy in Silver Spring, MD; Norfolk, VA; Boulder, CO; Kansas City, MO; or Seattle, WA.

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/ BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: This position requires applicants to meet a Basic Education Requirement in addition to at least one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience in order to be found minimally qualified.

Transcripts must be submitted with your application package. You MUST meet one of the following basic education requirements: To qualify for the 1102 series at the GS-12 grade level: EDUCATION: A.

A 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with a major in any field; OR B.

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.

Exceptions: Employees in GS-1102 positions are considered to have met the standard for positions they occupied on January 1, 2000.

Employees who occupied GS-1102 positions at grades 5 through 12 are considered to meet the basic requirements for other GS-1102 positions up to and including those classified at GS-12.

This includes positions at other agencies and promotions up through grade 12. However, employees must meet specialized experience requirements when seeking another position.

This exception does not apply if there was a break in service after January 1, 2000.

If you are qualifying based on this exception, you must provide documentation demonstrating that you held a GS-1102 position at the grades 5 through 12 as of January 1, 2000, such as an SF-50.

Applicants applying under this exception will be reviewed to ensure that they have not had a break in service after January 1, 2000.

-AND- SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements above, applicants must also possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 in the Federal service.

Specialized experience MUST include all of the following Performing independent contracting assignments in the solicitation, negotiation, award, and administration of a variety of complex contracts for goods or services; Advising clients on the development of statements of work, requirements, and contracting approaches; and Planning and conducting contract price/cost analyses.

To qualify for the 1102 series at the GS-13 grade level: A.

Completion of 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.

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.

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.

If you are qualifying based on this exception, you must provide documentation demonstrating that you held a GS-1102 position at the grade 13 or above as of January 1, 2000, such as an SF-50.

Applicants applying under this exception will be reviewed to ensure that they have not had a break in service after January 1, 2000. OR D.

Waiver: Candidates that are missing the mandatory training certification, but are determined to be otherwise eligible, may be placed on a waiver certification by the NOAA HR Staffing Specialist.

NOTE: All employees in the GS-1102 Series must be FAC-C certified at the appropriate level for their career path.

Individuals in the 1102 series who are promoted into a new career path shall have 24 months to meet the FAC-C training requirements for the new career path.

Employees must meet the OPM 1102 Qualification Standards for education and experience in order to be hired.

AND SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements above, applicants must also possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 in the Federal service.

Specialized experience MUST include all of the following: Evaluating, administering, or making recommendations on the full range of pre-award and post-award activities utilizing various types of contracts associated with the acquisition of a range of complex and specialized goods or services; and Developing or reviewing contractual pricing arrangements and incentives.

AT THE GS-12/13 LEVEL: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: 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. Major Duties:

As a Contract Specialist, you will perform the following duties: Plan, negotiate, lead, administer and close out complex procurements of supplies, systems, services, and/or construction using a wide variety of cost and fixed-price contracts, multi-year contracts and extensive use of subcontractors, frequent changes in terms, conditions or funding arrangements, and similar difficulties.

Develop and review complex contractual pricing arrangements and incentives requiring sophisticated contracting techniques.

Audit or review major acquisitions, present findings, recommend corrective actions and policy or procedure improvements.

NOTE: These duties are described at the full performance level of the GS-13; the GS-12 is developmental leading to such performance.

GS-13 POSITION REQUIREMENTS: This position requires that within 24 months of employment applicants complete all prescribed mandatory training to become certified FAC-C (Professional).

FAC- C (Legacy)/DAWIA Level II or III are considered to have met all mandatory training requirements for this position.

Within 24 months of employment employees must complete all prescribed mandatory training to become certified FAC-C (Professional) to continue to occupy this position.

- Commerce Acquisition Manual (CAM) 1301.6 Section. NOTE - Copies of training certificates and certifications are required with your application package if applicable.

Throughout the recruitment and hiring process we will be communicating with you via email; therefore, it is imperative that the email address you provide when applying for this vacancy remains active.

Should your email address change, please notify the point of contact identified in the vacancy announcement as soon as possible so that we can update our system.