Contract Specialist (Direct Hire)

Full Job Description

The Office of Procurement (OP) is seeking Contract Specialists. Ideal candidates will have strong business and analytical skills demonstrated through academic coursework and/or work experience.

Duties will vary depending on organizational needs and include procurement planning, negotiation, and contract administration tasks assigned in support of NASA programs.

OP is structured to provide support to our mission partners regardless of buying location using virtual tools and capabilities.

You must meet all of the requirements listed below: The mandatory Basic Requirement shown in the Education section below; and Specialized experience and/or directly related education, as shown below, which has equipped you with the particular competencies needed to successfully perform the duties of this position.

To qualify for GS-07, you must have: a) One year of directly related specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level: Applying knowledge of principles and practices for contract, procurement, finance for business requirements; AND Assisting with preparing reports related to funds, expenses or similar; OR b) Completed 1 full academic year of graduate study in an appropriate field OR c) Completed 1 full academic year of law school OR d) Completed a bachelor's degree in a field listed above or a related field and meet Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) criteria: (1) I was in the upper third of my graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision; or (2) I have a 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 GPA as recorded on my official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (3) I have a 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 GPA based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (4) I was elected to membership in a national scholastic honor society (ACHS).

OR e) Have an equivalent combination of experience and graduate study in an appropriate field OR f) Expect to complete at least one of the education requirements for this grade level by May 31, 2026.

To qualify for GS-09, you must have: a) One year of directly related specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level: Applying principles and practices regulations for contract, procurement, finance for commercial, logistics, supply chain management or business requirements for analyzing cost and pricing data; AND Assisting with pre-award or post-award contracting procedures; OR Assisting in generating financial reports to analyze cost, expenses, and obligations; OR b) Completed all requirements for a master's or equivalent graduate degree in an appropriate field OR c) Completed 2 full academic years of graduate education in an appropriate field, or LL.B.

or J.D.

OR d) Have an equivalent combination of experience and graduate study as discussed in a), b) and c) above To qualify for GS-11, you must have: a) One year of directly related specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level: Interpreting and applying principles and practices regulations for contract, procurement, finance for logistics, supply chain management or business requirements to identify sources, analyze cost and pricing data; AND Preparing pre-award or post-award contract administration; OR Preparing a variety of reports concerning the status of funds, expenses, and obligations; OR b) Completed all requirements for a doctoral degree (i.e., Ph.D.

or equivalent) in an appropriate field OR c) Completed 3 full academic years of graduate education leading to a Ph.D.

degree in an appropriate field OR d) Have an equivalent combination of experience and graduate study as discussed in a), b) and c) above Preferred majors include, but are not limited to accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, supply chain management or organization and management.

Certification/Training for GS-7/9: Federal Acquisition Certification-Contracting (FAC-C) Level I or FAC-C Professional or Level I Department of Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) certification or DAWIA Professional certification is preferred, but not required.

Certification/Training for GS-11: Federal Acquisition Certification-Contracting (FAC-C) Level II or FAC-C Professional, or Level II Department of Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) certification or DAWIA Professional certification is preferred, but not required.

If you have earned certification, state your FAC-C or DAWIA certification level and date of certification.

Your resume must include a clear and detailed narrative description, in your own words, of how you meet the required specialized experience.

Experience statements copied from a position description, vacancy announcement or other reference material constitutes plagiarism and may result in disqualification and losing consideration for the job.

NASA prohibits the use of artificial intelligence (AI) or AI-assisted tool in drafting application and assessment responses.

Please visit https://www.nasa.gov/careers/how-to-apply/#Artificial-Intelligence to review NASA's guidance on the use of AI tools during the application process.

The ideal candidate is organized, customer-oriented, with information technology skills and a solid background in public sector procurement principles, processes and practices. Major Duties:

• Duties described below are at the highest grade advertised. Duties assigned at lower grade levels will be of more limited scope, performed with less independence and limited complexity; duties will be commensurate with the grade of selected employee.
• Assists with all aspects of the contracting transactions from initiation to recommendation of award to procuring items or services where standard contracting procedures may need to be modified.
• Assists with pre-award functions such as preparing solicitations and adding provisions. Also analyzing proposals for conformance; obtaining required pre-award surveys to establish contractor responsibility, and to develop negotiation strategy.
• Performs contracting work through use of negotiation techniques. Prepares Request for Quotation (RFQ) or Request for Proposal (RFP) ensuring that technical descriptions and appropriate contract clauses are included.
• Performs analysis of responses to solicitations, including price reasonableness, adequacy of competition, compliance with solicitation, and probability of meeting requirements.
• Coordinates the contracts reflecting agreement between the agency and the vendor.
• Monitors contract performance and negotiates necessary standard contract modifications such as extensions of delivery schedules, price adjustments, option exercises etc. to ensure satisfactory progress and completion of contract activities.
• Negotiates modifications to contracts with standard and nonstandard terms and conditions.
• Prepares correspondence; provides advice, guidance, training, and assistance to technical or program personnel, or contractors whenever information is needed or issues need to be resolved.
• Prepares determinations and findings of fact relative issues or actions. Coordinates requests for deviations with requesting activities, and makes recommendations.