Contract Specialist

Description:

The position is a Contract Specialist position and is located in the Technology Acquisition Center. The purpose of this position is to serve as a Contract Specialist for the Department of Veterans Affairs with responsibility for performing professional work involving the procurement of supplies and services using procedures outlined in the Federal Acquisition Regulations, VA Acquisition Regulations, Public Laws, and Agency policy.

Requirements:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements at the time of application.

Individual Occupational Requirements: A 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with a major in any field;
OR
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 will be considered to have met the standard for positions they occupy on January 1, 2000. Employees who occupy GS-1102 positions at grades 5 through 12 will be 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.

AND

You may qualify based on your experience as described below.

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as: Comprehensive knowledge and experience in the following: pre-award to post-award phases of cradle to grave contracting duties; negotiating with vendors to acquire products/services and address technical requirements; cost/pricing, and other terms and conditions. Reviewing statements of work to ensure they adequately describe requirements; reviewing vendor submissions to determine acceptability and compliance with solicitation requirements; interpreting and applying laws, regulations, policies, standards, or procedures regarding acquisitions; educating and guiding customers through the procurement process. Recommending the appropriate contract type or contract method for the product or service being procured; establishing and monitoring acquisition milestones to ensure progress toward award; serving as contract administrator on awarded contracts. Negotiating the pre-award, award and post-award phases of contracts to procure a variety of sophisticated information technology systems, equipment, components, supplies and services. Determining and recommending the most appropriate method of procurement; writing and staffing various documents such as procurement plans, justifications, determinations and findings, and other supporting documents for approval at higher levels as required for procurement. Preferred: Incumbent must meet all the eligibility requirements to receive and maintain a FAC-C Professional certification. Per Office of Personnel Management General Schedule Qualification Policies, federal employees are assumed to have gained experience by performing duties and responsibilities appropriate for their official series and grade level as described in their position description. Experience that would not normally be part of the employee's position is creditable when documented by satisfactory evidence (e.g., a memorandum from the manager, human resources director, or official documentation such as SF-52, SF-50 documenting an official detail/assignments, or other comparable documentation). The documentation must indicate whether the employee performed the duties full time or, if part-time, the percentage of times the employee performed the additional duties.

To receive credit for experience in your resume that is not within the official series and grade level of your position, you must provide official documentation of such experience as indicated above.

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; religions; 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.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit OPM's web site at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/alph-ndx.asp.