Contract Specialist

Summary

The position is within the Office of Finance and Management (AFN), Acquisition and Contracting (AAQ), Aerospace Center Acquisition Division, AAQ-700.

Duties

• Performs multiple, varying, and complex assignments under the minimal direction of a manager, project/program manager, team leader, or more experienced professional. May act as a contributing specialist on large work activities or as a project manager or team leader for large projects/programs/activities. Applies experience and comprehensive knowledge applicable to acquisitions and contracting to plan and conduct functional activities for projects/programs. Assignments frequently require knowledge and experience working across functional and/or organizational lines. Independently plans time. Identifies, plans, and organizes available resources to accomplish projects/programs/activities. Makes optimal use of resources to complete activities within established schedules. As a principle Contract Specialist, the incumbent will apply all agency requirements including laws, regulations, the Acquisition Management System (AMS), contracting Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and other directives. The incumbent will provide comprehensive advice and guidance and support one of several specialty areas in the Acquisition Organization, such as, research and development, major systems, system operations, facilities, construction and architect-engineer services, support services, and other services. This includes complete contract management for agency wide acquisition programs, NextGen initiatives, National Airspace System (NAS) support and automation, and other agency priorities. The incumbent must be aware of conditions and processes for contracts such as, major systems, design to cost, effective competition, acquisition life cycle, exploration, demonstration, full production, and full-scale development. Applying principles of program management, quality assurance, reliability, scheduling, work breakdown structures and validations, the incumbent will plan, develop, and implement acquisition strategies utilizing the flexibilities found in the AMS. As the principal specialist, the incumbent will be responsible for drafting, reviewing, editing documents as well as leading the execution and implementation of major milestones throughout the acquisition process. This includes, but is not limited to, all the key contractual roles identified above as well as analysis of contractor Cost Accounting System (CAS) Disclosure Statements, analysis of Earned Value Management (EVM) data, analysis of compliance with terms and conditions, using tools to determine root causes for issues that arise as well as formulating the course of action to remedy issues. The negotiated contracts and awards will be made to commercial organizations, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations and State, local or foreign government entities. Pre-Award and Acquisition Planning and Strategy: Under minimal supervision, the incumbent will serve as the principle specialist that will lead the development and implementation of strategies to assure that goods and services are available when needed to meet mission requirements. Acts as a trusted advisor on acquisition issues and educates customers and acquisition team members on the full range of procurement options and contract types. Uses all appropriate laws, regulation, agency directives, etc., to perform all pre-award contract duties. Analyzes and anticipates business needs and proactively formulates acquisition strategies. Duties include: Understands and implements acquisition planning and market research principles to develop comprehensive and innovative plans to best fulfill the Agency¿s needs while collaborating across Acquisitions to consider dollar value, complexity (e.g., major systems), and other appropriate factors. Assists requiring organization with developing and implementing a comprehensive market research process that identifies external sources in anticipation of future requirements.

Qualifications

To view the complete OPM qualification standard, please refer to: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1100/contracting-series-1102/ Basic Requirements for Pay Bands FV-I: (1) 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; and (2) 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 pay band or grade of the position, and must have provided the knowledge skills, and abilities to perform successfully the work of the position; and (3) Completion of training for FAC-C. Training courses reflect a government-wide standard and each level of certification must be met to qualify for the next level. Applicants must document successful completion of core course work or evidence of certification. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT: To qualify for this position you must demonstrate in your application that you possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to FV-H, FG/GS 12 in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. Specialized experience includes: Specialized experience examples include but is not limited to: Experience as a contract official awarding and administering varied contracts. Experience applying innovative contracting skills to major system and support service acquisitions, which have characteristics such as technically complex, mission essential, high visibility, and high dollar value. Employees in 1102 series positions will be considered to have met the basic requirements for positions they occupy on January 1, 2000, if specialized experience requirements are met. This applies to other positions at the same pay band/grade in the FAA or other Federal agencies. To qualify for a position at a higher pay band or grade, he/she must meet the requirements and specialized experience as stated. Qualifications must be met by the closing date of this vacancy announcement. Eligible applicants meeting the minimum qualification requirements and selective factor(s), if applicable, may be further evaluated on the Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA); listed in the announcement. Based on this evaluation, applicants will be placed in one of the following categories: score order, category grouping, or alphabetical order and referred to the selecting official for consideration. Please ensure you answer all questions and follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may impact your rating or may result in you not being considered for the job. Some, all or none of the applicants may be interviewed.

Requirements

We are not accepting applications from noncitizens.

Education

This position has a positive education requirement: Applicants must submit a copy of their college or university transcripts(s) and certificates by the closing date of announcement to verify qualifications. If selected, an official transcript will be required prior to appointment. You may upload these documents with your application in USAJOBS or fax it to fax number provided in the announcement (please include announcement number on each page). Failure to do so will result in loss of consideration. Schools must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Accreditation may be verified at the following website: www.ed.gov/accreditation. Foreign education must be evaluated by a private professional organization specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials or an accredited U.S. educational institution in terms of equivalence to a degree acquired at an American college or university. A copy of the evaluation results must be included, otherwise your foreign education will not be considered.

How to apply

Applicants may be required to complete one or multiple assessments as part of the evaluation process. This assessment aims to evaluate the competencies and qualifications essential for the position. You must apply online to receive consideration. Your application must be submitted by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the Close Date for it to be accepted. If you are applying for positions associated with FAA registers, your application must be submitted at the time a referral list is created in order to receive consideration for positions associated with a register. RESUMES ARE LIMITED TO TWO PAGES. IN DESCRIBING YOUR WORK EXPERIENCE AND/OR EDUCATION, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC AND INCLUDE INFORMATION AS IT RELATES TO THE QUALIFICATIONS AND SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS POSITION. Please ensure EACH work history includes ALL of the following information: Job Title (include series and grade if Federal Job) Relevant work experience: should align to the Job Announcement and address all required qualifications and include job title, employer name, start/end dates, number of hours worked per week. Education, certification or licensure: If required, education should include school/institution name, completion date, degree type and GPA. Determining length of General or Specialized Experience is dependent on the above information and failure to provide ALL of this information may result in a finding of ineligible. You may upload completed documents to your USAJOBS Account. This will provide you the opportunity to utilize the uploaded information again when applying for future vacancies.