Contract Specialist

Summary

This is a Direct Hire Authority (DHA) solicitation utilizing the DHA Stem Postions, Cyber Sec. & Related Positions to recruit and appoint qualified candidates to positions in the competitive service. About the Position: Serve as Contract Specialist in Contacting Division, Kansas City District where you will be progressively responsible for pre-award and post-award actions for procurements across a broad spectrum of CD, AE Service and Supply contracts of importance to agency and its customers.

Duties

• Reviews requests for the procurement of specialized or complex items and equipment, extensive technical services, and/or unique construction.
• Determines method of contracting, type of contract, requirements of special provisions, inclusion of options, and evaluation criteria.
• Prepares solicitation/amendment documents incorporating provisions such as cost accounting standards, cost or pricing data, special testing requirements, Government furnished property, and payment provisions as required.
• Serves as contracting negotiator and functions as the team leader during contractual negotiations.
• Performs cost or price analysis, including review of cost breakdowns to determine reasonableness and cost realism as necessary.
• Responsible for contract management on assigned contracts during the post award phase of the procurement cycle assuring timely receipt of all contractual data specified.
• Assists contract administration offices in the administration of contract.
• Prepares Government position on protests for unsuccessful offers and recommends a decision on claims arising under the contract.
• Prepares response to all contractual correspondence with contractors including requests for contract deviations from contract compliance.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected. See Proof of Eligibility for an extensive list of document requirements for all employment authorities. In order to qualify, you must meet the education requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document. Basic Requirement for the 1102 series: A bachelor's degree (or higher degree) from an accredited educational institution authorized to grant baccalaureate degrees. OR A current DoD employee, in any occupational series, who has served on or before September 30, 2000, as follows: (1) Served as a GS/equivalent-1102 position or contracting officer position with authority to award or administer contracts above the SAT in any Federal agency; OR (2) Served as a military member in a comparable military occupational specialty. OR A current member of the armed forces who occupied a position within an occupational specialty similar to the GS-1102 series on or before September 30, 2000. (Transcripts are required at the time of application) To qualify for the GS-7 level you must possess: Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes interpreting procurement regulations, and drafting routine contract provisions and supporting documentation. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-05). OR Education: One full year of graduate level education in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, or organization and management. (Transcripts are required at the time of application) OR Superior Academic Achievement: Successful completion of all the requirements for a bachelor's degree with Superior Academic Achievement. In order to be creditable under this provision, Superior Academic Achievement must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled, such as that identified in Education above. Superior Academic Achievement is based on: (1) Class Standing - Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses; OR (2) Grade-Point Average (G.P.A.) - Applicants must have a grade-point average of either (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on your 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 (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) 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 (3) Honor Society Membership - Applicants may be considered eligible based on membership in one of the approved national scholastic honor societies listed by the Association of College Honor Societies (https://www.achshonor.org/). OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) by 18. Add the two percentages. (Transcripts are required at the time of application) To qualify for the GS-9 level you must possess: Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 grade level which includes performing contracting and procurement work such as: procuring a wide variety of products and services; administering terms and conditions of contracts; and follow-up with vendors on delivery. OR Education: Two full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education or masters or equivalent graduate degree in one or a combination in the following fields: accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, or organization and management or LL.B. or J.D. OR Combination of Education & Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages. To qualify for the GS-11 level you must possess: Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 grade level which includes performing contracting and procurement work such as: procuring a wide variety of products and services; administering terms and conditions of contracts; follow-up with vendors on delivery, invoicing and payment; performing price/cost analysis to determine price reasonableness; or similar contracting work; OR Education: Three full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or LL.M. in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, or organization and management. OR Combination of Education & Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages.

Education

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

How to apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the online questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section above. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 09/09/2026 to receive consideration To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application (https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13049933). Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. As a reminder, your resume must be two pages or less and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration. For additional information, refer to the 'Required Documents' section. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process. You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. Your resume selected in USAJOBS will be included, but you must re-select other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application may be incomplete. It is your responsibility to verify that your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan. Additional information on how to complete the online application process and submit your online application may be found on the USA Staffing Applicant Resource Center. To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://www.usajobs.gov/applicant/profile/dashboard/), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status.