Contract Specialist

Summary

GPO employees possess a diverse array of talent in many administrative fields and trades. We provide other agencies with innovative services for the printing, publishing, storage, and distribution of digital content. If you are an energetic, inventive, individual looking for a challenging, yet rewarding career opportunity, GPO may be the place for you. This position is located in Agency Acquisitions, at the Government Publishing Office in Washington, District of Columbia.

Duties

• Determine contract type, set milestones, develop procurement strategies, prepare documentation, promote competition, solicit quotes/proposals, identify sources, and negotiate for better technical responses or more reasonable pricing.
• Process and negotiate a variety of complex acquisitions for paper, envelopes, cartons, supplies, equipment, construction, IT, and services from initiation of procurement to recommendations for the award of contract.
• Evaluate bids, perform cost/price analysis, obtain audits and pricing reports, negotiate price and/or technical issues, ensure contractor is eligible for award, and prepare documentation.
• Serve as Team Lead in direct support of the PG-14 Contract Specialist team supervisor.

Qualifications

THIS IS A DIRECT HIRE ANNOUNCEMENT. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Direct Hire Authority, authorized by 5 United States Code (U.S.C.), Section 3304 and 5 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 337, Subpart B. Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants do not apply to the Direct Hire process. Basic Requirements: 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 experience in contracting or related positions. At least 1 year of that experience must have been specialized experience at the next lower level of the position, and must have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the work of the position. and 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. 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 as stated below. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to the basic requirement stated above, you must have one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to work at the next lower grade level of the position to be filled. PG-13: your resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the PG-12 grade level. Specialized experience includes the following: 1) overseeing the best methods to regulate policy and regulations while determining contract types, procurement strategies, and negotiating complex acquisitions and 2) evaluating bids and cost price analysis. Additional qualification information can be found from the following Office of Personnel Management website:https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1100/contracting-series-1102/ 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. All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement 09/15/2026 to be considered.

Education

To satisfy the education requirements as stated in Option A from above, you must provide your school transcripts: School transcript(s) - official or unofficial. A transcript or list of completed courses is required. The information presented in the transcript must be verifiable; at the minimum the transcript or list of courses should contain the name of the institution, applicant's name, semester hours, and GPA. If you provided an unofficial transcript or list of completed courses at the time of application and you are selected you will be required to provide an official transcript prior to appointment.

How to apply

Click the Apply Online button to create an account or log in to your existing USAJOBS account.To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes: your resume, your responses to the assessment questionnaire, and any other supporting documentation. For a quick preview of the assessment questionnaire click here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13053714. Resume Requirements: Resumes are limited to two (2) pages Resumes should focus on the knowledge, skills, abilities; accomplishments and results; and training and education relevant to this position. Starting and ending dates (Mo/Year) along with the amount of hours worked each week. If you are a current or previous federal employee, provide your pay plan, series and grade level (e.g. PG-1102-12). Resumes must be in the following format (for each position held relevant to this position): Short summary of position duties Accomplishments while in the position Results of those accomplishments Failure to submit a complete application package will result in an ineligible rating and loss of consideration. Your complete application (resume, assessment questionnaire, and all supporting documents) must be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) on September 16, 2026. Applications received after September 16, 2026 may result in an ineligible rating and loss of consideration. If more than one resume is received, only the last resume received and processed will be reviewed. YOU ARE REQUIRED TO DOCUMENT IN YOUR APPLICATION PACKAGE EVIDENCE THAT SUPPORTS YOUR ELIGIBILITY AND QUALIFICATION CLAIMS. You are required to upload the applicable documents with your application package. These documents will assist the staffing specialist in determining your eligibility and qualifications. It is the applicant's responsibility to verify that all information in their resume and documents are legible and accurate. HC will not modify answers/documents submitted by an applicant.