Contract Specialist

Summary

This position is located within the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), Headquarters, Office of Acquisitions and Security.

Duties

• Serves as the Senior Contract Specialist performing pre-award and post-award functions on complex and unusual agency acquisitions involving diverse supplies and services. Develop acquisition strategies and recommend appropriate procurement options and plans to customers. Serve as the policy and planning authority and expert advisor to FMCS Leadership and outside officials. Develop, recommend and implement policies that lead directly to the accomplishment of major programs. Coordinate to ensure the availability and proper allocation of funds for all procurement actions. Collaborate on procurement requests, certify funding, and provide budgetary guidance throughout the contract lifecycle. Maintain ongoing communication to resolve funding issues and support compliance with federal appropriations law. Manage and execute Interagency Agreements (IAAs) in accordance with delegated authority. Coordinate with relevant offices to approve, modify, or cancel IAAs, ensuring compliance with relevant guidance and policies. Collaborate with OFR for proper accounting and reconciliation. Recognized as the lead negotiator for high-dollar and visible procurements; collects historical pricing data and plans the negotiation strategy for the contract, including termination settlements, adjustments, and proposal changes. Performs functions such as incremental funding, exercise of options, redirection of effort, coordination of time extensions, incorporation of change orders, issuance of stop work orders, approval of progress payments, and approval of final payment to the contractor. Requirements typically involve products and services, including state-of-the-art information technology products, equipment, and/or services. Utilizes the automated procurement system to input Purchase Requests and create contract related documents such as Purchase Orders, modifications, task orders, and other acquisition documents.

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: A. 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 B. 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. OR C. 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 under Paragraph D. D. Waiver: When filling a specific vacant position, the senior procurement executive of the selecting agency, at his or her discretion, may waive any or all of the requirements of Paragraphs A and B above if the senior procurement executive certifies that the applicant possesses significant potential for advancement to levels of greater responsibility and authority, based on demonstrated analytical and decision making capabilities, job performance, and qualifying experience. With respect to each waiver granted under this Paragraph D, the senior procurement executive must document for the record the basis of the waiver. If an individual is placed in a position in an agency on the basis of a waiver, the agency may later reassign that individual to another position at the same grade within that agency without additional waiver action. AND Specialized Experience: Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/qualifications to successfully perform the duties of the position and is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-13 level includes serving as a contract official awarding and administering varied contracts; identifying most efficient procurement type and method for a product or service; preparing contract modifications, justifications, determinations and findings; and performing contractor performance quality assurance evaluations, resolving issues and disputes, and closing-out contracts. Mandatory training: A Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) (Professional) certification is required for successful performance of the assigned duties. Applicants must possess or be eligible for a FAC-C (Professional) certification in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI) FAC-C Certification Standards or equivalent Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) certification standards. Applicants who currently possess or are eligible for FAC-C Professional certification and can achieve certification according to FAI or DAWIA standards within twelve months from the date of appointment to this position will also be considered. Please indicate in your application your level and source (FAI, DAWIA) of certification or eligibility for certification. Documentation must be attached to the application package. Applicants that meet the training requirements are required to provide proof of a current FAC-C (Professional) certification, DoD Contracting Professional certification, or equivalent certification. Applicants requesting consideration based on ability to achieve the training requirement within the twelve month time period shall provide documentation to support path to completion. 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/ Time in grade: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. This position requires submission of a 2-page resume and completion of a USA HIRE assessment based on selected competencies. Candidates scoring above 80 on the USA HIRE assessment will be considered. Your resume will then be reviewed by an HR Specialist and a Subject Matter Expert to determine if you meet the specialized experience and qualification requirements as outlined in the announcement. If you are found minimally qualified, a rating panel will review your resume. Basis for Rating: The rating panel will evaluate applicants' resume, then place them into one of the following categories: Highly Qualified, Well Qualified and Qualified. Highly Qualified - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and has extensive skills and experience in most of the job related competencies above. Well Qualified - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and has a moderate amount of skills and experience in most of the job related competencies above. Qualified - Meets the minimum qualification requirements, but may have a limited amount of experience in several of the job related competencies. Your resume must have complete information. Please ensure your resume accurately reflects the duties and responsibilities under each position you have held with each employer. In describing your experience, please be clear and specific. It is your responsibility to make sure your resume states complete information for each job entry (beginning and ending dates of employment stated as MM/YYYY; and total hours worked per week). If your resume does not provide enough information regarding your work history for us to make a creditable qualification determination, your application package may be rendered disqualified and you will no longer be considered for this position. Part-time or unpaid experience: Credit will be given for appropriate unpaid work on the same basis as for paid experience. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. To receive credit for such experience you must indicate clearly the nature of the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the number of hours per week spent in such employment. Qualifications must be met by the Closing Date: You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements by 11:59pm EDT on the closing date of this announcement. After you submit this application, you will receive an e-mail informing you that a USA Hire assessment is required. You will have 48 hours from the closing date of this announcement, 09/29/2026, to complete the assessment as this assessment is part of your application.

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/

How to apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: Click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside about two (2) hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status: Visit https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.