Contract Specialist (Lead Contracting Officer)

All qualifications and eligibility requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement. IDEAL CANDIDATE STATEMENT The Ideal Candidate for the Contract Specialist position has knowledge and experience with various contracting methods and types, procurement principles, and techniques. The ideal candidate has performed contractual actions, strategy development, planning, requirements, and determinations. The candidate has experience leading a team of contract professionals in contract negotiation, cost and price analysis, and administration. BASIC REQUIREMENT: 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 or equivalent to work at the next lower level of the position, and must have provided 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 under the following paragraph; 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 the first two paragraphs 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, 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. In addition to the BASIC REQUIREMENT, applicants must also meet the following: MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS Applicants must have one year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-12 grade level, which has provided them with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the Contract Specialist (Lead Contracting Officer) at the GS-13 grade level. Specialized experience includes: Experience independently preparing and issuing solicitations and awards; and Experience applying acquisition regulations to administer complex contracts and/or task orders and make difficult decisions about contract-related matters; and Experience coordinating and providing technical advice and guidance on contracting issues both orally and in writing; and Experience mentoring, training, and reviewing the work of others. This experience must be fully supported and articulated in your resume to receive consideration. Please do not cut and paste the specialized experience from this announcement into your resume, as this will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position. Substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience may not be used for this grade level. For more detailed information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website here. NOTE: 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.