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Contract Specialist

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Security Clearance: None

The position is a Contract Specialist position and is located in the Technology Acquisition Center. The purpose of this position is to serve as a Contract Specialist for the Department of Veterans Affairs with responsibility for performing professional work involving the procurement of supplies and services using procedures outlined in the Federal Acquisition Regulations, VA Acquisition Regulations, Public Laws, and Agency policy.

Clarification from the agency
ALL US CITIZENS. DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.201) for this occupation.

Duties

This is a non-bargaining unit position.

This is an open continuous announcement through December 31, 2024 or until all positions are filled. It will be used to fill immediate and future vacancies for this agency.

The first 200 candidates who apply will be considered for referral to the selecting official. Additional candidates will be referred based on hiring needs and/or Hiring Manager request.

Note: Submitting multiple applications will change the order in which your application is reviewed.

This position is eligible for 100% remote or up to maximum telework. For remote, selectee must reside within a 50-mile radius of a VA facility. For telework, selectee must reside within the local commuting distance of our Eatontown, NJ office. This position is being announced as both remote and telework.

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Total Rewards
Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm
Compressed/Flexible Schedule: May be available with supervisor approval
Telework: Available
Duty Location Status: Will work remotely from home or will work from a VA owned or leased space
Position Description Title/PD#: Contract Specialist/ PD44151A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Required
Certification Requirements: Must meet all requirements to receive and maintain an FAC-C Professional Certification.
Physical Demands: Work is primarily of an administrative nature in an office setting, however where travel to work sites is required there may be light physical work required, such as walking over uneven surfaces, or assisting technical personnel in taking measurements or elevations. Government travel for training, meetings, or customer interactions will be required in this position.

Major Duties:

Ensure the technical evaluation factors and award criteria are clearly stated in the request for proposal.
Conduct market analyses to test the noncompetitive assumptions of requisition.
Issue solicitations for contracting requirements that lack historical precedent.
Analyze contracting requirements for suggesting revisions to the statement of work or specifications.
Determine the competitive range for negotiated solicitations.
Develop contracting milestones within established time frames.
Perform cost or price analysis to review cost breakdowns or determine reasonableness.
Explore new or innovative contracting approaches when lacking meaningful cost and price information.
Plan procurements by identifying large-scale subsystems, components, equipment, and services to be acquired by contract.
Prepare solicitation and award synopses using electronic systems.
Input contractor performance data in appropriate databases.
Develop a negotiation strategy using audits and pricing reports.
Develop procurement objectives regarding terms of competition and price range.
Recommend the appropriate method of procurement, i.e. simplified acquisition procedures, sealed-bidding, negotiations.
Analyze proposals for conformance with the solicitation.
Determine responsiveness and responsibility of low bidder in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements.
Serve as an advisor to program officials in procurement planning meetings.
Conduct pre-proposal conferences with perspective contractors to clarify contract requirements.
Conduct post-award conferences to provide information and clarify provisions of the contract.
Conduct debriefings with unsuccessful offerors or bidders.
Prepare required documentation during legal proceedings.
Prepare post-clearance documentation after an agreement has been reached.
Prepare price negotiation memoranda outlining the details of negotiations with contractors.
Prepare and review justification documentation for sole source clearances.
Prepare documentation in issuing terminations for convenience or default.
Prepare documentation associated with the elimination of unacceptable proposals.
Coordinate the establishment of a technical evaluation committee to determine acceptability of technical proposals.
Coordinate with small business liaisons on socio-economic goal requirements.
Develop strategies to resolve protests, mistakes in bids, and late bid situations.
Negotiate additional time required for contractor performance.
Notify offerors concerning further negotiation or elimination from competitive range.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment
You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job.
Selectees are subject to a background/suitability investigation.
Selectees may be required to serve a probationary period.
Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
A complete application package, i.e., Resume, Transcripts, etc., as required by job announcement.
Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
Participation in the Seasonal Influenza Prevention Program for VHA Health Care Personnel (HCP) is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs HCP.
All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
Pre-employment physical examination/evaluation may be required.
Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements at the time of application.

Individual Occupational Requirements: A 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with a major in any field;
OR
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. Employees who occupy GS-1102 positions at grades 5 through 12 will be considered to meet the basic requirements for other GS-1102 positions up to and including those classified at GS-12. This includes positions at other agencies and promotions up through grade 12. However, employees must meet specialized experience requirements when seeking another position.

AND

You may qualify based on your experience as described below.

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as:
Comprehensive knowledge and experience in the following: pre-award to post-award phases of cradle to grave contracting duties; negotiating with vendors to acquire products/services and address technical requirements; cost/pricing, and other terms and conditions.
Reviewing statements of work to ensure they adequately describe requirements; reviewing vendor submissions to determine acceptability and compliance with solicitation requirements; interpreting and applying laws, regulations, policies, standards, or procedures regarding acquisitions; educating and guiding customers through the procurement process.
Recommending the appropriate contract type or contract method for the product or service being procured; establishing and monitoring acquisition milestones to ensure progress toward award; serving as contract administrator on awarded contracts.
Negotiating the pre-award, award and post-award phases of contracts to procure a variety of sophisticated information technology systems, equipment, components, supplies and services.
Determining and recommending the most appropriate method of procurement; writing and staffing various documents such as procurement plans, justifications, determinations and findings, and other supporting documents for approval at higher levels as required for procurement.
Preferred: Incumbent must meet all the eligibility requirements to receive and maintain a FAC-C Professional certification.
Per Office of Personnel Management General Schedule Qualification Policies, federal employees are assumed to have gained experience by performing duties and responsibilities appropriate for their official series and grade level as described in their position description. Experience that would not normally be part of the employee's position is creditable when documented by satisfactory evidence (e.g., a memorandum from the manager, human resources director, or official documentation such as SF-52, SF-50 documenting an official detail/assignments, or other comparable documentation). The documentation must indicate whether the employee performed the duties full time or, if part-time, the percentage of times the employee performed the additional duties.

To receive credit for experience in your resume that is not within the official series and grade level of your position, you must provide official documentation of such experience as indicated above.

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; religions; 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.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit OPM's web site at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/alph-ndx.asp.
Education
There is no educational substitution for the GS-12 level.

PLEASE NOTE: Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications (particularly positions with a positive education requirement). Therefore, applicants must report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html. All education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency accordingly. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education.

Additional information
Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

Retention Incentive: Employees may be considered for a retention incentive after 90 days of employment if performing at a fully successful level (as determined by the supervisor) and all other incentive requirements are met.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.