Contract Specialist

Summary

This vacancy is for a GS-1102-14, Contract Specialist located in the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, C5I in ALEXANDRIA, Virginia.

Duties

The incumbent serves as a senior advisor, consultant and liaison to top management officials, policy makers, and non-governmental organizations and institutions on challenging, new developments in contracting/ procurement initiatives which are Coast Guard-wide. As a leading expert in the field of acquisition, the incumbent plans, manages and oversees the USCG's C5I Program Executive Officer's (PEO) most important contracting programs; evaluates critical and complex proposals; and administers, through contract close-out or termination, many interdependent contracts. Being a Coast Guard civilian makes you a valuable member of the Coast Guard team. Typical work assignments include: Performs cradle-to-grave contract oversight for complex, high-dollar value solicitations and contractual actions; serves as Contracting Officer with signatory authority up to an unlimited warrant. Exercises significant responsibilities in advising management officials of higher rank on contracting issues, ensuring standards are maintained and equity in contractor assessments Build collaborative cross-boundary and cross-functional partnerships with a focus on fostering a culture of collaboration, knowledge sharing, and innovation. Serve as a senior business advisor, consultant, and liaison to top management officials, policy makers, and non-governmental organizations and instructions on challenging, new developments in contracting/procurement initiatives. Communicate and articulate timely and effectively, at the appropriate levels, issues, concerns, and potential impacts of high visibility actions requiring senior and executive leadership knowledge, engagement, and/or insight. Represents the organization at functional and administrative meetings and conferences; establishes and maintains effective working relationships with internal stakeholders, senior officials, and external representatives of government agencies and private industry. Act as the chairperson or as a participant on formal Source Solution Evaluation Board (SSEB) for competitively negotiated procurements subject to relevant Federal Action Regulations Parts. Possess active knowledge, understanding, and proactive learning of the Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul (RFO) and the associated supplemental regulation, policy, procedures, and guidance. Conduct in-depth compliance and evaluation of complex, unusual, or unprecedented contract activities with awareness and consideration of potential political implications. Maintain complete authority for all contractual actions and phases; using automated systems to research sources; collecting data on contractors' past performance and documenting contractors' performance on current contracts; prepare solicitation instructions, and direct the efforts of technical, cost, and business management evaluation teams. Mandatory training is required which must be successfully completed and other training may occur as necessary for success in the position. The incumbent must be able to obtain and maintain an unlimited contracting officer's warrant. A. Federal Acquisition Certification for Program and Project Managers Level I (FAC P/PM-I) or management determined equivalent within two years of entry into the position.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements: This position has a positive Education Requirement in addition to at least one year of Specialized Experience or substitution of education for experience or combination (if applicable) in order to be found minimally qualified. Transcripts must be submitted with your application package. You MUST meet the following requirements: EDUCATION: Basic Requirements for GS-13 and Above 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 Paragraph 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 To qualify at the GS-14 grade level, applicants must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-13 grade level in the federal or private sector. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular ability, skill, and knowledge to successfully perform the duties of this position and is typically in or related to this line of work. NOTE: All experience statements (i.e., duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire) copied from this announcement and pasted into your resume will not be considered as a demonstration of your qualifications for this position. Specialized experience may include the following: Knowledge of contracting methods, types and principles, laws, statutes, Executive Orders, regulations and procedures applicable to pre-award and post-award actions. Knowledge of negotiations techniques to serve as the lead negotiator in developing pre-negotiations strategies, negotiation the acquisition of applicable service and system and directing or performing post-award negotiation involving contract changes or modifications. Experience in cost and price analysis techniques such as learning curve analysis and cost estimating relationships and cost accounting methods techniques. Knowledge in contracts to support the United States Coast Guard in all facets of IT. Mandatory Specialized experience must include: GS-14 Contract Specialists are required to sit for a warrant board for an unlimited warrant authority. Maintaining FAC-C certification NOTE: Education cannot be substituted for experience at this grade level. National Service Experience (i.e., volunteer experience): 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 traini