Contracting Officer

Summary

Direct-Hire Authority (DHA) is a hiring authority granted by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to address critical hiring needs or severe candidate shortages. For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorneys' Offices, visit www.justice.gov/usao/. As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement.

Duties

If selected for this position, you will join a well-respected team that is responsible for the full range of pre-award and post-award activities encompassing issuance of solicitations, evaluation of proposals, negotiation, executions, and administration contracts for complex and technical services and/or special assigned programs which support of the districts mission. Typical work assignments will include: Develops and documents the acquisition strategy for procuring supplies and services that require a variety of specialized handling provisions, terms and conditions such as determining and justifying high-risk contract types (i.e., not approved via class deviation), determining use of small business set-aside (including executing bundling/consolidation determinations), resolving late offers, evaluating offers with non-standard terms (i.e., commercial supplier agreements) and negotiating price including discounts and payment terms. Serves as the senior, and final, level review for all actions within delegated procurement authority associated with pre-award negotiation objectives, price reasonableness determinations, and contract dispute resolutions. Reviews, prepares, and makes recommendations for revisions to, both simple and highly complex technical documents including statements of work, performance work statements or statements of objectives. Performs complex post-award functions such as resolving protests, processing a name change or novation; negotiating and resolving claims; issuing Contracting Officer final decisions; monitoring, resolving and documenting performance issues. Monitors contractor and ensures delivery of requirements; documents inspection and acceptance of deliverables; reviews and approves or rejects invoices for payment. Provides subject matter expertise and recommendations regarding contract administration functions, handling a variety of actions and often complex and unique problems relating to assigned contracts. Coordinates with the United States Attorney's Office (USAO) point of contact on contractor requests for waivers or deviations from contract terms; approves related changes to contract requirements and prepares documentation for the contract file as necessary. Resolves delivery schedule problems and negotiates delivery schedule changes. Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.

Qualifications

Basic Requirement: A. Completion of a 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree or higher with a major in a related field. OR B. Completed 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. You must submit your transcripts (unofficial or official) to verify basic qualifications for this position or you will be disqualified. GS-12: To qualify for the GS-12 Contracting Officer, you must have one year of specialized experience at the GS-11 level. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. Examples of specialized experience are: Coordinating pre-award and post-award functions, including price/cost analysis, negotiation, and administration for services, materials, and equipment, using solicitation methods or a combination of methods identified in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement regulations, processes and procedures; developing, preparing and overseeing Statements of Work (SOW) or typically involving specialized equipment, professional or technical services; determining sole source and other required document; preparing solicitation documents and incorporating specific provisions; analyzing proposals for conformance with the solicitation; awarding contracts within delegated contracting officer authority. Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)- The ICTAP provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your ICTAP eligibility; 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement; and 3) you are found eligible and qualified for this vacancy. To be eligible and qualified, you must satisfy all eligibility and qualification requirements for the vacant position as outlined in this announcement. You must provide proof of eligibility to receive selection priority. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation personnel action form. Additional information about ICTAP eligibility is at: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)-The CTAP provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees in the Department of Justice with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your Department of Justice component has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your CTAP eligibility, 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement, and 3) you are found eligible and qualified for this vacancy. To be eligible and qualified, you must satisfy all eligibility and qualification requirements for the vacant position as outlined in this announcement. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Additional information about CTAP eligibility is at: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Education

All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, see www.ed.gov. OR Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the above education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to timely provide such evidence by submitting proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency with your application materials. More information may be found at www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html. All documentation must be in English or include an English translation.