Office of Acquisition - Contract Specialist

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Office of Acquisition is hiring for GS-13 - Contract Specialist. This page contains information related to the role as well as a link to submit your application. Check out Join TTS Hiring Process to learn more about the application process. Please note we will be reviewing applications on a rolling basis so we encourage candidates to apply as soon as possible for consideration. In addition to applying via USAJobs, candidates should also send a copy of their resume to JoinTTS@gsa.gov for consideration.

Location: Washington, DC; San Francisco, CA; Chicago, IL; New York, NY; Virtual (100% Remote)

Salary Range: The salary range for this position is: GS-13 Step 1 - $79,468 to GS-13 Step 10 $103,309

Your salary, including base and locality, will be determined upon selection, dependent on your actual duty location.

You can find more information about this in the compensation and benefits section on our site.

For specific details on locality pay, please visit OPM’s Salaries & Wages page or for a salary calculator OPM’s 2021 General Schedule (GS) Salary Calculator.

Please note the maximum salary available for the GS pay system is $172,500

Note: You may not be eligible for the maximum salary as it is locality dependent. Please refer to the maximum pay for your locality.

Who May Apply: All United States citizens and nationals (residents of American Samoa and Swains Islands).

Role Summary:

Contract Specialist - GS-13

Contracting Specialists — members of the TTS Office of Acquisition Team — possess two key qualities: excellent judgment and an unflinching belief that federal procurement can be joyful. Applicants for this position must either currently be employed in the 1102 Job Series or be qualified for placement in this job series in compliance with OPM regulations.

Although a technology background isn’t a requirement for this position, it would be very helpful. Lightheartedness and empathy are desired for this role.

Contracting Specialists participate in three primary activities within TTS: assisting other agencies with digital-service-related procurements; conducting analyses and evaluations of other agencies’ existing acquisition “stacks” to help identify opportunities to improve results; and working on internal procurements and serving as warranted Contracting Officers (COs) for TTS purchases.

As a Contracting Specialist, you’ll work alongside a focused, cross-functional team of other digital service specialists — experts in design, product strategy, technical architecture, software engineering, data science, and procurement. In addition, you’ll become part of the broader TTS network, which includes more than 200 digital specialists.

If you’ve read the TechFAR and believe that the government can buy digital services in a better way, this is the position for you.

Key Objectives

Key objective #1: Transform how the government procures digital services.

Serve as an operational Contracting Specialist (CS) and/or warranted CO to buy supplies and services for TTS clients.
Help partner agencies, through the RFP Ghostwriting process, shape their acquisition documents to reflect best practices in digital-services procurement.
Collaborate with cross-functional consulting teams to promote modernization efforts within partner agencies; help implement agile development practices.
Assist, on behalf of TTS and partner agencies, in the procurement of digital services over the procurement lifecycle.

Key objective #2: Help diversify government’s buying options by creating new contract processes and creatively using existing legal authorities.

Help establish vendor marketplaces across multiple domains and partner agencies.
Develop new ways for TTS and partner agencies to work with the vendor community to achieve shared success.
Use FAR-based and non-FAR-based authorities (America Competes Act, among others) to award contracts and advise agencies on opportunities for great digital service outcomes.

Develop hypotheses, tests, and findings to improve the procurement of digital services.
Contribute to great client outcomes by performing contract administration for TTS.contracts and working alongside the Acquisition Management and Oversight Division from award to closeout.
Perform market research on cutting-edge digital services and products to aid internal and external clients with acquisition strategy and planning.
Draft acquisition packages; use a Contract Writing System to award contracts to the extent necessary for the Service.
Solicit, evaluate, negotiate, and award contracts for TTS
Provide effective contract administration and post-award management.
Maintain Contracting Officer warrant and relevant certifications by teaching seminars/presentations and enrolling in relevant classes that grant CLPs.
Write periodic posts for the 18F Blog on important acquisition topics and client case studies.

Basic Information

Location: Washington, DC; San Francisco, CA; Chicago, IL; New York, NY; Virtual (100% Remote)

Salary Range: Base salary GS-13 - $79,468 to $103,309

If you are a new federal employee, your starting salary will likely be set at the Step 1 of the grade for which you are selected. Total compensation may include locality pay based on the individual’s duty location. For more salary information including locality pay details, please visit OPM’s Salaries & Wages page.

Who May Apply: All United States citizens and nationals (residents of American Samoa and Swains Islands) and applicants must not be GSA employees or contractors

Job announcement number: 21NRCA029LB-DHA

Opening and closing period for this job application: Wednesday, February 3, 2021 EDT to 11:59pm on Wednesday, February 2, 2022 EDT

Job Title: Contract Specialist

Series & Grade: 1102 - 13

Promotion Potential: GS-13

Number of vacancies: 1 (Additional vacancies may be filled from this announcement as needed)

Supervisory status: NO

Travel requirement: Occasional travel may be required up to 10%-20% per year

Security clearance: Public trust. Background investigation required.

Work Schedule: Full time

Appointment Type: Competitive Service

Job Summary

This position is located within the General Services Administration (GSA), Federal Acquisition Service (FAS), Technology Transformation Service (TTS).

GSA has been repeatedly named as one of the ‘Best Places to Work’ in the federal government. You will have access to many benefits including:

Health insurance (choose from a wide range of plans)
Life insurance coverage with several options
Sick leave and vacation time, including 10 paid holidays per year
Thrift Savings Plan (similar to a 401(k) plan)
Flexible work schedules and telework
Transit and child care subsidies
Training and development
Flexible spending accounts
Long-term care insurance
Training and development

Key Requirements

You must be a U.S. Citizen or National (residents of American Samoa and Swains Islands)
Suitable for federal employment, determined by a background investigation
You may be required to serve a trial period
Direct Deposit of salary check to financial organization required
Register with Selective Service, if you are required by https://www.sss.gov/Registration-Info/Who-Registration

Employment Requirements

Serve a one year trial period, if required
Undergo and pass a background investigation. You must be granted this clearance before you can start the job
Have your identity and work status eligibility verified if you are not a GSA employee. We will use the Department of Homeland Security’s e-Verify system for this
Any discrepancies must be resolved as a condition of continued employment
Complete a financial disclosure report to verify that no conflict, or an appearance of conflict, exists between your financial interest and this positio

Duties

Pre/Post Award contracting functions that help clients achieve results and meet their mission. Identifying procurement objectives and methodologies; developing statements of work; performing analyses of elements of cost; making competitive range determinations; conducting pre-proposal conferences; planning comprehensive negotiation strategy; coordinating with technical experts, leading negotiations and awarding contracts Developing, coordinating, and revising a wide variety of Government-wide procurement policies, reviewing proposed changes to existing regulations and determining whether they should be addressed Providing principal policy advice, analyzing comments and proposed legislative changes Developing and presenting presentations and defending complex and often controversial positions which are subject to considerable Congressional scrutiny and preparing expert response to Congressional correspondence Identifying and analyzing acquisition process problems, trends, and emerging needs. Formulating and justifying new statutory initiatives to address unique problems, to meet newly emerging acquisition needs, and to resolve critical procurement process problems

Evaluation

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications.

Applications will be evaluated against the basic qualifications. Qualified candidates will be considered in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management Direct Hire Guidelines. Veterans’ Preference does not to the direct hire recruitment procedures. Certain selections made under this notice will be processed as new appointments to the civil service. Current civil service employees might be given new appointments to the civil service. You may not be considered for the position, if any part of the application is incomplete or missing the required supporting documentation. Falsifying your background, education and/or experience is cause for not hiring you or dismissing you if hired.

If you are an Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan eligible or a GSA Career Transition Assistance eligible, you must be considered well qualified to receive priority (ICTAP/CTAP). Well qualified is defined as possession of the majority of competencies required for the position and will be determined, based upon a review of your resume against the competencies required for the position being filled.

Qualifications

To qualify for this role, you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 in the Federal service. Specialized experience is:

Experience in performing the full range of pre-award and/or post-award activities utilizing various types of contracts such as fixed price, various cost types, requirements, performance based and multiple award schedules, and evidence of professional potential, business acumen, and drive for results, relationship building, and self motivation in order to procure a variety of complex or specialized products and/or services; OR experience requiring sufficient knowledge of contracting regulations, policies, and procedures and an organization’s program and technical requirements in order to conduct reviews of contracts or contracting actions, recommend or plan improvements to an organization’s procurement program.

Qualification determinations cannot be made when resumes do not include the required information, so failure to provide this information may result in disqualification.

For each job on your resume, provide:

the exact dates you held each job (from month/year to month/year or “present”)
number of hours per week you worked (if part time)

Next Steps

After the closing date/deadline:

ELIGIBILITY/QUALIFICATIONS: Applicant eligibility and qualifications are reviewed.
REFERRAL TO MANAGEMENT: Eligible/Qualified applicants are referred to management for review and possible interview.
SELECTION/TENTATIVE JOB OFFER: If a selection is made, a Tentative Offer is extended to the selectee and suitability and/or security background investigation is conducted.
FINAL JOB OFFER: A final job offer is made (typically within 40 days after the closing date/deadline for applications).
FINAL COMMUNICATION TO APPLICANTS: Once the position is filled, we will notify all applicants of their final status. You may check your status by logging into USAJOBS. Go to My USAJOBS and then to Applications.

How To Apply

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