Contract Specialist

Summary Securing Travel, Protecting People - At the Transportation Security Administration, you will serve in a high-stakes environment to safeguard the American way of life. In cities across the country, you would secure airports, seaports, railroads, highways, and/or public transit systems, thus protecting America's transportation infrastructure and ensuring freedom of movement for people and commerce. Responsibilities This Contract Specialist position is located in Enterprise Support (ES), Contracting & Procurement (C&P), Transportation Security Administration, Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Duties include but are not limited to: Serves as an entry level Contract Specialist for non-complex acquisitions program activities under the general direction of a manager or more experienced professional using basic knowledge and experience. Drafts written solicitations that include the appropriate provisions and clauses for the requirement, assembled in a format appropriate to the acquisition method and market. Drafts business clearance memoranda to document the negotiation process, cost/price analysis, technical evaluations, and other factors. Work is reviewed regularly during assignments and at completion to ensure timeliness and all aspects of quality. Applies acquisition strategies for non-complex contract actions. Researches and identifies recommendations on contracting matters that interpret, extend or revise significant elements of contracting actions. Established policies/procedures provide detailed guidance for almost all assignments, with little or no room for discretion. Collaborates with customers to define procurement needs and assists with the receipt of quotation/proposals including the safeguarding, opening, tracking, assessing compliance with minimum solicitation requirements, and identifying the quotation/proposals that will not receive further consideration. Contracts are primarily internal to the organizational unit with the manager and other employees to share information, provide data and/or written analyses, and discuss the statuses of assignments. The major duties described above reflect the full performance level of this position. Typically, the lower pay band (E Band) performs the same duties but will receive more guidance and training; and/or projects/work assignments may be less complex. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must possess U.S. Citizenship or be a U.S. National. You must have reached the minimum age (18) at the time of application. You must complete a favorable Background Investigation (BI). Selective Service registration is required. You must comply with education and training requirements for this position. You must follow and maintain FAC-C Professional requirements. See additional "Conditions of Employment" and "Other Information" section. Conditions of Employment (If applicable): You must comply with education and training requirements for this position see below: For all 1102 positions at E thru H Selectee must meet requirements for Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) Professional certification within 36 months of entrance on duty. If you fail to meet the conditions of employment or any other pre-employment requirements, such as missing any of the scheduled appointments, the hiring agency may rescind their tentative offer of employment. Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for TSA to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions. Any offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders, interpretive U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance, and Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change. Qualifications In addition to the Basic Education Requirements, to qualify for the SV-E Pay Band (equivalent to GS-7), you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the SV-D or GS-5 Pay Band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as: Experience researching a topic and presenting a position based upon the application of knowledge gained from the research Experience executing multiple projects with overlapping schedules Experience with effective oral and written communication to inform and or persuade a party to take a particular course of action or accept findings and recommendations Experience identifying problems and determining a course of action to resolve the problem and achieve success OR Education: 1 full academic year of graduate education or law school or superior academic achievement. In addition to the Basic Education Requirements, to qualify for the SV-F Pay Band (equivalent to GS-9), you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the SV-E or GS-7 Pay Band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as: Experience researching a procurement related topic and presenting a position based upon the application of Federal Acquisition Regulations Experience with administering multiple contracts above the simplified acquisition threshold Experience with oral and written contract negotiation techniques Experience in recommending procurement processes, systems, procedures, and policies to resolve a procurement problem. OR Education: 2 full academic years of progressively higher-level graduate education or master's or equivalent graduate degree or LL.B. or J.D. Conditions of Employment (If applicable): You must comply with education and training requirements for this position see below: For all 1102 positions at E thru H Selectee must meet requirements for Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) Professional certification within 36 months of entrance on duty. FAC-C (Professional) Requirements: DHS has adopted a single level of certification with foundational training and an examination, Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) Professional. New hires without certification shall follow the FAC-C (Professional) requirements. Detailed information on core curricula courses is available at Contracting Certification Course Web Series - Defense Acquisition University (dau.edu). Federal Acquisition Certification for Contracting Officer's Representative (FAC-COR): A valid, current FAC-C (Professional) is considered to have met the FAC-COR requirements for all levels, however, an individual with FAC-COR certification does not meet the requirements for the FAC-C (Professional). DoD Contracting Professional Certification: A valid, current DoD Contracting Professional Certification is equivalent to a FAC-C (Professional). Current federal employees certified at Levels I, II, or III of the legacy FAC-C programs will automatically be certified in the FAC-C (Professional). Exceptions to Qualification Requirements (Applicable to Internal or Status Applicants Only): As of January 1, 2000, all GS-1102 employees who had continuously encumbered GS-1102 positions are considered to have met the standard for positions they occupy on January 1, 2000. Employees who occupy GS-1102 positions at grades GS-5 through GS-12 or equivalent will be considered to meet the basic requirements for other GS-1102 positions up to and including those classified at GS- 12 or SV-H. This includes positions at other agencies and promotions up through grade GS-12 or SV-H. However, employees must meet specialized experience requirements when seeking another position. Training Requirements: For all 1102 positions through the H Band selectee must meet requirements for Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) Professional certification within 36 months as of entrance on duty. To qualify for GS-1102 positions on the basis of graduate education, graduate education in one or a combination of the following fields is required: accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, or organization and management. Applicants who meet the criteria for Superior Academic Achievement qualify for positions at the SV-E (GS-7) level. Superior Academic Achievement: The superior academic achievement provision applies to both initial appointment and in service placement actions. It is to be used to determine eligibility for applicable GS-7 level positions of persons who have completed (or expect to complete within 9 months) all the requirements for a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. Credit for experience is given based on a 40-hour workweek. Part-time experience is credited on a part-time ratio, i.e., working 20 hours per week for two months equals one month of experience. No additional credit is given for overtime. 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 training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office. Resumes must include the following: Narrative description of duties with start and end dates (including the month and year) for work experience. State the number of hours worked in a position (i.e. full-time or part-time). If part-time, state the total number of hours worked per week. Performance level (i.e. band or grade) Utilizing the USAJOBS Resume Builder and completing all available fields is strongly encouraged. You must meet the qualification requirements for this position no later than the closing date of the vacancy announcement. Education In addition to the minimum qualifications described above, you must meet the following requirement(s) to be considered qualified for the position: Basic 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. Senior students can apply for positions prior to graduation and be considered for a GS-7 appointment based on their grades at the time of application. However, some applicants may not receive their final grades in a timely fashion after graduation. Therefore, agencies can either: 1. Require that senior students provide evidence that they maintained the required grades during their senior year prior to entry on duty; or 2. Appoint applicants based on their claimed academic achievement, pending verification of final grades. Agencies should inform such applicants that if the required grades were not maintained through their senior year, there is a possibility that they may not be able to retain either the GS-7 grade or the position. S.A.A. is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership. 3. Class standing -- Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses. 4. Grade-point average (G.P.A.) -- Applicants must have a grade-point average of: 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2years of the curriculum. Grade-point averages are to be rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9. The G.P.A should be credited in a manner that is most beneficial to the applicant. For example, applicants may list their G.P.A. as recorded on their final transcript, or they may choose to compute their G.P.A. The specific provisions are detailed below: G.P.A. as recorded on the final transcript. The final transcript must cover the period being used to determine G.P.A., i.e., all 4 years or last 2 years. G.P.A. including course work after bachelor's degree. Undergraduate course work obtained after an applicant has received a bachelor's degree can be credited in computing the G.P.A. of applicants who need those courses to meet minimum qualification requirements, i.e., the courses are required by the standard or by the individual occupational requirement. They are treated as described in the following example: An applicant for a Biologist position has a bachelor's degree that included no biology course work but has taken 24semester hours in undergraduate biology courses after obtaining the bachelor's degree. The grades earned in the biology courses should be included in the computation to determine this applicant's eligibility for GS-7 under the Superior Academic Achievement provision. These courses should be counted in determining (1) the overall grade-point average, (2) the average obtained during the final 2 years of the undergraduate curriculum, and/or (3) the average in the major field of study. For purposes of this example, biology would be considered the major field of study. G.P.A. excluding pass/fail courses. Applicants usually cannot claim credit based on their overall G.P.A. if more than 10 percent of their total credit was based on pass/fail or similar systems rather than on traditional grading systems. However, if they can document that only their freshman-year courses (25 percent or less of their total credit) were credited on a pass/fail or similar system, they can use their overall G.P.A. to claim Superior Academic Achievement. If 10percent or fewer credits or only freshman-year courses were based on pass/fail or similar systems, such credits can be ignored and the G.P.A. computed on the graded courses. Applicants can, however, still claim credit based on their last 2 years if 10 percent or fewer credits were based on pass/fail or similar systems. Applicants who cannot claim credit under the G.P.A. requirements may claim credit for superior academic achievement only on the basis of class standing or honor society membership. 5. Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society -- Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies listed below. Agencies considering eligibility based on any society not included in the following list must ensure that the honor society meets the minimum requirements of the Association of College Honor Societies. Membership in a freshman honor society cannot be used to meet the requirements of this provision. For positions requiring positive education requirements, or if you are using education to meet all or part of the qualification requirements, you MUST submit a copy of your transcripts or an itemized list of college courses from an accredited college or university, which includes equivalent information from the transcript (course title, semester/quarter hours, and grade/degree earned) in your resume. The information must be provided with the application by the closing date of the announcement. If selected, the applicant must supply a transcript or certification of degree. Additional Information Eligibility to apply for other Federal positions: TSA is an Excepted Service agency exempt from most of Title 5 United States Code, including regulations which apply to displaced Federal employees (CTAP/ICTAP) of other agencies, and employment with TSA does not confer "Competitive Status" that generally results from selection and service in Competitive Service agencies. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has established an Interchange Agreement, which allows most permanent TSA employees to apply and be considered for vacancies in Competitive Service agencies. Information from OPM on this or other Interchange Agreements is available at: www.opm.gov/ To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully pass a background investigation as a condition of placement into this position. DHS uses E-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities. If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment. TSA employees who are absent for the purpose of performing military duty may apply for any vacancies announced in their absence. More than one position may be filled from this announcement. If you are entering TSA employment on an appointment without time limitations, you must serve a basic trial period unless you have already met the requirement. DHS offers competitive salaries and an attractive benefits package, including: health, dental, vision, life, and long-term care insurance; retirement plan; Thrift Savings Plan [similar to a 401(k)]; Flexible Spending Account; Employee Assistance Program; personal leave days; and paid federal holidays. Other benefits may include flexible work schedules; telework; tuition reimbursement; transportation subsidies; uniform allowance; health and wellness programs; and fitness centers. DHS is committed to employee development and offers a variety of employee training and developmental opportunities. For more information, go to the DHS Careers website and select "Benefits." Disabled veteran leave will be available to any Federal employee hired on or after November 5, 2016, who is a veteran with a service-connected disability rating of 30 percent or more. Employees who transfer to TSA from an agency that allows employees to maintain an annual leave balance higher than the maximum accumulation for the appointed position will have their leave ceiling set to the maximum accumulation for the appointed position (e.g., United States duty location - 240 hours, foreign duty location - 360 hours, or TSES position - 720 hours). TSA will not make a monetary payment for any leave forfeited under these circumstances.