Contract Specialist

This vacancy is for a GS-1102-9, Contract Specialist located in the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, SILC BOD BUSINESS AND INFORMATION SERVICES BRANCH. Duty location is Miami, FL.

Overview

• Accepting applications

• Open & closing dates

  02/07/2025 to 02/17/2025

• Salary

  $65,084 – $84,607 per year

  
  
• Pay scale & grade
  

  GS 9

• Location

  1 vacancy in the following location:

  
  
• Remote job
  

  No

• Telework eligible
  

  No

• Travel Required
  

  Not required

• Relocation expenses reimbursed

  Yes-You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.

  
  
• Appointment type
  

  Permanent

• Work schedule
  

  Full-time

• Service
  

  Competitive

• Promotion potential
  

  12 – 9/11/12

• Job family (Series)
• Supervisory status
  

  No

• Security clearance
• Drug test
  

  No

• Position sensitivity and risk
• Trust determination process
• Financial disclosure
• Bargaining unit status
• Announcement number

  20241211-95791-038810-BK-ST

• Control number
  

  830831500

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

Duties

You will serve as a Contract Specialist and be responsible for acquisition strategy for the design, construction, maintenance and repair of facilities for some of the most diverse and significant activities in the Coast Guard and preparation and execution of contract documents assuring adherence with acquisition procedures prescribed by applicable regulations.
Being a Coast Guard civilian makes you a valuable member of the Coast Guard team. Typical work assignments include:

• Serving as a technical consultant to the Contracting Officer and the Supervisory Contract Specialist on complex acquisition questions.
• Collaborating with project officers to plan and develop long and short-range acquisition plans, strategies and realistic approaches for program goals.
• Developing and implementing acquisition strategy for the design, construction, and major renovation of facilities.
• Developing pre-negotiation positions, serving as lead negotiator, and preparing required documentation to support the acquisition action, including Determination and Findings, and pre and post negotiation memorandum.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.

Key Requirements:

1. Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
2. Must be registered or exempt from the Selective Service. See www.sss.gov
3. A one-year probationary period may be required.
4. Suitable for Federal employment determined by background investigation.
5. Time in Grade requirement must be met by the closing date of the vacancy.
6. Transcripts must be submitted at time of application.

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:
Applicants must meet the following basic requirements:

Completed a 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor’s degree with a major in any field; OR 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.

NOTE: Applicants who have been in a GS-1102 position at a GS-12 or lower grade level since January 1, 2000 without a break in service only need to meet the additional requirements in order to qualify.

IN ADDITION to meeting the basic education requirements above:

Applicants for the GS-9 grade level must possess at least one full year of experience (equivalent to at least the GS-7 level in the Federal Service) serving in a position that supports contracting officers for all aspects of contracting transactions from initiation to recommendation of award for off-the-shelf items or services; reviewing requisitions and recommending/determining the appropriate method of procurement; collaborates with project officers to develop procurement plans; reviewing previous history, market conditions, and specifications or technical data packages; recommending actions when the contractor is not in compliance with contract provisions; and assist contracting officer in conducting contract reviews to evaluate contractor performance.

OR

2 full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education or masters OR equivalent graduate degree or LL.B. or J.D.

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 must include the following:

• Developing procurement objectives in terms of competition and price range, and constructs the contractual vehicle including use of pricing arrangements, subcontracting policy, setting aside polices and similar considerations
• Providing advice to project personnel on effective implementation and time frames required;
• Developing new or innovative acquisition plans, source selection plans, and contract terms, conditions, or financial arrangement.

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.

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.

Education

This position does have a positive education requirement. If you are including education on your resume, report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. See Required Documents section for detail.

College Transcript: If you are qualifying based on education, submit a copy of your college transcript that lists college courses detailing each course by the number and department (i.e., bio 101, math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours and grade earned. You must submit evidence that any education completed in a foreign institution is equivalent to U.S. education standards with your resume. You may submit an unofficial copy of the transcript at the initial phase of the application process. If course content cannot be easily identified from the title of the course as listed on your transcript, you must submit an official course description from the college/university that reflects the content at the time the course was taken.

Transcripts –If this position requires specific educational course work to qualify, or you are qualifying based in whole or part on education, you are required to provide all unofficial transcripts (undergraduate, graduate, etc.) by the closing date of this announcement or you will be disqualified from further consideration. Please ensure that all documentation is legible.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet Federal qualification requirements if you can show that your foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence with your application. See Recognition of Foreign Qualifications

Only experience and education obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered.
Student Loan

Selectee(s) for this position who are newly appointed to a permanent or term position may be eligible for student loan repayment up to $10,000 (pre-tax) for one calendar year. More than one loan may be repaid if the combined repayments do not exceed $10,000. Receipt of this incentive will require a three-year service agreement.

Additional information

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 Personnel Management guidance and U.S. Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change.

Due Weight
Due weight will be given to performance appraisals and incentive awards in merit promotion selection decisions in accordance with 5 CFR 335.103(b)(3). Consideration will be given to performance appraisals and incentive awards as an indicator of quality of prior experience; no points will be assigned.

E-Verify
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 , including your rights and responsibilities.

Fair Chance Act
The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Homeland Security and its Components from requesting an applicant’s criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with and certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to britney.kane@uscg.mil.

Suitability Statement
If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an , 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.

Shared Certificates Statement
Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.

Special Employment Consideration
The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR 213.3102(u), and or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR 315.707. , , , and possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.

Recruitment incentives may be authorized.

If you need a reasonable accommodation for the application and hiring process, please contact britney.kane@uscg.mil. Decisions on granting reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Visit

• Benefits
  

  A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. .

  Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

  
  
  

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Your resume, optional cover letter and supporting documentation will be reviewed to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for the position. If you meet the minimum qualifications stated in the job opportunity announcement, we will compare your resume, optional cover letter and supporting documentation to your responses on the scored occupational questionnaire (True/False, Yes/No, Multiple Choice questions). Your resume and/or optional cover letter must support your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire, or your score may be lowered. The best qualified candidates will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be invited for an interview.

The assessment questionnaire is designed to measure your ability in the following competencies:

• Acquisition Strategy
• Contracting/Procurement
• Negotiation
• Written Communication

To preview the announcement questionnaire, click here:

Do NOT include the following types of information in your resume:

• Social Security Number (SSN)
• Date of Birth (DOB)
• Photos of yourself (if included on your resume you will not be considered for this position)
• Personal information: such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc.

“Newly appointed” refers to the first appointment (regardless of tenure) as an employee of the Federal Government, an appointment following a break in service of at least 90 days from a previous appointment as an employee of the Federal Government, or, in certain cases, an appointment following a break in service of less than 90 days from a previous appointment as an employee of the Federal Government.

Relocation Incentive

Selectee(s) for this position who are current federal employees on permanent appointments and will be moving outside of the current commuting area of their current position to accept this position are authorized to receive a one-time relocation incentive of 10% of the salary including locality for this position. Receipt of the bonus will require a 12-month service agreement. The employee must establish a residence in the new geographic area prior to payment.

• Benefits
  

  A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. .

  
  
  

  Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

• Required Documents

  As a new or existing federal employee, you and your family may have access to a range of benefits. Your benefits depend on the type of position you have – whether you’re a permanent, part-time, temporary or an intermittent employee. You may be eligible for the following benefits, however, check with your agency to make sure you’re eligible under their policies.

  
  
  

  Resume showing relevant work/volunteer experience, education, and training. Include the start and end dates (from month/year) and the number of hours per week worked/volunteered.

  SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (if applicable for Time in Grade and/or Eligibility):

  
  
  • Most recent SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee
  • An SF-50 showing your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement.
  • Award 50’s do not provide sufficient information. Examples of appropriate SF-50’s include:
    • Within grade increases at the highest grade held; Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or
    • SF-50’s at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old.
    
    
  
  
  

  Veterans’ preference documentation (Member Copy 4 of DD-214, Revised October 2013 SF-15 and VA letter, if applicable. NOTE: The revised October 2013 SF-15 is the latest copy and all others are not usable. Please see

  • Veterans claiming 5 point veterans’ preference must submit legible Member 4 Copy DD214(s) indicating Character of Service.
  • 30% Disabled Veterans must submit their Member Copy 4 DD-214(s), which includes Character of Service, and VA Disability Letter with percentage of disability OR documentation of disability determination from a branch of the Armed Forces which reflects a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more.
  • Other 10 point Preference Eligibles must submit applicable Member Copy 4 DD-214(s), which includes Character of Service, and provide documentation of 10 point preference described on the back of the SF-15.
  • If you are a current active duty military member who does not have a DD214 and is claiming eligibility under the Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) Act, you must submit certification from the Armed Forces indicating you will be discharged/released under honorable conditions from active duty within 120 days from the date you submit your certification as part of your application for this announcement. See the “How to Apply” section of this announcement for information on specific requirements for VOW certifications.
  
  

  CTAP/ICTAP documentation, if applicable.

  
  

  Schedule A documentation, if applicable. Note: Coast Guard welcomes and encourages applications from persons with disabilities. Qualified applicants with disabilities may be eligible for special hire, non-competitive appointment under Schedule A eligibility.

  
  

  Military Spouses (if applicable) – You MUST submit verification of the marriage to the service member (i.e., a marriage license or other legal documentation verifying marriage) AND: (1) a copy of your spouse’s active military orders; OR (2) verification of your spouse’s 100% service-connected disability (VA Letter and/or DD-214); OR (3) verification of the service member’s death while on active duty (DD-1300/Death Certificate). You are not eligible if you were not married to the veteran at the time of death or have since remarried.

  
  
  

  Interchange Agreement with Other Merit Systems Eligible: Documentation of eligibility as listed in each individual interchange agreement.

  
  

  Other noncompetitive or special appointing authorities (e.g., Peace Corps, VISTA, Public Land Corp, Military Spouse, VRA, 30% Disabled Veterans, Certain Former Overseas Employees, Foreign Service, etc.) must provide substantiating documentation as required.

  
  
  

  Any other supporting documentation required for verification as described in the announcement.

  Political Appointees: OPM must authorize employment offers for former or current Political Appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information.

  
  
  

  If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

  
  

  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. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from .

  
  
  

  Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

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