Contract Specialist

Summary This position is located at Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Chief Procurement Officer. Washington D.C. is among the possible duty locations for this position. The Washington, D.C. office is anticipated to relocate to Alexandria, Virginia. Applicants selected for the Washington, D.C. duty location may be required to report to the Washington, D.C. office upon entry on duty and subsequently transition to reporting to the Alexandria, Virginia location. Duties HUD's Mission The mission of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is to foster strong communities by supporting access to quality, affordable housing, expanding the housing supply, and unlocking homeownership opportunities for the American people. The Department is committed to furthering the promise of self-sufficiency in every American while promoting economic development to revitalize rural, tribal, and urban communities across the country. This position is located in the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer (OCPO). The OCPO is responsible for awarding and administering contracts and purchase orders for HUD's program offices in order to achieve HUD's mission, goals and objectives. OCPO is primarily staffed with Contract Specialists and Contracting Officers, with support by other staff (e.g., procurement and management analysts, and procurement technicians). OCPO provides vital procurement and logistic services to HUD's program and support offices, and leadership in applying fundamentally sound business practices to the Department's acquisition of goods and services. As a Contract Specialist, you will: -Plan, develop and establish long and short-range procurement and contracting plans, strategies and approaches for overall acquisitions. -Provide expert advice to senior program personnel on procurement and contracting matters affecting program planning for each assigned client and or program. -Serve as a lead contracts negotiator, including conducting fact-finding sessions, pre-proposal conferences, debriefings to unsuccessful offerors, and negotiating various terms and conditions for a wide variety of contract types. Requirements Conditions of employment Candidates will be selected for a job assigned to one of the official duty stations listed in this announcement. Failure to report to duty at the location for which the candidate is selected may be grounds for a disciplinary action, including removal. Key Requirements: Must be U.S. Citizen or U.S. National. A one year probationary period may be required. Continued employment is contingent upon supervisory certification that continued employment will benefit the Federal Service; the certification will occur no less than 30 days before the end of the probationary/trial period. Must successfully complete a background investigation. Public Trust - Background Investigation will be required. Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency. Have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer. If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so. Go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form i-9. Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S. Obtain and use a Government-issued charge card for business-related travel. File a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report within 30 days of appointment and annually from then on. Please refer to "Additional Information Section for additional Conditions of Employment." Qualifications You must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Specialized Experience: For the GS-14, you must have one year (52 full weeks) of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized Experience for this position includes: - Serving as an advisor or lead in the planning and execution of contractual actions and phases for large acquisitions under tight deadlines; AND - Reviewing contractual actions to ensure they conform with statutory and regulation requirements; AND - Collaborating in an integrated acquisition team environment and negotiating with internal and external stakeholders to find mutually acceptable solutions; AND - Preparing and training less experienced contracting professionals in pre-award and post-award processes. The experience may have been gained in either the public, private sector or volunteer service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/day/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week on your resume. Education Basic Requirements for GS-13 and Above: A. 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 B. 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. C. 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. The education generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. If you are qualifying based on foreign education, you must submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. Refer to the OPM instructions. Additional information OTHER INFORMATION: We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies. Relocation expenses will not be paid. Relocation incentive will not be paid. Recruitment incentive will not be paid. This is a non-bargaining unit position. This position is Exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). HUD offers alternative and flexible work schedules. This announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies for similar positions across HUD. During the online application process, you will be asked to specify if you would like your application information shared with other hiring managers in the Program Office listed in this announcement or in other HUD Program Offices. Opting to share your application information will not impact your application for this announcement, nor will it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT (CONTINUED): HUD employees are subject to a number of government-wide and HUD specific ethics laws and regulations, including restrictions on working in a real estate related business, and having Section 8 tenants, along with other prohibited interests and activities. To review applicable ethics rules and HUD specific restrictions, please visit https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/general_counsel/ethics. REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION REQUESTS: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution. 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. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits. Review our benefits 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.