Contract Specialist

Summary
The ideal candidate will have proven abilities to reason logically, read analytically, negotiate, read, and write well, and have familiarity on how the government is organized and how it works.
This job is open to

• The public
  U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Clarification from the agency
Status candidates may also apply under FEMA-24-CW-693973-MP
This Job is open to: U.S. citizens
Videos
Duties
What will I do in this position if hired?
In this position, you will serve as a Contract Specialist.
Typical assignments include:

• Reviewing acquisition packages for completeness from customers. provide guidance to customers in completing acquisition packages including reviewing SOWs, IGCEs, market research, evaluation criteria, and Agency specific requirements.
• Advising customers on appropriate contracting methods and types. Awareness of business practices and market conditions applicable to the requirement to ensure appropriate and sufficient information is provided.
• Performing pre-solicitation, solicitation, and pre-award duties associated with purchases between $10,000.00 and $250,000.00. This includes drafting all memoranda, solicitations, advertising, and support documentation during all phases.
• Tracking and reporting procurement actions
• Initiating post-award administration of contracts/orders including any modifications, options, contractor inquiries, or terminations procedures.
• Executing closeout procedures on contracts.

What else do I need to know?
At FEMA, our mission is to help people before, during and after disasters, and every employee at FEMA has a role in emergency management.Every FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites. All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee's official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions.
FEMA is committed to ensuring that its workforce reflects the diversity of the nation.At FEMA, our workforce includes the many identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, ages, cultures, and beliefs of the people we serve. To learn about FEMA's ongoing diversity and inclusion efforts, reasonable accommodation process, and the FEMA Core Values, please visit www.fema.gov.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
• You must successfully pass a background investigation.
• Selective Service registration required.
• You must be able to obtain and maintain a Government credit card.
• Please review "Other Information" section for additional key requirements.

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, successfully pass, and maintain a background investigation for Public Trust as a condition of placement into this position. This may include a credit check after initial job qualifications are determined, a review of financial issues, such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs (please visit: Mythbuster on Federal Hiring Policies for additional information). For more information on background investigations for Federal jobs please visit OPM Investigations.
Please ensure you meet the qualification requirements described below.
Qualifications
The qualification requirements listed below must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
To qualify for this position at the GS-11 level (starting salary $85,508), applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level. Specialized experience is experience that may have been gained while providing business advice to customers and performing all pre-award/post-award functions, using a wide range of contracting methods and types to procure complex and/or diversified commodities, services and/or construction.
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.
Applicants who meet the criteria for Superior Academic Achievement qualify for positions at the GS-7 level.
The following shows the amounts of education and/or experience required to qualify for positions at the GS-11 level:
Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree
OR
Three full academic years of progressively higher-level graduate education
OR
Combination of education and experience
Please read the following important information to ensure we have everything we need to consider your application:

• Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

• Please limit your resume to five pages.If more than five pages are submitted, only the first five pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility and qualifications.

• Your resume serves as the basis for experience related qualification determinations, and you must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable), as it relates to this job opportunity. Please use your own words, be clear, and specific when describing your work history. We cannot make assumptions regarding your experience.

Are you qualifying based on your work experience?

• Qualifications are based on your ability to demonstrate in your resume that you possess one year of the specialized experience for this announcement at a comparable scope and responsibility.To ensure all of the essential information is in your resume, we encourage you to use the USAJOBS online Resume Builder. If you choose to use your own resume, it must contain the following information organized byexperience/position: (1) job title, (2) name of employer, (3) start and end dates of each period of employment (from MM/DD/YY to MM/DD/YY), (4) detailed description of duties performed, accomplishments, and related skills, and (5) hours worked per week (part-time employment will be prorated in crediting experience). Federal experience/positions must also include the occupational series, grade level, and dates in which you held each grade level.

• Are you a current or former FEMA Reservist/DAE employee?To accurately credit your experience from intermittent positions and Reservist Deployments, you must list the dates (from MM/DD/YY to MM/DD/YY) of deployments that are relevant to your qualifying experience, along with the job title and specific duties you were responsible for during each deployment.

• Determining length of General or Specialized Experience is dependent on the above information.Failure to provide the above information in your resume may result in your application being found "not qualified."

• 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 provides valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
• For additional information on crediting experience and/or education, please reference the OPM General Schedule Qualification Standards

Education
Education substitution: This position permits applicants to qualify based on education (or a combination of education and experience), as outlined in the "requirements" section.If you are using education to qualify, you must submit a copy of your transcripts (unofficial are acceptable) with your online application. Once selected and prior to appointment, applicants must provide official college transcripts.
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. For example, specific courses accepted for college-level credit by an accredited U.S. college or university, or foreign education evaluated by an organization recognized for accreditation by the Department of Education as education equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. college or university. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence with your application. Visit the Department of Education's Recognition of Foreign Qualifications for more information.
Additional information

• 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.
• 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.
• 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. Veterans, Peace Corps/VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities 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.
• This announcement may be used to fill one or more vacancies.
• All candidates must be able to deploy with little or no advance notice to anywhere in the United States and its territories for an extended period of time.
• A one year probationary period is required for new Federal competitive service employees and new supervisors and managers.
• Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.
• This is a Bargaining Unit position.
• Previous FHR: 596084; 486012

• 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.
  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.
  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.

How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
We will review your resume and supporting documentation to ensure you meet the minimum qualification requirements. If you meet the minimum qualifications, we will use your responses to the job questionnaire to place you in one of three categories based on your experience, education, and training. The competencies or knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform this job are:

• Technical Proficiency
• Communication
• Customer Service
• Representing the Agency
• Teamwork and Cooperation

If you meet the minimum qualifications, you will be placed in one of the following categories:

1. Best-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate high proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all Selective Placement Factors (SPF), and appropriate Quality Ranking Factors (QRF) as determined by the job analysis.
2. Well-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that excee...