Hybrid Contract Specialist en Department of Agriculture

Contract Specialist

Department: Department of Agriculture

Location(s): Washington, District of Columbia

Salary Range: $69923 - $131826 Per Year

Job Summary: The incumbent serves as a Contract Specialist responsible for all pre-award and post-award functions including initiation, solicitation, recommendation of award, contract administration, payment, and contract closeout for procurement and other financial assistance programs assigned to Commodity Procurement Program.

Major Duties:

• The duties described are for the full-performance level. At developmental grade levels, assignments will be of more limited scope, performed with less independence and limited complexity.
• The duties may include, but are not limited to:
• Determine both financial and technical responsibility of potential new vendors, and assist those vendors through the process to become an approved vendor.
• Review and analyze relevant production and price data, and make recommendations concerning the need for surplus removal purchase programs.
• Prepare accurate announcements, invitations to bid, requests for information, requests for proposals, and related contractual documents in the administration of contracts.
• Perform detailed analysis of bids received using processes and procedures designed to ensure the most advantageous awards for USDA nutrition assistance programs.
• Review, analyze, and make recommendations concerning various factors affecting ongoing purchase and other financial assistance operations.
• Ensure that the provisions of Sections 8 and 15 of the Small Business Act, as amended by PL 95-507 and the provisions of Executive Order 12138 are implemented in procurement activities.
• Recommend purchase and financial assistance programs for a full range of agricultural commodities.
• Review contracts to be awarded to successful bidders.
• Conduct contract administration, including the analysis and resolution of contractor-requested waivers of requirements, recipient-requested destination changes, shipment issues, and delivery issues.

Qualifications: Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. TIME-IN-GRADE: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. BASIC REQUIREMENT: 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. Exceptions: Employees in GS-1102 positions will be considered to have met the standard for positions they occupy on January 1, 2000. Employees who occupy GS-1102 positions at grades 5 through 12 will be considered to meet the basic requirements for other GS-1102 positions up to and including those classified at GS-12. This includes positions at other agencies and promotions up through grade 12. However, employees must meet specialized experience requirements when seeking another position. FOR THE GS-09 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-07 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates: Assisting with pre or post award functions such as price/cost analysis, contract negotiations, or administering contracts to complete the phases of a contract Assisting with selecting the appropriate contract type that supports mission requirements. ; OR 2 full academic years of progressively higher-level graduate education or masters or equivalent graduate degree in the fields of: accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, or organization and management; OR LL.B. or J.D. if related. Equivalent combinations of education and experience are qualifying for this grade level. FOR THE GS-11 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-09 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates: Providing pre or post award functions such as writing acquisition strategies, determining price reasonableness, determining contractor responsibility, issuing non-conformance decisions, or executing contract closeout to complete the phases of a contract Monitoring contract performance for compliance with terms and conditions Reviewing contracts for accuracy in accordance with policy. ; OR .3 full academic years of progressively higher-level graduate education or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in the fields of: accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, or organization and management. Equivalent combinations of education and experience are qualifying for this grade level. FOR THE GS-12 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-11 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates: Performing independently pre-award and post award functions and contractual actions, such as acquisition planning, solicitation preparation and award of various types of contracts and contract administration to include change orders, supplemental agreements, show cause, stop work terminations, and closeout of contracts. Monitoring contractor performance, implementing appropriate contractual resolution, when necessary. Researching acquisition planning and requirements.. Note: There is no education substitution for this grade level. TRANSCRIPTS are required if: This position requires specific coursework or a degree in a specific field to be basically qualified. You are qualifying for the position based on education. You are qualifying for this position based on a combination of experience and education. This education must have been successfully completed and obtained from an accredited school, college, or university. COMBINATION OF EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE AT THE GS-9/11 GRADE LEVEL: Applicants may have combinations of successfully completed education and specialized experience to meet total qualification requirements. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify for that grade level. 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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

How to Apply: Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00a.m. - 4:00p.m., Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement in order to be entered into the system prior to its closing. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this. Step 1: Create a USAJOBS account (if you do not already have one) at www.usajobs.gov. It is recommended that as part of your profile you set up automatic email notification to be informed when the status of your application changes. If you choose not to set up this automatic notification, then you will have to log into your USAJOBS account to check on the status of your application. Step 2: Create a Resume with USAJOBS or upload a Resume into your USAJOBS account. You may want to customize your resume to ensure it documents duties and accomplishments you have gained that are directly related to this position in order to verify that qualifications are met. In addition, your resume must support your responses to the online questionnaire (you may preview the online questionnaire by clicking on the link at the end of the How You Will Be Evaluated section of the job announcement). Step 3: Click "Apply Online" and follow the prompts to complete the Occupational Questionnaire and attach any additional documents that may be required. You can update your application or documents anytime while the announcement is open. Simply log into your USAJOBS account and click on "Application Status." Click on the position title, and then select "Update Application" to continue. NOTE: Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable.

Application Deadline: 2025-07-30