Summary The Office of Acquisition and Contracting (AAQ) provides acquisition and contracting expertise to lead the procurement of material, equipment, systems, real property, construction, services and research and development for all FAA offices and external customers. Contracting Officers have the specific authority to commit the Government by executing awards, exercising options or terminating contracts and leases. We support agency small business contracting goals and promote competition. Responsibilities As a Contract Specialist, the incumbent will perform a combination of routine, multiple, and varying assignments under the general direction of a manager, project/program manager, team leader, or more experienced professional. Acts as an individual contributor and/ or member of a team for projects/programs within a defined area of responsibility. Applies experience and detailed knowledge applicable to acquisition and contracting to plan and accomplish assignments demonstrating some independence in planning time and using assigned resources to accomplish tasks or small projects. The incumbent will apply all agency requirements including laws, regulations, the Acquisition Management System (AMS), contracting Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and other directives. Under the general direction of a manager or senior level specialist, the incumbent will contribute to the acquisition strategy and contract development, award and administration for the Agency within one or more acquisition specialty areas in the Acquisition Organization, such as, research and development, major systems, system operations, facilities, construction and architect engineer services, support services, and other services. This includes complete contract management for agency wide acquisition programs, Next Gen initiatives, National Airspace System (NAS) support and automation, and other agency priorities. The incumbent must be aware of conditions and processes such as, major systems, design to cost, effective competition, acquisition life cycle, exploration, demonstration, full production, and full-scale development contracts. Applying principles of program management, quality assurance, reliability, scheduling, work breakdown structures and validations, the incumbent will plan, develop, and implement acquisition strategies utilizing the flexibilities found in the AMS. The incumbent will be responsible, with general direction by the manager, team lead, or more experienced professional, for drafting, reviewing, editing documents as well as leading the execution and implementation of major milestones throughout the acquisition process. Pre-Award - Use all appropriate laws, regulation, agency directives, etc., to perform all pre-award contract duties. Acquisition Planning and Strategy – Learns and implements acquisition planning and market research principles to develop comprehensive and innovative plans that will best fulfill the Agency’s needs while collaborating across Acquisitions to consider dollar value, complexity, and other appropriate factors. Assists the supervisor or senior level specialist with helping the requiring organization with developing and implementing a comprehensive market research process that identifies external sources in anticipation of future requirements. Post-Award - Contract Management. Under general direction by the supervisor, the incumbent performs contract administration functions and provide guidance on contractual actions to acquisition partners. The duties at the H-band: The incumbent will be responsible, with limited direction of a manager, team lead, or more experienced professional, for drafting, reviewing, editing documents as well as the execution and implementation of major milestones throughout the acquisition process. This includes, but is not limited to all the key contractual roles identified above as well as analysis of contractor Cost Accounting System (CAS) Disclosure Statements, analysis of Earned Value Management (EVM) data, analysis of compliance with terms and conditions, using tools to determine root causes for issues that arise as well as formulating the course of action to remedy issues. The negotiated contracts and awards will be made to commercial organizations, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations and state, local or foreign government entities. Requirements Conditions of Employment We are not accepting applications from noncitizens. Qualifications To view the complete OPM qualification standard, please refer to: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1100/contracting-series-1102/ Basic Requirements for Pay Bands FV-G: (1) A 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor’s degree with a major in any field; or (2) 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; and (3) Above the FV-F or FG/GS-5 level, specialized experience is required, but educational achievements higher than 1 or 2 above can be substituted for specialized experience. OR 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. Education must be directly related to the position. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT: To qualify for this position you must demonstrate in your application that you possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to FV-F, FG/GS 5/7/9. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. Specialized experience includes: Experience as a contract official awarding and administering contracts and support service acquisitions. Basic Requirements for Pay Bands FV-H: (1) A 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor’s degree with a major in any field; or (2) 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; and (3) Above the FV-F or FG/GS-5 level, specialized experience is required, but educational achievements higher than 1 or 2 above can be substituted for specialized experience. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT: To qualify for this position you must demonstrate in your application that you possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to FV-G, FG/GS 10/11. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. Specialized experience includes: Experience as a contract official awarding and administering contracts while applying innovative contracting skills to major system and support service acquisitions. Employees in 1102 series positions will be considered to have met the basic requirements for positions they occupy on January 1, 2000, if specialized experience requirements are met. This applies to other positions at the same pay band/grade in the FAA or other Federal agencies. To qualify for a position at a higher pay band or grade, he/she must meet the requirements and specialized experience as stated. Qualifications must be met by the closing date of this vacancy announcement. If the Agency decides to interview any qualified employee on the selection list, then all on the list who are qualified must be interviewed. If the selection list is shortened to a best qualified list through a comparative process, then the best qualified list shall be considered to be the selection list. Education This position has a positive education requirement: Applicants must submit a copy of their college or university transcripts(s) and certificates by the closing date of announcement to verify qualifications. If selected, an official transcript will be required prior to appointment. You may upload these documents with your application in USAJOBS or fax it to fax number provided in the announcement (please include announcement number on each page). Failure to do so will result in loss of consideration. Schools must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Accreditation may be verified at the following website: www.ed.gov/accreditation. Foreign education must be evaluated by a private professional organization specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials or an accredited U.S. educational institution in terms of equivalence to a degree acquired at an American college or university. A copy of the evaluation results must be included, otherwise your foreign education will not be considered. This position has a positive education requirement. If you are not currently working for the Federal Government in the 1102 series OR have never held a position in the Federal Government in the 1102 series, you must submit a copy of your transcripts prior to the closing date of this announcement. FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN LOSS OF CONSIDERATION. If you cannot upload your transcripts to your application, please fax a copy to to the attention of Monique Heriegel and reference the announcement number on the FAX. IF SELECTED, OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS WILL BE REQUIRED PRIOR TO EMPLOYMENT. If you do not have an official transcript (original with a raised seal) you should request it today. Schools must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Accreditation may be verified at the following website: www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index. Additional Information We may use this vacancy to fill other similar vacant positions. Position may be subject to a background investigation. A one-year probationary period may be required. The person selected for this position may be required to file a financial disclosure statement within 30 days of entry on duty. FAA policy limits certain outside employment and financial investments in aviation-related companies. www.faa.gov/jobs/workinghere/financial-disclosure-requirements The U.S. Department of Transportation strives to ensure that equity, transparency, accountability, collaboration, and communication permeate all that we do for the betterment of the Department, the traveling public, and our nation. As such, DOT values a highly diverse workforce of persons who promote a culture of belonging by respecting the personal dignity and worth of each individual and fostering a positive environment where all feel safe and welcome. If these commitments coincide with your personal ideals and professional aspirations, please consider joining the DOT family. As a part of the Federal-Wide Hiring Reform Initiative (streamlining the hiring process), the FAA is committed to eliminating the use of the Knowledge, Skills and Ability (KSA) narratives from the initial application in the hiring process for all announcements. Therefore, as an applicant for this announcement, you are NOT required to provide a narrative response in the text box listed below each KSA. In lieu of providing a KSA narrative response in the text box listed below each KSA in your work history, please include information that provides specific examples of how you meet the response level or answer you chose for each KSA. Your work history examples should be specific and clearly reflect the highest level of ability. Your KSA answers will be evaluated further to validate whether the level that you selected is appropriate based on the work history and experience you provided. Your answers may be adjusted by a Human Resource Specialist as appropriate. Eligible applicants meeting the minimum qualification requirements and selective factor(s), if applicable, may be further evaluated on the KSA listed in the announcement. Based on this evaluation, applicants will be placed in one of the following categories: score order, category grouping, or alphabetical order and referred to the selecting official for consideration. Current and Former Federal employees must submit their most recent SF-50. Employees are required to report four days per pay period. Subject to change as per policy. This is a bargaining unit position. This position is represented by NATCA: Multi-Unit. 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