These positions are with the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), Commodity Procurement Program (CPP) as a Lead Contract Specialists. Vacancies within Domestic and International Procurement Divisions. Lead Contract Specialists serve as Contracting Officers responsible for pre- and post-award functions including solicitation, recommendation of award, contract administration, payment, team oversight, and closeout, with a staff supporting federal feeding programs and American agriculture.
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: Completion of all mandatory training prescribed by the head of the agency for progression to GS-13 or higher level contracting positions, including 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. Must be at least FAC-C PROFESSIONAL certified. A copy of your highest level of FAC-C certification must be included with your application. ANDA 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. 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. In addition to the basic requirement above, applicants must also meet the following: Selective Placement Factor: The following Selective Placement Factor (SPF) requirement is being used to determine whether an applicant fully qualifies for this position: certified in either Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) Professional or Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA). Evidence of this experience must be documented in your resume. Applicants who fail to meet this requirement and/or address the SPF may lose further consideration. A copy of your FAC-C Professional or DAWIA certification must be included with your application. FOR THE GS-13 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-12 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates: Providing direction and guidance to junior level team members on solicitation preparation, proposal or bid evaluation and award decision documents supporting award execution. Managing multiple pre and post award contractual actions that includes demonstrated accomplishment of planning, directing, and administering complex acquisition project assignments utilizing a wide range of knowledge of procurement and contracting principles, and technical program requirements and techniques (i.e. multiple levels, multiple forms, multiple needs, and multiple phases of the acquisition process). Independently performing actions including coordinating purchase program schedules; determining contracting methods; terminating and suspending contracts; stop work orders; making informed recommendations and decisions on protests, disputes, appeals, and claims review. Communicate (written and orally) with internal and external stakeholders, including industry members, program office customers, branch chiefs, division directors, and other levels of higher authority on status of specific contracts, furnishing authoritative advice on various problems and issues. 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. This education must have been successfully completed and obtained from an accredited school, college, or university 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.
The duties may include, but are not limited to:
Provides expert advice for all pre-award and post-award functions and is involved with the planning and development of purchase and financial assistance programs and procedures.
Determines both financial and technical responsibility of potential new vendors and assists those vendors through the process to become an approved vendor.
Reviews and analyzes relevant production and price data and, where applicable, makes recommendations concerning the need for surplus removal purchase programs.
Responsible for reviewing announcements, invitations to bid, requests for information, requests for proposals, and related contractual documents in the administration of contracts.
Reviews, analyzes, and makes recommendations concerning various factors affecting ongoing purchase and other financial assistance operations.
Works closely with minority business firms, small businesses, the Small Business Administration and the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization.
Recommends purchase and financial assistance programs relative to the full range of agricultural commodities.
Examines Instrument and Notices of Assignment, invoices, claims, and other requests for payment for commodities provided to the Government.
Develops procedures and overall contracting strategies to effectively accomplish unique acquisition programs including making independent decisions on complex problems.