Contract Specialist - Direct Hire
What you'd do
Announcement may be used to fill similar positions within 90 days of the closing date. This announcement will be used to fill vacancies through OPM-authorized Direct Hire Authority (DHA) for STEM (Scientific, Technical, Engineering and Mathematic) positions at the GS-11 through GS-15 grade levels. This position is processed under Direct Hire authority. Veterans' Preference and Category Rating procedures DOES NOT APPLY. For more information, click here. About this agency
Major duties
This position is located in the Office of Enterprise Services (ENT), Acquisition Services Division. It is the responsibility of the Office of Enterprise Services to procure directly for all Programs. The incumbent serves as a Contracting Specialist in the role of warranted Contracting Officer (CO) in support of EXIM's Acquisition Programs. This position reports to a warranted Contracting Officer Lead. Functions as a project manager for the acquisition process and has responsibility for agency wide procurement. Duties include, but are not limited to: Assist a Contracting Officer (CO) providing quality control reviews and negotiates and administers contracts for the agency, ensuring compliance with federal regulations, Bank policies and office Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Assist with administrating and overseeing Contracting Officer's Representatives (COR's) for single and multi-year contracts and agreements involving goods and services. Responsible for closeout of contracts. Assist the CO with contract negotiator in all phases of pre-award and contract administration. Assist the planning and overseeing the execution of negotiation strategies. Assist with negotiations which are conducted with contractors to develop contract terms and prices and presents appropriate pre-award and post-award briefings. Assist with conducting negotiation meetings and briefings with senior staff members of private sector firms such as CEOs, Presidents, Vice Presidents and Senior Partners, as well as briefing senior EXIM staff. Help to develop, maintain and report planning and performance results to the CAO on contracting operations and other appropriate data to support contracts (e.g., past performance, award and reporting data, socio-economic achievements, contractor's responsibility, etc.).
What you need to qualify
Basic Requirements: A. Degree: A 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with a major in any field; OR B. Industry-Specific Coursework: 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. (You must submit transcripts.) OR C. Exception for Contract Series (1102): 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 have met the basic requirements for other GS-1102 positions up to and including those classified at the 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. In addition to the Basic Requirements noted above, applicants must also meet and demonstrate the specialized experience listed below: Specialized Experience (Credit for Specialized Experience on resume must reflect 40 hours/Full-time per week for each period of work): GS-11: You must have one (1) year of specialized experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the Federal Government or other equivalent pay systems. Specialized experience includes: Experience assisting with overseeing pre- and post- award procurement and contract actions for various supplies, services, and equipment of a Federal agency; Experience assisting with implementing processes and policy improvements for contract operations, administration of various contract types, monitoring and evaluating contract performance. Experience assisting with negotiating and administering contracts while ensuring contracts are in compliance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), federal laws, guidelines, executive orders; and Experience assisting with evaluating bids and proposals, recommending contract awards, preparing award documents, and negotiating contract modifications. OR If you are substituting education for experience to qualify for at this level, you must have 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in one of the following fields: accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, or organization and management. (You must submit transcripts.) OR If you are combining both education and experience to qualify for this level, equivalent combinations of education and experience are qualifying for this grade level. For qualification determinations, your resume must contain the following for each work experience listed: Organization/Agency's Name Title Salary (series and grade, if applicable) Start and end dates (including the month and year) Number of hours you worked per week Relevant experience that supports your response to the specialized experience that is stated in the job announcement If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete and you will not receive consideration for this position. NOTE: Do not copy and paste the duties or specialized experience from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications and your application may be marked as incomplete/ineligible and you will not receive consideration for this position. 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 can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience. Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week. Foreign Education: If you are qualifying by education and/or you have education completed in a foreign college/university described above, it is your responsibility to provide transcripts and proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study. Please visit the following links for more information: http://www.naces.org http://www.fceatlanta.com Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined here. All requirements must be met by 07/15/2026, the closing date of the announcement.
Before you apply
Federal applications are different: your resume should be 3–5 pages and mirror the language of this announcement. Read our federal resume guide first — it's the #1 reason qualified people get screened out.
Don't miss the next one.
Get an email the moment a similar federal job opens — postings can close in as little as 5 days.