Contract Specialist (Direct Hire)
What you'd do
Direct-Hire Authority (DHA) is a hiring authority granted by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to address critical hiring needs or severe candidate shortages. For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorneys' Offices, visit www.justice.gov/usao/. As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement.
Major duties
The duties and responsibilities for a GS 1102 11/12 generally include, but are not limited to, the following: Performing pre-award and post-award work on a variety of contract actions. Developing and documenting acquisition strategy for procuring supplies and services that may require a variety of specialized handling provisions, terms and conditions. Reviewing requisitions and determines appropriate contract type, competition requirements, contract vehicle and applicable FAR authorities. Preparing all solicitation documents necessary to support a variety of contract actions. Monitoring contractual milestones. Developing and maintaining familiarity with Government contracting procedures, business practices, the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and other regulations, policies and procedures. Performing cost and price analysis, preparing contracts and executing award documents. Preparing statements of work and resolving non-complex problems in the pre-award and post-award phases. Reviewing technical and cost evaluation reports for accuracy and completeness. Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.
What you need to qualify
To qualify for the position of Contract Specialist (Direct Hire), at GS-1102-11/12, you must meet the basic qualification requirements listed below. Basic Requirement: A. Completion of a 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree or higher with a major in any field.OR B. Completed 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 your transcripts (unofficial or official) to verify basic qualifications for this position or you will be disqualified. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. GS-11: To qualify for the GS-11 Contracting Specialist position, you must have one year of specialized experience at the GS-09 level. Specialized Experience is defined as developing and managing all aspects for pre-award and post-award functions, including price/cost analysis, negotiation, and administration for services, materials, and equipment associated with the organization; using solicitation methods or a combination of methods identified in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement regulations, processes and procedures; assisting with the development and preparation of Statements of Work (SOW) typically involving specialized equipment, professional or technical services; reviewing and analyzing requests for the procurement of off-the-shelf items, items that are manufactured to order, specialized services, expert witness, litigative consultant services, construction, IT and complex equipment and services; determining sole source and other required document; preparing solicitation documents and incorporating specific provisions; analyzing proposals for conformance with the solicitation; conducting negotiations before and/or after contract award; negotiating with potential contractors; awarding contracts within delegated contracting officer authority; and/or administering contracts, including monitoring contractor's performance. OR Education: A Ph. D or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a degree accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, or organization and management. OR Combination: specialized experience as described above and education as described above, which when combined equal 100% of the requirements. Combinations of successfully completed graduate education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. In order to qualify based on a combination, graduate education must be in excess of 2 full years. GS-12: To qualify for the GS-12 Contracting Specialist, you must have one year of specialized experience at the GS-11 level. Specialized Experience is defined as performing and leading contracting specialist with the development of all aspects for pre-award and post-award functions, including price/cost analysis, negotiation, and administration for services, materials, and equipment associated with the organization; using solicitation methods or a combination of methods identified in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement regulations, processes and procedures; developing, preparing and overseeing Statements of Work (SOW) or typically involving specialized equipment, professional or technical services; reviewing and analyzing requests for the procurement of off-the-shelf, items that are manufactured to order, specialized services, expert witness, litigative consultant services, construction, IT and complex equipment and services; determining sole source and other required document; preparing solicitation documents and incorporating specific provisions; analyzing proposals for conformance with the solicitation; conducting extensive negotiations before and/or after contract award; negotiating with potential contractors; awarding contracts within delegated contracting officer authority; and/or administering complex contracts. *** Must be able to attain and retain at least a level 1 (one) Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) as a federal contracting professional. FAC-C has specific training requirements with some courses online as well as classroom courses. To maintain a FAC-C, contract professionals are required to meet the continuous training requirement. *** You MUST meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement: 07/19/2026. Your resume must support your responses to the application questionnaire and the qualification requirements. Failure to do so may result in an ineligible rating. See the Required Documents section for important notes about what must be included in your resume.
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.
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