Supervisory Contract Specialist (Section Chief)
What you'd do
Corrections professionals who foster a humane and secure environment and ensure public safety by preparing individuals for successful reentry into our communities.
Major duties
Serves as Section Chief in either the Acquisitions Branch or Procurement Operations Branch, Administration Division, Federal Bureau of Prisons. Oversees and ensures accountability for all contractual work involving acquisitions such as Information Technology, service contracts, and many other acquisitions essential to meeting the Bureau of Prisons' (BOP) mission. Lead role in developing the acquisition strategy and carrying out protracted and sensitive negotiations connected with major procurements. Serves as lead negotiator and independently develops negotiation strategies which often include innovative contracting approaches. Provides direction to technical evaluation and source selection committees in procedures of contract award. Serves as liaison to numerous Central Office Divisions which may include assistance in evaluating award fee terms, cost adjustments, schedule extensions and contractor progress.
What you need to qualify
To be considered for the position, you must meet the following: Basic Qualifications: A. Completion of all mandatory training prescribed by the head of the agency for progression to GS-13 (the Bureau of Prisons has defined mandatory training to be FAC-C Level III or a BOP Level III warrant) or higher level contracting positions, including at least 4-years of 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 grade level of the position, and must have provided the qualifications to perform successfully the work of the position. NOTE: ALL applicants MUST submit a legible copy of their FAC-C Level III or a BOP Level III warrant. The FAC-C Level III or BOP Level III warrant MUST be uploaded and electronically submitted at the time of application. Examples of qualifying experience are: Experience performing pre award and post award functions involving highly specialized procurements of significant importance to an agency. Experience as a lead negotiator, planning the negotiation strategy, coordinating strategy with negotiation team, and leading the negotiations with the contractor to develop the contract prices and terms and awarding the contract. Experience in providing direction to technical evaluation and source selection committees in procedures of contract award and providing technical direction and guidance to lower graded contract negotiators. AND B. A 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree, that included or was supplemented by at least 24 semester or 36 quarter hours in any combination of the following fields: accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, or organization and management. A 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is defined as possession of a bachelor's degree conferred or approved by an accredited U.S. College or university based on a 4-year course of study. Simply being enrolled and working toward a degree does not meet the qualification standard. NOTE: When academic credit is expressed in contract months, units, or other terms that differ from conventional semester or quarter hours, it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide an interpretation of such credits from the appropriate institution in order to equate them to the semester or quarter hours specified in the standard. C. Exceptions: Employees currently occupying a GS 1102 position at certain grade (i.e., GS 13 or higher) since January 1, 2000, is considered to have met the basic requirements for other GS 1102 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, unless granted a waiver under Paragraph D. NOTE: Current federal employees not employed by the Bureau of Prison and former Bureau of Prison Employees MUST submit documentation (i.e., SF-50(s) covering the period from January 1, 2000) for verification of the above referenced exception criteria to receive consideration. Failure to provide these documents will result in non-consideration for this vacancy. D. Waiver: When filling a specific vacant position, the Senior Procurement Executive of the selecting agency (agency is defined as Department of Justice), at his or her discretion, may waive any or all of the requirements of Paragraphs A and B above if the Senior Procurement Executive certifies that the applicant possesses significant potential for advancement to levels of greater responsibility and authority, based on demonstrated analytical and decision making capabilities, job performance, and qualifying experience. NOTE: The Agency has made a determination that a waiver may be granted for education only as described in Paragraph B. Bureau of Prisons employees currently occupying a Contract Specialist position on an approved waiver MUST upload a copy of the waiver at the time you apply. Contract Specialists who do not possess a four year degree and the required 24 semester hours, may apply and be considered for a waiver of the educational requirements in order to be selected. The waiver is discretionary tool available to the Procurement Executive as such does not constitute automatic approval. If you have any questions about the waiver process, please contact the BOP Procurement Executive at (202) 307-3067. Acceptability of Higher Education: Education such as foreign education, home study and correspondence courses, academic credit for work experience, military education, continuing education units, life experience, etc., is acceptable to the extent that it is determined to be equivalent to conventional higher education programs of U.S. institutions. Such education must be accepted for college level credit by an accredited U.S. college or university. If applicable, credit will be given for paid and unpaid experience. To receive proper credit, you must show the actual time (such as the number of hours worked per week) spent in activities. **Your eligibility for consideration will be based on your responses to the questions in the application.**
Before you apply
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