Summary What General Information Do I Need to Know About This Position? Salary is dependent upon the associated duty station which will be determined upon hire. You may look up salary listed on these locality tables OPM Locality Pay Tables based on these Locality Pay Area Definitions. NOTE: First time hires to the Federal Government are typically hired at the Step 01. Responsibilities As a Contract Specialist within the Office of Acquistion and Grants, some of your specific duties will include: Establishes working relationships with customers to include providing routine guidance to customers. Performs procurement tasks including but not limited source list development and requisition package review and participating in planning up to the point of solicitation under directions of higher-grade specialist. Performs procurement tasks including but not limited to solicitation preparation and participation in pre-bid meetings under directions of higher-grade specialist. Performs analysis of responses to solicitations to include evaluating proposed pricing using basic price analysis techniques. Assists in monitoring contract performance to include preparing administrative modification documents or supporting memoranda and identifying potential problems and making recommendations for resolution. Requirements Conditions of Employment Key Requirements: Applicants must be U.S. Citizens. Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation. Selectee may be subject to serving a one-year probationary period. More requirements are listed under Qualifications and Other Information. Are There Any Special Requirements For This Position? This vacancy is limited to the first 75 applications received and will close at midnight Eastern Time on the day this application limit is reached regardless of the closing date specified in this vacancy announcement. Any application received prior to midnight Eastern Time of the day the application limit is reached will be accepted and considered. You are strongly encouraged to submit all required supporting documents at the time of application should the vacancy close earlier than stated in this announcement due to the applicant limit being reached. Supporting documents will not be accepted once the vacancy announcement closes. Because this position requires travel for official business, the selectee will be required to apply for a charge card within 30 calendar days of appointment. Individuals who have delinquent account balances from a previous Government charge card will be required to satisfy their existing obligation before a new card can be issued. A background investigation will be required for this position. Continued employment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for termination. Throughout the recruitment and hiring process we will be communicating with you via email; therefore, it is imperative that the email address you provide when applying for this vacancy remains active. Should your email address change, please notify the point of contact identified in the vacancy announcement as soon as possible so that we can update our system. If you are a Federal employee applying for a promotion (under merit promotion procedures) you must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of the announcement. Qualifications Definitions: EXPERIENCE: One year of work experience is twelve months working full-time (at least 35-40 hours per week). Part-time experience can be pro-rated (i.e., a year at 20 hours per week is credited as 6 months of experience). If your position consisted of mixed duties, experience credit is given for the percentage of time that you spent on qualifying duties (i.e., if you held a position for 2 years, full-time, consisting of 25% personnel work and 75% budget work, and then applied for a budget position you could calculate your experience as follows: 2 yrs = 24 months. 24 months x 75% [percentage of time spent on budget duties] = 18 months of qualifying experience.) UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION: A year of undergraduate education is 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours or the equivalent of college study. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent was a prerequisite. GRADUATE EDUCATION: In the absence of specific graduate program information, a year of graduate education is 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours of graduate level college course work, or the number of credit hours the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full time study. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT: Applicants must meet A or B below to satisfy the basic education requirement for GS-1102 positions for GS-5 through GS-12 OR meet the exception identified below. A. Degree: A 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with a major in any field; **OR B. 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. EXCEPTION: Employees in GS-1102 positions will be considered to have met the education requirement for positions they occupy on January 1, 2000, and will be considered to meet the basic education requirement for other GS-1102 positions up to and including those classified at GS-12. This includes positions in other agencies and promotions up through grade 12. However, all employees must meet the specialized experience requirements when seeking another position. For GS-09: In addition to the basic education requirement or "Exception" thereto stated above, applicants must meet one of the following to qualify for the GS-09 level: Two years of progressively higher-level graduate education (36 semester hours or 54 quarter hours or the equivalent) or a master's or equivalent graduate degree or LL.B. or J.D. in one or a combination of the following fields: accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, or organization and management; OR At least one year of appropriate specialized experience that provided the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience must be equivalent to at least the GS-07 level of difficulty and responsibility in the Federal service. Examples of such experience may include performing recurring or developmental assignments involving the use of formal advertising or basic negotiation procedures; analyzing contract provisions and recommending termination or modification of purchase orders and/or contracts; investigating complaints by reconstructing and reconciling incomplete information. This work experience would have involved following established methods and procedures, or detailed instructions; using some judgment in applying basic principles and procedures, and would have required a good general working knowledge of the principles and business practices of contracting, acquisition, and procurement; OR A combination of successfully completed progressive graduate level education, as described above, that is beyond the first year of graduate study and specialized experience, as described above. (CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS ON HOW TO COMBINE GRADUATE EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE) For GS-11: In addition to the basic education requirement or "Exception" thereto stated above, applicants must meet one of the following to qualify for the GS-11 level: Three years of progressively higher-level graduate education (54 semester hours or 81 quarter hours or the equivalent) or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in one or a combination of the following fields: accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, or organization and management; OR One year of appropriate specialized experience that provided the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience must be equivalent to at least the GS-09 level of difficulty and responsibility in the Federal service. Examples of such experience include serving as contract specialist responsible for all aspects of the contract from initiation to recommendation of award; administering a variety of fixed-price contracts of different types which contain terms and conditions such as progress payments, quantity options, Government-furnished property or similar provisions; administering specific phases of complex contracts such as cost contracts with incentives. This level of experience would reflect independence of action within established procedures and would demonstrate initiative and judgment in coordinating and resolving routine issues that arise; OR A combination of successfully completed graduate level education, as described above, that is beyond the second year of progressive graduate study and specialized experience, as described above. (CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS ON HOW TO COMBINE GRADUATE EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE) You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements for the position by the closing date of the announcement. Education 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. Foreign Education: Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the above requirements. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.usgs.gov/human-capital/how-foreign-education-evaluated-federal-jobs Additional Information Other Information: This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional similar vacancies in the advertised office or other U.S. Geological Survey offices in the local commuting area. Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position. Identification of promotion potential in this announcement does not constitute a commitment or an obligation on the part of management to promote the employee selected at some future date. Promotion will depend upon administrative approval and the continuing need for and performance of higher-level duties. Under Executive Order 11935, only United States citizens and nationals (residents of American Samoa and Swains Island) may compete for civil service jobs. Agencies are permitted to hire non-citizens only in very limited circumstances where there are no qualified citizens available for the position. USGS employees are subject to Title 43, USC Section 31(a) and may not: (a) have any personal, private, direct or indirect interest in lands or mineral wealth of lands under survey; (b) have any substantial personal, private, direct or indirect interests in any private mining or mineral enterprise doing business with the United States; or (c) execute surveys or examinations for private parties or corporations. The application contains information subject to the Privacy Act (P.L. 93-579, 5 USC 552a). The information is used to determine qualifications for employment, and is authorized under Title 5, USC, Section 3302 and 3361. DOI uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit www.dhs.gov/E-Verify. The Department of the Interior (DOI) places a high value on diversity of experience and cultural perspectives and encourages applications from all interested eligible candidates. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) are fundamental principles that guide the Department and allow us to successfully achieve our mission. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER. Agency Benefits: USGS has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework in accordance with the DOI Telework policy and with supervisor approval. The official worksite for the selectee is the duty station identified in this vacancy announcement. The selectee will typically report to this duty location on a regular and recurring weekly basis. For additional information on our internal telework policy, please reference the Department of the Interior Telework Handbook at: https://www.doi.gov/telework/policies. Working for the U.S. Geological Survey offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; health, life, dental, vision, and long term care insurance, flexible spending accounts, and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System.