Summary This position is located in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), United States Coast Guard (USCG), OFF OF PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACTING (LOG-9) REGIONAL CONTRACTING BRANCH NORTHEAST (LOG-95) located in Norfolk, Virginia. Responsibilities You will serve as a Contract Specialist-Team Lead you will be assigned to one of the branches within LOG-9 under the direction of a Supervisory Contracting Officer. The position is responsible for procurements to support LOG-9 and the Areas of Responsibility (AOR) for the acquisition of supplies, services, minor construction, or emergency response to procure commodities and service requirement Being a Coast Guard civilian makes you a valuable member of the Coast Guard team. Typical work assignments include: Communicates the assignment, project, problem to solve, actionable events, milestones, or contract issues under review, deadlines and time frames for completion to the team. Serves as a technical consultant to the Contracting Officer and the Supervisory Contract Specialist (Senior Field Contracting Officer (SFCO)), on complex acquisition questions. Monitors and evaluates all other phases of preplanning and the negotiation, administration of assigned contracts. Monitors and reports on the status and progress of work, checking work in progress and reviewing completed work to verify the supervisor's instructions on work priorities, methods, deadlines and quality are met. Trains or arranges for the training of team members in methods and techniques of team building and working in teams to accomplish tasks or projects. Mandatory training is required which must be successfully completed and other training may occur as necessary for success in the position. A Federal Acquisition Certification for Contract Professional or management determined equivalent within 36-months of entry into the position. Requirements Conditions of Employment All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement. Key Requirements: U.S. Citizenship is required. You MUST submit transcripts to receive consideration upon selection. Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service. A one-year probationary period may be required. The position requires a valid state driver's license. This is not a Bargaining Unit position. Selectee must possess requirements for FAC-C Professional certificate. Qualifications You must meet all three requirements listed below, unless you are covered by an exception: 1) Completion of a 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with a major in any field, 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. Official Transcripts must be submitted at time of selection. NOTE: The Defense Acquisition University (DAU) does not grant Academic degrees; therefore, courses completed at the DAU are not creditable towards meeting the 24-semester hour requirement, in the fields identified above, unless the coursework has been evaluated by an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and appears on a college or university transcript. AND 2) Completion of at least 4-years of experience in a contracting or related position, 1 year of which was directly related experience equivalent to the GS-12 level in the Federal service. Directly related experience must have involved performing cost and price analyses in connection with the request for approval of awards, leases, claims, price adjustments, termination, price determination, escalation, change orders, etc.; evaluating prospective contractor's financial capability as part of pre- and post-award surveys and responsibility determination when appropriate; serving as Business Advisor to program officials in providing guidance/advice in all facets of the procurement process to include the development of the statement of work, requirements for competition, market research and request for information, past performance, preparation of evaluation criteria and safeguarding the interest of the United States in its contractual relationships, utilizing negotiation techniques to ensure contractors receive impartial, fair, and equitable treatment, and the preparation of documentation in these areas. EXCEPTIONS TO QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: Applicants who have been in a GS-1102 position, at or above the GS-13 level, since January 1, 2000, without a break in service only need to meet the 1-year of directly related experience in order to qualify. The educational, training and additional years of contracting experience requirements do not apply to these individuals. AND 3). SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: To qualify at the GS-13 grade level, applicants must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level in the federal sector. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular ability, skill, and knowledge to successfully perform the duties of this position and is typically in or related to this line of work. Specialized experience must include all of the following: Analyzing procurement requests to determine requirements, appropriate method of contracting (e.g., sealed bid, competitive negotiation, negotiated procurement), contract type, and procurement plan. Recommending funding arrangements, technical and performance criteria etc. Coordinating the procurement plan with the requestor(s)/technical representative. Developing procurement/contractual documents inclusive of determining complex and unique terms and conditions; conducting pre-proposal conferences; planning negotiation strategies and leading negotiations. Analyzing bids/proposals, cost/pricing data lacking in historical comparative data, and contractor responsibility; awarding contracts. Carrying out a variety of complex contract administration functions (i.e., administering and advising on unique terms/conditions of contracts such as incremental funding, government furnished property, and industrial security). AND 4) FAC Professional certificate is required at time of appointment. Applicants will need to submit the FAC-C (Professional) or DoD Contracting Professional certifications or the hiring organization will need to request a waiver for that applicant. Certification requirements may be viewed at click here. NOTE: The agency may obtain a waiver for any individual not meeting the certification requirements. The Coast Guard Head of the Contracting Activity must obtain the waiver from the DHS Chief Procurement Officer prior to the extension of an employment offer. National Service Experience (i.e., volunteer experience): 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. The Office of Personnel management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule, C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office. Education This position does have a positive education requirement. If you are including education on your resume, report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. See Required Documents section for detail. College Transcript: If you are qualifying based on education, submit a copy of your college transcript that lists college courses detailing each course by the number and department (i.e., bio 101, math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours and grade earned. You must submit evidence that any education completed in a foreign institution is equivalent to U.S. education standards with your resume. You may submit an unofficial copy of the transcript at time of selection application process. If course content cannot be easily identified from the title of the course as listed on your transcript, you must submit an official course description from the college/university that reflects the content at the time the course was taken. Please ensure that all documentation is legible. Official Transcripts will be required at time of Appointment- FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet Federal qualification requirements if you can show that your foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence with your application. See Recognition of Foreign Qualifications click here Only experience and education obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered. Additional Information E-Verify DHS uses E-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities. Fair Chance Act The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Homeland Security and its Components from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to gwendolyn.d.barnett@uscg.mil. Suitability Statement If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment. Shared Certificates Statement Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions. Special Employment Consideration The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR 213.3102(u), and or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps, VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement. Recruitment incentives may be authorized. All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit. If you need a reasonable accommodation for the application and hiring process, please contact 1(888)992-7387. Decisions on granting reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Visit Reasonable Accommodation Below is the link to the list of CRSP's, which are assigned by area: https://www.uscg.mil/Resources/Civil-Rights/Service-Providers/