Department: Department of Defense
Location(s): Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Salary Range: $81474 - $126955 Per Year
Job Summary: See below for important information regarding this job.
Major Duties:
Qualifications: To qualify for a Contract Specialist, your resume and supporting documentation must support: A. Basic Contracting Requirement: A.) A bachelor's degree from an accredited educational institution authorized to grant baccalaureate degrees OR B.) a current civilian employee in DoD or member of the Armed Forces, who occupied an 1102 position, contracting officer position, or comparable military contracting position with authority to award or administer contracts above the simplified acquisition threshold on or before September 30, 2000, are excluded from the requirements of "A)" above. AND B. Contracting Officer Requirement: Must possess at least two years of experience in a contracting position. AND C. Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience that equipped you with the particular competencies to successfully perform the duties of the position and is directly in or related to this position. In addition to meeting the Basic Contracting and Contracting Officer Requirements above, to qualify for the GS-11 grade level, specialized experience must be at the GS-09 grade level or equivalent under other pay systems in the Federal service, military, or private sector. To qualify for the GS-12 grade level, specialized experience must be at the GS-11 grade level or equivalent under other pay systems in the Federal service, military, or private sector. Applicants must meet eligibility requirements including time-in-grade (General Schedule (GS) positions only), time-after-competitive appointment, minimum qualifications, and any other regulatory requirements by the cut-off/closing date of the announcement. Creditable specialized experience includes: GS-11: With assistance, applies and adapts contracting principles, laws, statutes, regulations, and procedures applicable to procurement/contracting actions Soliciting offers to procure a variety of standard requirements for supplies or services Negotiating to procure services, equipment, and/or construction projects Assists in performing acquisition planning GS-12: Applies and adapts contracting principles, laws, statutes, regulations, and procedures applicable to procurement/contracting actions Soliciting offers to procure a variety of requirements ranging from standard to specialized supplies or services Performing acquisition planning Negotiating to procure extensive services, complex equipment, and/or construction projects Serving as the central point of contact for procurement actions OR D. Education Substitution: Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. Education must be from a college or university accredited by an organization approved by the U.S. Department of Education. See http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/Search.aspx. If using education to meet basic qualifications, YOU MUST SUBMIT A TRANSCRIPT as supplemental documentation. To qualify based on education in lieu of specialized experience, you must possess: GS-11: 3 full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, if related. GS-12: There is no education substitution at this grade level. 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.
How to Apply: Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. NOTE: Resumes up to a total of two pages will be accepted. Your resume must not exceed two (2) pages. If your resume exceeds the two-page limit, you will be removed from consideration for this announcement. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on 02/02/2026. After submitting your application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take any online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system. This message will be delivered to you both on screen and via email. The email may be routed to your "Spam" or "Junk" folder. If you do not receive the email invitation to the assessment and you meet the minimum qualifications for the position, you should contact https://apply.usastaffing.gov/HelpTicket to request the email be re-sent. Requests to re-send invitations to the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments must be received by https://apply.usastaffing.gov/HelpTicket BEFORE the close of the JOA. If you are asked to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be presented with a unique URL to access the USA Hire system. Access to USA Hire is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Be sure to review all instructions prior to beginning your USA Hire Assessments. Click here for Computer System Requirements. NOTE: Set aside at least 3 hours to take these assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue at a later time, you can re-use the URL sent to you via email and also found in your USAJOBS account under the "Track my application" link for the corresponding application. You may update your application documents and some questions related to your personal information at any time during the announcement open period. However, you will not be able to make changes to questions related to assessing the minimum qualifications and competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics) mentioned in the "How You Will Be Evaluated" section above. To make an allowed update to your application, return to your USAJOBS account (https://www.usajobs.gov). There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To verify the status of your application during and after the announcement open period, log into USAJOBS at https://www.usajobs.gov. On the Home page, scroll down and locate your job application. Once the job has been located, click the "Track this application" link on the right under the application date. The page will refresh to display the Agency's Application Information page where you can review any notifications the agency has sent you. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://appsupport.usastaffing.gov/hc/en-us/articles/29113644431764-Requesting-an-accommodation. To preview the questionnaire, please go to https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12846955.
Application Deadline: 2026-02-02