Contract Specialist

Contract Specialist

Department: Department of Homeland Security

Location(s): Washington, District of Columbia

Salary Range: $142488 - $185234 Per Year

Job Summary: This vacancy is for a GS-1102-14, Contract Specialist located in the United States Coast Guard's Deputy Commandant for Systems (DCS), in Washington, D.C.

Major Duties:

• You will serve as a senior contracting specialist/contracting officer with complete responsibilities to plan and execute all contractual actions and phases as assigned. Being a Coast Guard civilian makes you a valuable member of the Coast Guard team. Typical work assignments include: Serve as lead Contracting Officer/Senior Contract Specialist for cradle-to-grave contracting and procurement activities, analyzing team members' workload, assigning/reassigning procurement actions based on priorities, skill levels, and individual abilities, articulating and communicating to team members the assignment, project, problem to be solved, actionable events, milestone expectations, and/or program issues under review, and deadlines/timeframes for completion. Serve as a coach and mentor, providing developmental guidance to HQ COCO staff as needed, engaging in activities that influence a mindset of continual learning and personal/professional development. Build collaborative cross-boundary and cross-functional partnerships with a focus on fostering a culture of collaboration, knowledge sharing, and innovation. Serve as a senior business advisor, consultant, and liaison to top management officials, policy makers, and non-governmental organizations and instructions on challenging, new developments in contracting/procurement initiatives. Communicate and articulate timely and effectively, at the appropriate levels, issues, concerns, and potential impacts of high visibility actions requiring senior leadership knowledge, engagement, and/or insight. Manage acquisitions involving diverse areas including complex acquisitions, state-of-the-art systems and subsystems, engineering and technical support service. Act as the chairperson or as a participant on formal Source Solution Evaluation Board (SSSEB) for competitively negotiated procurements subject to relevant Federal Action Regulations Parts. Possess active knowledge, understanding, and proactive learning of the Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul (RFO) and the associated supplemental regulation, policy, procedures, and guidance. Conduct in-depth compliance and evaluation of complex, unusual, or unprecedented contract activities with awareness and consideration of political implications. Maintaining complete authority for all contractual actions and phases; using automated systems to research sources; collecting data on contractors' past performance and documenting contractors' performance on current contracts; and preparing solicitation instructions and directing the efforts of technical, cost, and business management evaluation teams. Perform proactive and collaborative procurement planning through program and stakeholder partnerships. Develop, execute, and oversee procurement objectives; coordinate contractual actions involving multiple complex, multi-million to billion dollar contracts and relevant schedules. Perform Contracting Officer and contract administration activities for significant, highly specialized procurements; administering the contract for a complete state-of-the-art system; and directing the full range of contract administration actions required of the system acquisition, including the issuance of contract modification, exercise of options, investigation and resolution of contractor related issues, concerns, and delays. Maintain the knowledge, skills, abilities and qualifications to obtain and retain Contracting Officer authority at the unlimited warrant level. 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 in Contracting Professional (FAC-C) or DAWIA Level III equivalent is required for this position.

Qualifications: Basic Requirements: This position has a positive Education Requirement in addition to at least one year of Specialized Experience or substitution of education for experience or combination (if applicable) in order to be found minimally qualified. Transcripts must be submitted with your application package. You MUST meet the following requirements: EDUCATION: Basic Requirements for GS-13 and Above Completion of all mandatory training prescribed by the head of the agency for progression to GS-13 or higher-level contracting positions, including at least 4-years' 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 level of the position, and must have provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the work of the position. and A 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree, 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. Exceptions: Employees in GS-1102 positions will be considered to have met the standard for positions they occupy on January 1, 2000. This also applies to 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. Waiver: When filling a specific vacant position, the senior procurement executive of the selecting agency, 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. With respect to each waiver granted under this Paragraph D, the senior procurement executive must document for the record the basis of the waiver. If an individual is placed in a position in an agency on the basis of a waiver, the agency may later reassign that individual to another position at the same grade within that agency without additional waiver action. AND To qualify at the GS-14 grade level, applicants must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-13 grade level in the federal or private 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. NOTE: All experience statements (i.e., duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire) copied from this announcement and pasted into your resume will not be considered as a demonstration of your qualifications for this position. Specialized experience may include the following: Knowledge of contracting methods, types and principles, laws, statutes, Executive Orders, regulations and procedures applicable to pre-award and post-award actions. Knowledge of negotiations techniques to serve as the lead negotiator in developing pre-negotiations strategies, negotiation the acquisition of applicable service and system and directing or performing post-award negotiation involving contract changes or modifications. Experience in cost and price analysis techniques such as learning curve analysis and cost estimating relationships and cost accounting methods techniques. Knowledge in contracts to support the United States Coast Guard in major acquisitions supporting but not limited to surface assets (e.g. cutters, boats, etc.), sustainment & maintenance of the assets, and decommissioning/dispositioning of assets, aviation, and/or foreign military sales Mandatory Specialized experience must include: Non-supervisory GS-14 Contract Specialists are required to sit for a warrant board for an unlimited warrant authority. NOTE: Education cannot be substituted for experience at this grade level. 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.

How to Apply: Only resumes up to a total of two pages will be accepted. Applicants with resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration. To begin your online application, click "Apply Online" to create a USAJOBS account and follow the prompts or log in to your existing account. Your application packet must include a resume and any applicable and or required supporting documentation. Please see the "Required Documents" section below for additional information. We encourage you to apply online. Applications and supporting documentation will not be accepted by mail or email. The address below is for inquiries only. You may apply more than once, but the most recent application is the only one that will be used. You must submit your resume, any applicable assessments, and any supporting documents by 11:59 PM eastern standard time on 01/08/2026. It is your responsibility to verify that any information entered or uploaded is received and is accurate. Human Resources will not modify or change any part of your application. Determining your eligibility and qualifications is dependent on the supporting documentation and information provided, which may impact your referral for further consideration. If a document is not legible, you will not be able to view it in your application. If claiming eligibility under the VOW Act: The VOW Act requires Federal agencies to treat active duty service member as veterans, disabled veterans, and preference eligibles, when they submit, at the time they apply for a Federal job, a "certification" of active service in lieu of a DD214. In order to be considered under the VOW Act, the certification must specify that the service member is expected to be discharged or released from active duty under honorable conditions not later than 120 days after the date the certification is submitted with your application package for this job announcement. The certification must be on letterhead from the appropriate military branch and include the following information: military dates of service and expected discharge or release date, character of service, military rank, type of discharge, and date when terminal leave will begin. Certifications must be signed by, or by direction of military members' military personnel offices, unit commanders or higher headquarters. Agencies are required to verify a qualifying separation from military service prior to appointment, through the DD214 or other appropriate documentation. Your preference and/or appointment eligibility will be verified prior to appointment. To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/. If you are unable to apply online, you must request an alternative application which is available from the Human Resources Office. Please contact Aden Williams at aden.p.williams@uscg.mil to obtain an alternative application.

Application Deadline: 2026-01-08