Department of the Air Force

CONTRACT SPECIALIST

Westfield, Massachusetts Full time

CONTRACT SPECIALIST

Department: Department of the Air Force

Location(s): Westfield, Massachusetts

Salary Range: $100992 - $131293 Per Year

Job Summary: THIS IS A NATIONAL GUARD TITLE 32 EXCEPTED SERVICE POSITION. This National Guard position is for a CONTRACT SPECIALIST, Position Description Number PDD2623000 and is part of the MA ANG 104th FW, National Guard. This is a Non-Bargaining Unit position. The unit point of contact and contact phone for this position is: Lt Col Jeremy Dugan at jeremy.dugan.2@us.af.mil. Selected applicant MAY BE eligible for a recruitment incentive not to exceed (25%) of the annual rate of basic pay.

Major Duties:

  • Plans the overall approach to meet contracting program objectives for a variety of requirements with multiple complexities. Analyzes difficult/controversial contracting issues, determines, recommends and/or implements course of action which may depart from previous approaches for long-term contract performance or short-term contracts with extremely stringent time frames. Provides business advice and assistance to technical personnel involved in the development of the performance work statement/statement of work/statement of objectives or data requirements. Reviews a diverse variety of requisition packages for adequacy and compliance with administrative, regulatory, and procedural requirements and consistency with current market practices and conditions. Serves as a contracting authority and advisor to management, customers, and contractors in assignment area relative to the market, the industry, specifications, socioeconomic concerns, and similar matters. Performs acquisition planning, along with the program manager/customer, technical, legal, and finance personnel to develop market research, acquisition strategy, milestones, evaluation/source selection criteria, and/or incentive or award fee provisions, as applicable. Exercises experienced judgment, initiative, and resourcefulness to identify regulations and laws which do or do not apply to the particular procurement, to consider financial arrangements and incentives, and to develop justifications for adopting a contractual posture. Prepares required documents to support solicitation issuance and reviews and advises less experienced specialists in the preparation of documents. Determines appropriate method of procurement, contract type, and financing arrangements to fit special circumstances. Reviews and evaluates requisitions for which previous experience and historical data are not usually directly available or applicable such as complex services, architect and engineering services or environmental related construction. Reviews procurement requests to determine whether, based on market analysis, the requirement can be performed by and should be set aside for small businesses; actively solicits Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, Women-Owned Small Business, HUB Zone Small Business, and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business participation. Reviews and may sign justification for limiting competition procurements. Procurements usually involve a variety of complexities such as socioeconomic considerations, source selections, and special handling provisions or other specialized terms and conditions, unfavorable market conditions, complex contracts, and limited competition, difficult-to-define scopes of work, legal conditions, and rigid deadlines causing additional complications. Resolves problems which limit competition and discourage potential offering parties in order to increase small business participation. Obtains required business clearances and/or approvals as necessary. Conducts site visits/pre-proposal/pre-bid conferences. Serves as point of contact for assigned procurements. This position may be required to perform supervisory personnel functions including the assignment of duties, participates in the interviews and selection of employees, schedules and approves leave, provides training, evaluates performance, initiates action to upgrade positions, and resolves disciplinary problems. Supports and takes affirmative action with consideration of Equal Employment Opportunity in all aspects of personnel actions. (30%) 2. Oversees the procurement of a wide variety of services, supplies, construction and architect and engineering. Researches, interprets, analyzes, and applies all regulations, business and industry practices, market trends, Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Comptroller General decisions, public law, case law, and precedents. Devises special terms, provisions, clauses, and conditions applicable to the solicitation and contract as required. Ensures that the price schedule is properly structured and determines sources to be solicited. Prepares solicitation, amendment, and contract documents incorporating applicable terms, conditions, provisions and clauses. Receives and performs oversight of quotes/bids/proposals evaluations and determines the acceptability of offers based on an analysis of financial and technical information gained. Conducts price or cost analysis as needed. Recommends or determines the competitive range. Formulates negotiation strategies and identifies areas subject to negotiation (e.g., price, quantity discounts, packaging, payment discounts, transportation, and delivery). Prepares pre-negotiation positions and memoranda based on audit and/or technical recommendations. (30%) Performs other duties as assigned. The above duty description does not contain all details of the official position description. For more details, please contact the POC listed above.

Qualifications: ***This May be a Commissioning Opportunity*** AREA OF CONSIDERATION: Open to current members of the Massachusetts Air National Guard (MAANG) and those eligible to transfer to the Massachusetts Air National Guard. Tier 1 - Open to all who currently hold the rank and AFSC: O-1 thru O-4 holding the 064P3 AFSC. Tier 2 - Open to all who currently hold the rank: O-1 thru O-4 willing to retrain. Tier 3 - Open to all who currently hold the rank of E-4 thru E-8 for a commissioning and retraining opportunity. Positions will be advertised for a total of up to 30 calendar days under the following criteria: (1) At the request of the Selecting Official, if applications are received from individuals who meet the qualifications of Tier 1 within the first 10 days, the posting will close, and an interview panel will be conducted. (2) If conditions of Tier 1 are not satisfied, the posting will continue for another 10 days, and-at the request of the Selecting Official-close after that if applications meeting eligibility under either Tier 1 or Tier 2 are received, and an interview panel will be conducted. (3) If conditions of Tier 1 or Tier 2 are not satisfied, the posting will continue for the remaining 10 days, for a total of 30 days. NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERSHIP IS REQUIRED: This is an excepted service position that requires membership in a compatible military assignment in the National Guard. Selectee will be required to wear the military uniform. Acceptance of an excepted service position Constitutes concurrence with these requirements as a condition of employment. Applicants who are not currently a member of the National Guard must be eligible for immediate membership and employment in the National Guard in the military grade listed in this announcement. If you are not sure you are eligible for military membership, please contact a Massachusetts Air National Guard recruiter prior to applying for this position. GENERAL EXPERIENCE: Must have experience in positions supporting competencies in business, finance, risk management, project management, or supply chain management. Experience must include competencies such as skill in collecting and analyzing data and the ability to communicate clearly and effectively and other professional competencies in procurement administration or purchase card management. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Must have at least one year of specialized contracting experience at the GS-11 level. Specialized experience must demonstrate the following: (1) Performing acquisition planning including market research and knowledge of a wide variety of contracting methods that satisfy mission needs and meet customer requirements, (2) Advising Contracting Officer Representatives and advising customers on procurement preparation and development of contractually acceptable specifications, work statements, and quality assurance criteria, (3) Reviewing procurement requests to assure clarity, adequacy, and completeness, and (4) Reviewing contract terms and technical specifications to identify any special requirements. PART-TIME OR UNPAID EXPERIENCE: Credit will be given for appropriate unpaid and or part-time work. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of months/years. VOLUNTEER WORK EXPERIENCE: Refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service Programs (i.e., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student and social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge and skills that 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: To apply for this position, you must complete the online application/Occupational Questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. To view the Occupational Questionnaire, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12855610 A complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application. Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process. You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. 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/.

Application Deadline: 2026-04-11