• Job Description

  Req#: 781152100
  Organizational Location: Positions are with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Acquisition, and will be located in one of the following locations:
  • San Diego, CA
  • Erlanger, KY
  • Del Rio, TX
  • Spokane, WA
  • Imperial, CA (El Centro)
  • El Paso, TX
  • Euless, TX
  • Tucson, AZ
  • Washington, DC
  • Indianapolis, IN
  • Edinburg, TX
  • Laredo, TX
  • Laguna Niguel, CA
  
  
  Duties
  
  
  Joining Customs & Border Protection (CBP), Office of Acquisition, will allow you to utilize your expertise in procurement to serve as a contract specialist with responsibility for contract solicitation, selection, and post award administration for CBP contracting missions. Positions start at a salary of $86,962.00 (GS-14, Step 1) to $158,860.00 (GS-14, Step 10). Apply for this exciting opportunity to strengthen the Department's ability to perform homeland security functions.
  
  In this Contract Specialist position you will become a key team member of Homeland Security professionals involved in negotiating and administering contracts to procure a program or system; developing and implementing contracting policy and regulations; developing new approaches or innovative acquisition plans, source selection plans; negotiate strategies and contract terms, conditions or financial arrangements; and making authoritative recommendations that serve as the basis for committing the agency to courses of action on projects which are of multiyear duration.
  
  Typical Work assignments include:
  
  
  Requirements
  
  
  
  
  Qualifications
  
  
  You qualify for this position if you possess one year of specialized experience, as described below and meet the basic requirement listed in the Education Section.
  
  Specialized Experience: You qualify for the GS-12 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:
  • Performing Pre-Award functions using a variety of contract types which include providing acquisition guidance to customers, reviewing solicitation documents, coordinating with vendors, developing procurement plans and providing analysis as needed.
  • Performing post-award functions such as monitoring contractor performance and completion schedules, making periodic visits to contractor's facility or work site; monitoring contractor's use of Government furnished property, issuing change orders, making recommendations concerning problems, exercising contract options, reviewing, and evaluating contract clauses, and processing contractor claims.
  • Assisting with planning and coordinating the negotiation strategy to develop contract prices and terms and actively participating in negotiation procedures.
  • Providing acquisition support, guidance, and advice on contracting matters to internal and external business partners.
  • Drafting replies to other agencies, appeal boards, or Congressional inquiries for management review and approval.
  
  Specialized Experience: You qualify for the GS-13 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:
  • Performing pre-award services on complex purchases which include providing acquisition guidance to customers and officials on contracting matters; providing formal advertising, utilizing a wide range of complex contracting methods and types (e.g. price redetermination provisions, cost reimbursements, contracts with incentive provisions, special pricing of Government furnished property, inspecting and testing requirements, ownership patents and payment of royalties, and/or presence of unfavorable market conditions in supplies, systems, services, equipment, and/or construction), and assist Lead Contracting Officer on project management teams.
  • Performing post-award functions that involves providing consultation for post-award contract administration, negotiating contract modifications and the terms and costs of contract changes, negotiating settlement with contractor, reviewing termination notices, analyzing contract and related documentation, issuing, monitoring, or revoking delegations of authority to settle subcontractor claims, and conducting post-award conferences.
  • Preparing acquisition plans independently, which include (but not limited to) detailing the acquisition objectives to be used and providing guidance for the preparation of Statements of Work (SOW), preparing determination documents (e.g. price with redetermination provisions, cost reimbursements, or contracts with incentive provisions) and findings/solicitation documents, exploring new or innovative contracting approaches, conducting pre-proposal conferences, planning and coordinating negotiation strategy to develop contract price and terms, and independently executing award of contract .
  • Performing complex contractual work through the use of in-depth negotiation techniques and performing a full-range of contract negotiation tasks such as developing pre-negotiation memorandums with negotiation objectives, handling all aspects of the exchanges with offerors after receipt of proposals, establishing competitive ranges and conducting financial analysis, coordinating a team consisting of technical and special advisors to obtain thorough and mutual understanding of scope of effort, and negotiating terms and conditions of source selection decisions.
  • Serving as a contracting advisor or subject matter expert to program officials and to program management office and serving on project review committees.
  Specialized Experience: You qualify for the GS-14 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:
  • Performing a full-range of pre-award functions that involve a variety of contracts that frequently require special handling or specialized terms and conditions, which include authority for all contractual actions or phases of procurement (e.g. acquisition planning, developing, and establishing contractual strategies, requirements definition, advanced acquisition planning and development, contract negotiation, cost and price analysis, and exploring news or innovative contracting approaches).
  • Performing post-award functions such as (but not limited to)preparing rate and cost adjustments, redirection of effort, coordination of time extensions, incorporation of change orders, issuance of stop work orders, issuance of cure notices, approval of progress payments, final payment and contract closeout, developing unique alternate dispute resolution techniques, and resolving complex contractual issues/claims/termination settlements.
  • Serving as lead negotiator, planning negotiation strategy, coordinating strategy with negotiating team and leading negotiations and independently awarding contracts.
  • Utilizing advanced price/cost analysis techniques, such as learning curve analysis and cost estimating relationships sufficient to evaluate contractor proposals and prepare a pre-negotiation position.
  • Serving as an advisor to program officials and leadership in procurement planning meeting, advising leadership on procurement objectives, performing detailed analysis of all elements of cost in contractor proposals, conducting pre-proposal conferences and providing guidance and advice to subordinates.
  NOTE: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible. Please see the "Required Documents" section below for additional resume requirements.
  
  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.
  
  You must meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process by 03/26/2024.
  
  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.

• About the company

  The United States Department of Homeland Security is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terrorism, border security, immigration and customs, cyber security, and disaster prevention and management.

Notice