Contract Specialist

Summary

Explore a new career with the BLM – where our people are our greatest natural resource.

This position is located with the BLM Fire & Aviation Directorate, Business Practices Branch located at the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), in Boise, Idaho. Information about the surrounding area can be found at https://www.boisechamber.org/

We expect to fill 1 position at this time; however, additional positions may be filled from this announcement if they become available.

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Duties

• Review procurement requests for completeness; ensure that proper specifications or purchase descriptions are included in solicitation documents.
• Determine appropriate contract type and method of procurement based on nature of service required.
• Prepares Invitations for Bid (IFB), Requests for Proposal (RFP) or Request for Quote (RFQ), ensuring that technical descriptions and appropriate contract clauses are included.
• Performs analysis of responses to solicitations, including price reasonableness, adequacy of competition, compliance with solicitation, and probability of meeting requirements.
• Review procurement requests for completeness.
• Serves as an acquisition business advisor on contract matters and may serve as an acquisition lead on project management teams.

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Be sure to read the How to Apply and Required Documents Sections.
• You cannot hold an active real estate license: nor can you have an interest or hold stocks in firms with interest in Federal Lands.
• Direct Deposit Required.
• Appointment will be subject to a favorably adjudicated background/suitability investigation/determination.
• Your resume must contain enough information to show that you meet the qualification requirements as defined in the announcement. In addition, your responses to the questions must adequately reflect in your resume.
• If selected for this position, you will be required to annually complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, OGE-450 within 30 days of reporting to duty.
• May require completion of a one year probationary period.

Qualifications

Basic Education Required:

Must have a 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor’s degree with a major in any field;

• or –

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.

Specialized Experience:

In order to be rated as qualified for this position, we must be able to determine that you meet the minimum qualification requirements – please be sure to include this information in your resume. No assumptions will be made about your experience.

For GS-11: In addition to meeting the basic education requirement, you must possess one (1) full year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-09 level that is equivalent in difficulty and complexity as indicated by the following examples: Experience with contract acquisition and contract administration including change orders, supplemental agreements, terminations, claims, and close outs of contracts; conducting cost/price analysis techniques and sources selection boards; processing various types of contracts, such as firm-fixed price and construction; executing contract methods such as simplified acquisitions, sealed bidding, negotiations, multiple awards, commercial items and special provisions.

• OR-

Education: Completed three (3) full academic years (54 semester hours) of progressively higher level graduate education or a Ph.D or equivalent doctoral degree in one or a combination of the following fields: accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, or organization and management or LL.B. or J.D.

• OR-

Combination of Education and Experience: You may meet qualifications requirement for this position with an equivalent combination of specialized experience and appropriate graduate education. Graduate level education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position.

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 by the closing date of the announcement.

Federal employees in the competitive service are also subject to the Time-In-Grade requirement in accordance with 5 CFR 300.604. If you are a current Federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must have completed a minimum of 52 weeks at the next lower grade level.

Subsequent promotion to the next grade level (GS-12) will be processed without further competition dependent upon administrative approval and the continuing need for an actual assignment and performance of higher-level duties.

Education

Proof of Education:

All applicants who are using education or a combination of education and experience to qualify must submit copies of official or unofficial transcripts which include grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, institution name, and student name. If any required coursework is not easily recognizable on transcripts, or if you believe a portion of a particular course can be credited toward meeting an educational requirement, you must also provide a memorandum on letterhead from the institution’s registrar, dean, or other appropriate official stating the percentage of the course that should be considered to meet the requirement and the equivalent number of units. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable; however, if you are selected for the position, you will be required to produce the original official transcripts.

Pass/Fail Courses:

If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society.

Graduate Education:

One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school’s definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

Foreign Education:

If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/

Additional information

Verify Employment Eligibility (E-Verify):

DOI uses E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit www.dhs.gov/e-verify.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP):

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP): CTAP provides eligible surplus and displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) This vacancy is within your CTAP eligibility; 2) You apply under the instructions in this announcement; and 3) You are found well qualified for this vacancy. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Information about CTAP eligibility is available from OPM’s Career Transition Resources website at CTAP.

CTAP eligibles will be considered well qualified if they receive a minimum score of 90 based on the rating criteria used for this position.

The Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA):

P.L. 114-47 allows certain current and former Federal employees under time-limited competitive appointments at land management agencies to compete under merit promotion procedures. LMWFA eligibility requirements;

• Must have been hired under competitive examining procedures to a time limited appointment with a land management agency.
• Must have served under 1 or more time limited appointments by a land management agency for a period totaling more than 24 months without a break in service of 2 or more years.
• Must have performed at an acceptable level throughout the duration of the qualifying appointments.
• Must apply for a position while employed or within 2 years after separation
• If separated, must have been separated for reasons other than misconduct or performance.

Permanent Change in Station (PCS):

Travel and relocation expenses will not be paid by the Department of the Interior. Any travel, transportation and relocation expenses associated with reporting for duty in this position will be the responsibility of the selected employee.

Telework:

The official worksite for the selectee is the duty station identified in this vacancy announcement. The selectee will typically report to this duty location on a regular and recurring weekly basis. The selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

Incentives:

Certain incentives (such as Recruitment, Relocation or Student Loan Repayment) may be authorized to eligible selectees. If eligible and qualified, you may be offered a recruitment or relocation incentive. The decision to offer an incentive will be made on a case-by-case basis and is neither promised nor guaranteed. For information visit: Recruitment Incentive or Relocation Incentive or Student Loan Repayment.

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• Benefits
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• A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
• Review our benefits
• Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

You will be evaluated based on how your application materials reflect the qualification requirements of this position.

Once the application process is complete, we will review your application to ensure you meet eligibility and minimum qualifications. To determine if you are minimally qualified for this job, HR will complete a review of your resume, supporting documentation and responses to the online questionnaire (self-rated). Your responses to the online questionnaire will be used to measure the degree to which your background matches the requirements for this position. However, your resume must support your responses to the scored, or your score may be lowered.

Your responses to the online questionnaire will be used to evaluate your competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics) in the following area(s):

• Contracting/Procurement: Knowledge of various types of contracts, techniques for contracting or procurement, and contract negotiation and administration.
• Decision Making: Makes sound, well-informed, and objective decisions; perceives the impact and implications of decisions; commits to action, even in uncertain situations, to accomplish goals; causes change.

The critical competencies listed above are required to successfully perform the job. Therefore, an additional assessment will be conducted to ensure they are met; a resume review panel of subject matter experts will review your application package and determine if you are best qualified or not. The best qualified candidates will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be contacted for an interview.

Your resume will be used to validate your responses to the assessment tool(s).

You are welcome to submit an optional cover letter.

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How to Apply

THIS IS AN ONLINE APPLICATION PROCESS THROUGH USAJOBS. Your application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM Eastern Time by 12/20/2024.

If you need assistance in applying on-line, please contact the NIFC-FA Branch of Human Resource office at blm_fa_nifc_vacancies@blm.gov or (208) 387-5523. If applying on-line poses a hardship for you (i.e., you do not have access to the Internet) you must contact us prior to the closing date of the announcement for an alternative method of applying. PLEASE NOTE: If you have access to a public library, State Job Service Office, etc., you should use these resources to apply online.

You must follow the steps described below in order to complete the application process successfully:

1) YOU MUST HAVE OR CREATE A PROFILE IN USAJOBs; your profile must contain a current resume for submission. In order to receive proper consideration, your resume should include the following information:

• Current personal contact information.
• Work experience (paid or unpaid) including – starting and ending dates (month and year, MM/YYYY – MM/YYYY), employer’s name and address, job title (include job series and grade if Federal), duties and accomplishments, supervisor’s name and telephone number, indicate if supervisor may be contacted, hours per week, and salary.
• Education and job-related training including – school name, type and year of degrees/diploma received, credits earned and majors; title of training course and year of completion.
• References – personal and professional- Additional information – skills (languages, tools, machinery, typing speed, etc.), certificates or licenses (current only), and/or honors, awards, and special accomplishments (recognition, professional memberships, publications, leadership activities, etc.).

INSUFFICIENT INFORMATION COULD RESULT IN AN INELIGIBLE RATING. The USAJOBS Resume Builder was designed to ensure that your resume includes the standard information needed. The Resume Builder is an available tool when you login to your USAJOBS account.

2) Review the Appointment Eligibility Criteria; the eligibility section of the application process is designed to allow you to choose how you wish to be considered for this vacancy announcement. You will ONLY be considered for the appointment eligibilities that you selected. You must provide proof of your eligibility to be considered.

You must submit a resume and also complete the online application and assessment questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section.

• 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.
• The eligibility portion of the application process is designed to allow you to choose how you wish to be considered for this announcement. You may choose more than one eligibility. You must provide proof of your eligibility and will only be considered for the questions that you answer “yes”.
• Please note, your eligibility will be based solely on the selections you have indicated in this section. You must provide the supporting documentation to support your claim to be considered. You may choose more than one eligibility in this section.

To view the assessment questionnaire, click here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12639664.

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/.

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Agency contact information

FA-HR-Internal NIFC FA-HR-Internal NIFC

Phone

208-387-5523

Email

blm_fa_nifc_vacancies@blm.gov

Address

NIFC, Fire and Aviation

Human Resources (MS-1700)

3833 South Development Avenue

Boise, ID 83705

US

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Next steps

FOLLOW UP. Check your application status before the announcement closes. It is your responsibility to ensure that a complete application (including a resume, on-line questionnaire, and applicable supplemental documentation) is received by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on 12/20/2024 of the vacancy announcement.

• NOTE: Technical problems may take at least 1 business day to resolve; therefore, you are highly encouraged to complete the application process prior to the closing date.

Once you submit all the required documents and the online application (i.e. online questionnaire, resume, and any supporting documentation, etc.) in USAJOBs, you will receive an acknowledgement email that your submission was successful. After the evaluation process is completed by the Branch of Human Resources, you will be notified via USAJOBs of a status change (i.e. referred, not eligible, not qualified, referred to the hiring official, etc.). Note, you must login to your USAJOBs profile to view details of the status change.

If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted by the hiring official.

You will be notified if this job is filled or canceled. Timelines for this process vary widely.

Applicants who apply under this job opportunity announcement agree to have their application, associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other Bureaus/Offices within the Department of the Interior (DOI) who have vacancies within the same occupational series, grade, full performance level and in the same geographic location(s), including within the same metro/commuting area. Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which you wish to receive consideration.

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