CONTRACT SPECIALIST

THIS IS A NATIONAL GUARD TITLE 5 EXCEPTED SERVICE POSITION. This National Guard position is for a CONTRACT SPECIALIST, Position Description Number PDT0047000 and is part of the MA ANG 102nd IW, National Guard. This is a Non Bargaining Unit position. The unit point of contact and contact phone for this position is: Colonel Nicole Ivers 508-968-4032.

Qualifications:

AREA OF CONSIDERATION: All On-Board Federal Employees/Technicians within Massachusetts National Guard (T5 and/or T32 Excepted Service)

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 one year of 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.

Prior to applying, applicants Must have Level 1, DAWIA Foundational Certification (or equivalent, see Certifications Issued by Federal (non-DoD) Organizations below).

Certifications Issued by Federal (non-DoD) Organizations - On 16 October 2023, The Principal Director, Defense Pricing and Contracting and the Office of Federal Procurement Policy signed a Memorandum of Understanding to recognize parity and reciprocity between the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) and the Federal Acquisition Institute's Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) (Professional). Personnel with FAC-C should provide a copy of their certification when applying for positions.

Crediting Experience - Acquisition experience is tracked in terms of months, with one month equaling at least 20 workdays. ARNG Man-Day (M-Day) and ANG Drill Status Guardsmen (DSGs) will not receive a full month of credit for a weekend drill. In general, Soldiers and Airmen will receive credit towards the experience requirement for certification for each duty day that they are performing acquisition functions in an acquisition coded position. During drill weekends, Army National Guard and Air National Guard military personnel will receive one day credit for each day of drill. Applicant's Certificate(s) of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD-214) or military orders may be used to receive credit for full time contracting experience if in an acquisition coded position. For ARNG applicants, the HRO may use the Acquisition Career Record Brief (ACRB) to ascertain certification level. For ANG applicants, the HRO may use the Acquisition Professional Development Program (APDP) record to ascertain certification level.

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.

Responsibilities:

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.

Performs other duties as assigned. Full position duties not listed. For more information, please reach out to the unit point of contact listed above.