Senior Contract Specialist (Construction)

This position is located in the Architect of the Capitol (AOC), Office of the Chief Security Officer (OCSO), Administrative Services Division. The Senior Contracting official awards highly technical structural and mechanical systems in support of security projects of large occupied office buildings on Capitol Hill, with unlimited range based on approved funding for projects. You must meet the United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements (including specialized experience and/or educational requirements) for the advertised position. You must meet all eligibility and qualifications requirements by the closing date of the job announcement. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on the OPM web site at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications. In addition to meeting the basic education requirement for the Contracting series, your resume must clearly demonstrate the required specialized experience as described below. Specialized Experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position and is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, an applicant's one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for successful job performance. To qualify at the GS-14 level, your resume must clearly demonstrate that you have one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience comparable in difficulty and responsibility to at least the GS-13 level in the federal service. Examples of qualifying experience include the following types of tasks performed on a regular and recurring basis: Performing acquisition and contracts full life cycle processes to include pre-award, post-award functions, cost and/or price analysis; Preparing solicitation documents, analyzing proposals, negotiating with potential contractors; Administering contracts to include contract scope determinations, modifications, supplemental agreements, justifications and contract terminations; and Interpreting and applying relevant laws, regulations, policies, standards, or procedures to specific contracting issues. The position requires mastery of contracting principles, laws, regulations and procedures applicable to pre-award and post-award actions sufficient to award and administer Architect/Engineer (A/E), Design-Build, Design-Bid-Build, Construction Manager at Risk (CMc), Construction Manager as Agent (CMa) and Utility Energy Savings Contracts (UESC) for construction. Pre-Award Duties Serves as contracting officer with a limited signatory authority to enter into contracts for acquisition of significant systems or programs characterized by: (1) large funding levels and a commitment period extending over a long period of time (approximately five to fifteen years); (2) the magnitude and terms of the contract substantially impact on the economic wellbeing of the AOC; (3) the agency head monitors progress due to criticality and visibility of the program; and (4) the final product is a highly complex security construction project. Analyzes and prepares recommendations and determines requirements, ensures validation of independent government cost estimates, and formulates contracting strategies and objectives to be pursued, taking-into account overall AOC considerations such as socio-economic programs, competition maximization, pricing arrangements, subcontracting and similar considerations requiring the use of innovative and unique acquisition techniques. Plans, develops, and establishes the contractual strategy for the overall acquisition program. Post Award Duties Guides the full range of contract administration actions required for the acquisition program, including the issuance of contract modifications, negotiation of changes, exercise of options, investigation and resolution of delays, contractor performances appraisal, subcontractor surveillance, disposition of claims, commissioning, acceptance, close-out and similar matters. Steakholder Liaison Responsible for preparing briefings for the OCSO to present to Members of Congress and their staff, oversight committees and contractors on the status of contracts and progress in achieving mission critical goals. Performs other related duties as assigned. Conditions of Employment “To be employed by the Architect of the Capitol in a paid position, an individual must meet one of the categories below: A citizen of the United States; A person who is lawfully admitted for permanent residence and is seeking citizenship as outlined in 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)(B); A person who is admitted as a refugee under 8 U.S.C. 1157 or is granted asylum under 8 U.S.C. 1158 and has filed a declaration of intention to become a lawful permanent resident and then a citizen when eligible; A person who owes allegiance to the United States (nationals of American Samoa, Swains Island, and the Northern Mariana Islands, and nationals who meet other requirements described in 8 U.S.C. 1408); or A person who is currently an officer or employee of the Government of the United States.” Education In addition to meeting the specialized experience requirements for this position, applicants must possess the following: REQUIRED EDUCATION A. 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 B. 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. C. 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. 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. NOTE: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. However, to be creditable, foreign education must have been evaluated by an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. You must provide a copy of your college transcript and the letter containing results of the course by course work and degree equivalency evaluation. Transcripts are required upon selection.