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CONTRACT SPECIALIST

Joint Activities

Fort Meade, MDFull-time$102–140K/yrPosted 6 days ago

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At a glance

Compensation
$102–140K/yr
Location
Fort Meade, MD
Schedule
Full-time
Work Authorization
US work authorization required

Olive lists jobs from US employers, including remote roles you can work from the United States.

Requirements

Credentials this posting asks for.

DAWIA Contracting CertificationTop Secret clearance

Job overview

This Contract Specialist position is with U.S. Cyber Command at Fort Meade, Maryland, in the Department of Defense Cyber Excepted Service. The specialist plans and executes contracting activities, advises technical and program personnel, negotiates contract modifications, and manages post-award performance. Applicants must meet the stated education and experience pathways, and the employee must hold or be able to achieve the applicable DAWIA contracting certification.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Contract AdministrationContract Issue AnalysisProcurementContract NegotiationContract Performance ManagementContractor Performance EvaluationContracting Advice

Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree or ExemptionOne Year Specialized ExperienceDAWIA Contracting CertificationU.S. CitizenshipTop Secret Security Clearance

Benefits

Relocation Assistance

Full job description

Summary

About the Position: This position is a DOD Cyber Excepted Service (CES) personnel system position in the Excepted Service under 10 USC 1599f. Employees occupying CES positions are in the Excepted Service and must adhere to U.S. Code, Title 10, as well as Department of Defense Instruction 1400.25. This position is located at the U.S. Cyber Command in Fort Meade, Maryland.

Duties

  • Plan the overall approach to meet contracting program objectives for a variety of requirements with multiple complexities.
  • Analyze difficult contracting issues; determine, recommend and/or implement course of action which may depart from previous approaches to include contracts with extremely stringent time frames.
  • Provide contracting advice and assistance to technical personnel involved in the development of the performance work statement/statement of work or data requirements.
  • Formulate the negotiation strategy. Negotiate and prepare contract modifications. Prepare pre-negotiation positions and memoranda based on audit and/or technical recommendations.
  • Execute post-award contract performance management actions on assigned contracts.
  • Evaluate contractor performance for compliance with terms and conditions of contracts and ensures timely submission of technical progress reports and performance metrics.
  • Provide business advice, guidance, training, and assistance to team members, technical or program personnel, functional commanders, and/or contractors on contractual language, legal responsibilities, acquisition and business-related issues.

Qualifications

CYBER EXCEPTED SERVICE POSITIONS ARE NOT SUBJECT TO THE TWO-PAGE RESUME LIMIT. YOUR FULL RESUME WILL NEED TO BE UPLOADED TO YOUR USAJOBS PROFILE USING THE DOCUMENT TYPE "OTHER DOCUMENTS". Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected. See Proof of Eligibility for an extensive list of document requirements for all employment authorities. Army CES positions apply Veteran's Preference to preference eligible candidates, as defined by Section 2108 of Title 5 U.S.C., in accordance with the procedures provided in DoD Instruction 1400.25, Volume 3005, "CES Employment and Placement". If you are a veteran claiming veterans' preference, as defined by Section 2108 of Title 5 U.S.C., you must submit documents verifying your eligibility with your application package. In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document. Basic Requirement: Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) from an accredited educational institution authorized to grant baccalaureate degrees. (Must attach transcripts) -OR- Exemption: You are exempt from the education requirements above if (A) you are a current civilian employee in DoD who occupied GS-1102 positions or contracting positions with authority to award or administer contracts above the simplified acquisition threshold in an Executive Department on or before September 30, 2000; OR (B) you are a current military member who occupied a similar occupational specialty to the GS (or equivalent)-1102 on or before September 30, 2000. To qualify based on your experience, your resume must describe one year of specialized experience that demonstrates the possession of knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies necessary for immediate success in the position. Such experience is typically in or directly related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience would be demonstrated by administering federal contracts for a variety of services or commodities; analyzing contracting issues to implement and/or recommend improving methods and operating procedures; performing procurement functions to ensure all required guidelines and regulations are met; providing advice and guidance on procurement and/or contracting information. *Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone--no substitution of education for experience is permitted.

Education

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 programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications. How You Will Be Evaluated

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position. Other Information

If you are a current federal career/career-conditional employee, you will be placed on an excepted appointment. Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration. You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship. This position requires a 3 year probationary period during which the agency evaluates your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In making this determination, the agency may consider your performance and conduct; agency needs and interests; whether your continued employment supports organizational or Government goals; and whether it promotes the efficiency of the Federal service. Continued employment requires written certification that it advances the public interest. Direct Deposit of Pay is required. Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance. This position requires you to submit a Public Financial Disclosure Report (OGE 278) or a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE450) upon entry, and annually thereafter. Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees. If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet. This is a(n) Contracting Career Program position aligned under the Career Management Directorate. Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement. Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement. When you perform a Civilian Permanent Change of Station (PCS) with the government, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers the majority of your entitlements to be taxable. Visit https://www.dfas.mil/civilianemployees/civrelo/Civilian-Moving-Expenses-Tax-Deduction/ for more information. Permanent Change of Station (PCS) allowances may be authorized, subject to the provisions of the Joint Travel Regulations and an agency determination that a PCS move is in the Government Interest. Relocation/Recruitment incentive may be authorized to highly qualified candidate. Must sign a service agreement if incentive(s) is/are authorized. The employee must meet the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) certification level (Contracting Career field, Professional) applicable to the duties of this position, or be capable of achieving such certification within 3 years. These certification requirements are defined in DoDI 5000.66, Defense Acquisition Workforce Education, Training, Experience, and Career Development Program, Change3 dated 25 March 2022.

How this job compares

Set against the 5,240 open Procurement jobs on Olive Jobs, counted October 28, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$102–140K/yr
  • Maryland median$95–136K/yr68 salary ranges
  • US median$96–148K/yr2,970 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $121K, is 4% above the Maryland median midpoint ($116K) — in the middle half of Procurement salary ranges in Maryland.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 98 open Procurement jobs in Maryland and 5,240 across the US. 4% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Experience
This posting asks for at least 1 year of experience — less than three in four Procurement postings that state a minimum ask for (median 5 years, across 4,077 postings).
Education
2,397 of the 5,240 open Procurement jobs (46%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on October 28, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.

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