Summary Corrections professionals who foster a humane and secure environment and ensure public safety by preparing individuals for successful reentry into our communities. Our highly-skilled, diverse, and innovative workforce creates a strong foundation of safety and security. Through the principles of humanity and normalcy, we develop good neighbors. Responsibilities Serves as the Section Chief, Field Acquisitions Office(FAO), Administration Division, Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Contracting authority has been delegated by the BOP Procurement Executive. Reviews, interprets and implements statutes and regulations of other Government agencies, Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Justice Acquisition Regulations (JAR) and the Bureau of Prisons Acquisition Policy (BPAP), and cases related to all phases of acquisition and related financial management. Provides expertise concerning the Anti-Deficiency Act, continuing resolutions, investigation of unauthorized procurement actions and ratification or denial of such actions. Evaluates Contracting Officers’ positions applications and training records to determine their eligibility for increases in Contracting Officer warrants; and is responsible for developing, maintaining and reporting of the register which is maintained on all Bureau Contracting Officers. Directs and coordinates plans for short and long-term acquisitions; and develops strategies and approaches for acquisition of major systems. Supervises the preparation, development and implantation of Bureau policies and standards, and the wide dissemination of acquisition information, so that an active program is achieved. Requirements Conditions of Employment U.S. Citizenship is Required. See Special Conditions of Employment Section. The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees in the Department of Justice with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your Department of Justice component has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP eligibility, 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. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and score 85 or better on established ranking criteria. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Additional information about CTAP eligibility is at: Click Here Qualifications To be considered for the position, you must meet the following: Basic Requirements: A. Completion of all mandatory training prescribed by the head of the agency for progression to GS-13 (the Bureau of Prisons has defined mandatory training to be FAC-C Level III or a BOP Level III warrant) or higher level contracting positions, including at least 4-years of 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 GS-13 level of the position, and must have provided the qualifications to perform successfully the work of the position. NOTE: ALL applicants MUST submit a legible copy of their FAC-C Level III or a BOP Level III warrant. The FAC-C Level III or BOP Level III warrant MUST be uploaded and attached to your application at the time you apply. NOTE: There is no substitution of education for specialized experience at this level. AND B. A 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree, that included or was supplemented by at least 24 semester or 36 quarter hours in any combination of the following fields: accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, or organization and management. Acceptability of Higher Education: Education such as foreign education, home study and correspondence courses, academic credit for work experience, military education, continuing education units, life experience, etc., is acceptable to the extent that it is determined to be equivalent to conventional higher education programs of U.S. institutions. Such education must be accepted for college level credit by an accredited U.S. college or university. C. Exceptions: Employees currently occupying a GS 1102 position at certain grade (i.e., GS 13 or higher) since January 1, 2000, is considered to have met the basic requirements for other GS 1102 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. NOTE: Current federal employees not employed by the Bureau of Prison and former Bureau of Prison Employees MUST submit documentation (i.e., SF-50(s) covering the period from January 1, 2000) for verification of the above referenced exception criteria to receive consideration. Failure to provide these documents will result in non-consideration for this vacancy. D. Waiver: When filling a specific vacant position, the Senior Procurement Executive of the selecting agency (agency is defined as Department of Justice), 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. NOTE: The Agency has made a determination that a waiver may be granted for education only as described in Paragraph B. Bureau of Prisons employees currently occupying a Contract Specialist position on an approved waiver MUST upload and attach a copy of the waiver at the time they apply to the announcement. Contract Specialists who do not possess a four year degree and the required 24 semester hours, may apply and be considered for a waiver of the educational requirements in order to be selected. The waiver is discretionary tool available to the Procurement Executive as such does not constitute automatic approval. If you have any questions about the waiver process, please contact the BOP Procurement Executive at (202) 307-3067. In addition to the basic requirements, you must have one of the following: Education: There is no substitution of education for specialized experience for this grade level. Experience: In addition to the basic requirements, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the next lower grade level in federal service. To be creditable, this experience must have equipped the applicant with the particular qualifications to perform successfully the duties of the position and must typically be in or related to the position to be filled. Some examples of this qualifying experience are: Experience applying regulations and guidelines in formulating, awarding, administering and closing-out contracts; experience directing, planning, developing, implementing, and administering all procurement actions required to procure and support major multi-million dollar programs. Experience preparing a variety of reports, contract documents and correspondence related to procurement related matters. Experience in making independent decisions in determining the types of contract and required clauses, provisions, contract awards, resolving issues/discrepancies affecting contracts and contract terminations, experience administering and organizing projects with the skill to control an assortment of complex acquisition actions. Experience in negotiating techniques, planning the negotiation strategy, coordinating formation of pre-negotiation strategies and approaches and directing negotiations for major systems acquisitions, and providing direction to subordinate Contracting Officers in post-award negotiations involving major contracts changes or modifications. Experience directing and coordinating plans for short and long-term acquisitions and developing strategies and approaches for acquisition of major systems. Experience providing training to staff in procurement related topics such as ethics, providing guidance to department staff, Regional and institution staff in acquisition planning, guidance, and direction in contract pricing and acquisition policy and the productivity and effectiveness of personnel. If applicable, credit will be given for paid and unpaid experience. To receive proper credit, you must show the actual time (such as the number of hours worked per week) spent in activities. Your eligibility for consideration will be based on your responses to the questions in the application. Education See Qualifications Section for education requirements, if applicable. ONLY if education is a requirement/substitution for specialized experience, applicant MUST upload legible transcripts as verification of educational requirement. Transcripts MUST be uploaded and electronically linked from USAJOBS at the time you apply and MUST include identifying information to include School Name, Student Name, Degree and Date Awarded (if applicable). All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, Click Here. Foreign Education: For information regarding foreign education requirements, please see Foreign Diploma and Credit Recognition at the U.S. Department of Education website: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications. If you are selected for this position and qualified based on education (i.e. basic education requirement and/or substitution of education), you will be required to provide an OFFICIAL transcript prior to your first day on duty. Additional Information This position IS NOT included in the bargaining unit. The representative rate for this position is $134,419 per annum ($64.41 per hour). Special Conditions of Employment Section: Initial appointment to a supervisory/managerial position requires a one-year probationary period. The incumbent is subject to geographic relocation to meet the needs of the agency. Appointment is subject to satisfactory completion of a urinalysis, physical, and background investigation. All applicants are subject to National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and credit checks. The addresses listed on the USAJOBS account/resume must be the primary residence at the time of application. You may be required to provide proof of residence. Additional selections may be made if vacancies occur within the life of the certificate. NOTE: Remote work as per policy. SALARY RANGE: Salary reflected on this vacancy announcement is for the “Rest of the U.S.”; however, the selectee’s salary may be higher based on the worksite/duty station of the appointee. See Salary Tables for your location. Salary will be determined upon approval of a remote work agreement. Current Federal Law Enforcement Employees: A prerequisite of the secondary law enforcement position is the completion of the mandatory courses in "Introduction to Correctional Techniques Phase I and Phase II". If you have not completed the mandatory courses in "Introduction to Correctional Techniques Phase I and Phase II", you are ineligible for secondary law enforcement position(s) and coverage but may still be considered for a non-law enforcement position. If you are not a current Bureau of Prisons employee, you must submit training records demonstrating you have completed the mandatory courses in "Introduction to Correctional Techniques Phase I and Phase II" to your hiring Human Resource office prior to appointment. Individuals selected who are under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and who have not had three years "primary" law enforcement retirement coverage, will not be covered by law enforcement retirement while in this position. To regain coverage, individuals must return to a position with "primary" coverage. As the federal agency whose mission is to ensure the fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans, the Department of Justice is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. To build and retain a workforce that reflects the diverse experiences and perspectives of the American people, we welcome applicants from the many communities, identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, religions, and cultures of the United States who share our commitment to public service.