Contract Specialist (Open Continuous 12-month Roster) - Fayetteville, Arkansas

Job Summmary

Click on "Learn more about this agency" button below to view Eligibilities being considered and other IMPORTANT information. WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OTHER IRS CAREERS? Visit us on the web at www.jobs.irs.gov

Who can apply

1. Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)
2. Internal to an agency - appears on USAJOBS

Job Duties

WHAT IS THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER DIVISION? A description of the business units can be found at: https://www.jobs.irs.gov/about/who/business-divisions Vacancies will be filled in the following specialty areas: Procurement The following are the duties of this position at the full working level. Advises and supports OCPO Senior Managers and Executives in developing and directing controls for IRS procurement and contract programs. Consults with and furnishes authoritative advice and guidance to staff. The employee is responsible for devising sophisticated pricing arrangements and for managing all contractual aspects of the services and systems acquisition process. Primary point of contact and authority for OCPO Senior Managers and Executives on acquisition approaches and alternatives, market analysis and outcomes the drive the acquisition approaches for major procurement of supplies, services (including information technology, architectural and engineering, or research and development) using broad authority and oversight within warrant level to legally bind and obligate agency funding through contract issue cure notices and terminate contracts for convenience or default. Takes a leadership role in coordinating and representing the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer on complicated and controversial acquisition issues with all impacted parties. The employee must be prepared to defend the acquisition strategy, competition approach, or award summary or other positions due to challenges from a variety of entities such as congressional staff members, state government, or other federal government authorities such as Government Accountability Office. Serves as a leader for the short- and long-range planning, development, coordination, and implementation of very broad and complex procurements that impact support services and information technology for Internal Revenue business units. Knowledge of related disciplines and functions involved in the acquisition process, such as design or system engineering, integrated logistics support, financial management, and their interrelationships with contracting. Advises and supports the OCPO Senior Managers and Executives, Program Managers, and COR's in developing and directing controls for IRS procurement and contract programs. Consults with and furnishes authoritative advice and guidance to staff. Consults with and furnishes authoritative advice and guidance. Develops and maintains innovate contractual language, terms, and conditions. Serves as a program contractual authority and advisor on the acceptability and applicability of contractual matters related to procurement actions. Interprets and applies Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), Department of Treasury Acquisition Regulations (DTAR), and Internal Revenue Service Acquisition Procedures (IRSAP) to every acquisition regardless of type of procurement and dollar threshold. Responsible for reviewing acquisitions strategies recommended by program officials to ensure accuracy, quality, adherence to FAR, DTAR, and IRSAP prior to approving streamlined and innovative acquisition strategies that bring the greatest value to the IRS mission. Serves as the subject matter expert for other contracting professionals in the Office of Procurement Operations by utilizing experience, knowledge, and training to guide, coach, and mentor contracting professionals through establishing acquisition strategies, navigating challenging procurements, responding to protests, responding to Freedom of Information Act requests, responding to congressional inquiries, drafting negation strategies, drafting award decisions, analyzing the impact of new legislation, and procurement policies on procurement actions. Approves acquisition strategies, evaluation criteria, appoints contracting officer technical representatives, award decisions, negotiation strategies. Participates and collaborates with IRS senior executives, program managers, attorneys, small business specialists, procurement policy, and senior procurement executives on contract review board prior to approving acquisition strategy.

Requirements

STANDARD POSITION DESCRIPTIONS (SPD): PD25094 Visit the IRS SPD Library to access the position descriptions. A 1-year probationary period is required (unless already completed). Obtain and use a Government-issued charge card for business-related travel.

Qualification

Federal experience is not required. The experience may have been gained in the public sector, private sector or Volunteer Service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-timework is considered on a prorated basis. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week, on your resume. You must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement: BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR GRADE 13 & ABOVE: You must have completed 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 successfully perform the work of the position. AND A 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. 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. 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 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, 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. In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE GS-15 LEVEL: To be minimally qualified for the position you must have one (1) year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-14 level. Specialized experience is defined as experience demonstrating mastery the principles and practices of acquisition planning, contract formation, partnering with government and industry, administration, and resolution of disputes and claims, and providing procurement advice and counsel to agency program managers and executives; Responsible for overseeing the development and execution of the contracting portion of project management plans; Ensuring the award and administration of contracts complies with applicable contracting laws, directives, and policies; Managing the procurement of all types of equipment, supplies and/or services using multiple acquisition strategies including competition or contracting by negotiations, settlement of terminations for convenience and default, claims for delay and disruption, and resolution of contractor performance issues. Experience applying communicative techniques to interact with internal and external customers effectively and diplomatically. COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: You may qualify by a combination of experience and education. Options for qualifying based on a combination will be identified in the online questions. AND MEET TIME IN GRADE (TIG) REQUIREMENT: You must meet applicable TIG requirements to be considered eligible. To meet TIG for positions above the GS-05 grade level, you must have served at least one year (52 weeks) at the next lower grade (or equivalent) in the normal line of progression for the position you are applying to. Advancement to positions up to GS-05 is permitted if the position to be filled is no more than two grades above the lowest grade held within the preceding 52 weeks. AND TIME AFTER COMPETITIVE APPOINTMENT: By the closing date (or if this is an open continuous announcement, by the cut-off date) specified in this job announcement, current civilian employees must have completed at least 90 days of federal civilian service since their latest non-temporary appointment from a competitive referral certificate, known as time after competitive appointment. For this requirement, a competitive appointment is one where you applied to and were appointed from an announcement open to "All US Citizens". For more information on qualifications please refer to OPM's Qualifications Standards.

Education

A copy of your transcripts or equivalent documentation is required for positions with an education requirement, or if you are qualifying based on education or a combination of education and experience. An official transcript will be required if you are selected. If the position has specific education requirements and you currently hold, or have previously held, a position in the same job series with the IRS, there is no need to submit a transcript or equivalent at this time. Applicants are encouraged, but are not required, to submit an SF-50 documenting experience in a specific series. A college or university degree generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools which meet these criteria, please refer to Department of Education Accreditation page. FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. You must show proof the education credentials have been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education program. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. Click here (Section 3, Explanation of Terms) or here for Foreign Education Credentialing instructions.

Additional information

We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies. Additional jobs may be filled. The salary range indicated in this announcement reflects the minimum locality pay up to maximum locality pay for all duty locations listed. The range will be adjusted for selected duty location. General Schedule locality pay tables may be found under Salaries & Wages. This is a non-bargaining unit position. Tour of Duty: Monday-Friday, Day Shift - Start and stop times between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Alternative work schedule, staggered work hours or telework may be available. In the event that a building is closed due to rent management, new hires may be placed in a local commuting location. Telework Eligible Positions: Telework eligible positions do not guarantee telework. Employees must meet and sustain IRS telework eligibility requirements (e.g., reporting at least twice a pay period to your assigned Post of Duty (POD)) and supervisor's approval to participate in the IRS Telework Program. Employees must also be within a 200-mile radius of their official assigned post-of-duty (POD) while in a telework status. As a reminder - If you are selected for a position, you are responsible for reporting to your designated POD (location) on the negotiated start date or as directed by management. Pay retention may be offered based on applicable laws and regulations. If this position is covered by a formal development plan, pay retention will be offered where applicable based on law and regulation. Remain in POD: The vacancy will be filled at the selectee's official permanent position of record, post of duty (POD). If the position(s) are no longer needed prior to the closing date, this announcement may be closed early. This is an open continuous announcement which will be used to fill vacancies in the locations listed as they become available for the next 12 months contingent upon funding and space requirements. Applicants must apply and/or update their applications by 11:59 pm ET at the close of the following cutoff dates to be considered: Cutoff date(s): 1ST Cut-off 12/13/2024, 2nd Cut-off 3/13/2025, 3rd Cut-off 6/13/2025, 4th Cut-off 9/15/2025. This announcement may be amended to include additional cut-off dates within the 12-month period if needed, not later than 10 days prior to the additional cut-off date(s). Eligible applicants in the highest quality group who apply by the initial cut-off date will be considered first. If additional vacancies exist, applicants who applied after the initial cutoff date who place in the highest quality group will be considered next. Selections from this announcement may be made no later than (NLT) 12/15/2025.

Get More benefits details at https://www.jobs.irs.gov/resources/benefits

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Your application includes your resume, responses to the online questions, and required supporting documents. Please be sure that your resume includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this position; failure to provide sufficient evidence in your resume may result in a "not qualified" determination. Applicants who disqualify themselves will not be evaluated further. Rating: Your application will be evaluated in accordance with the Service's Merit Promotion Plan. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): Acquisition Strategy Contracting/Procurement Leadership Oral Communication Project Management Your application will also be rated and ranked among others, based on your responses to the online questions, regarding your experience, education, and training. Any performance appraisal/evaluation and award documentation you provide will be forwarded to the selecting official. The selecting official will review this documentation and give it due weight consideration during the overall selection process. IRS employees may obtain their most recent awards listing at https://persinfo.web.irs.gov/. Your rating may be lowered, if your responses to the online questions are not supported by the education and/or experience described in your application. Referral: A category-like rating (Quality Group) will be used to rate, rank and select eligible candidates. If qualified, you will be assigned to one of three quality level categories, Superior/Best Qualified, Highly Qualified and Qualified. If you are among the top qualified candidates, your application may be referred to a selecting official for consideration. Candidates, if required to participate in a selection interview (telephonic and/or in person at the discretion of the Selecting Official in accordance with hiring practices), will be interviewed in quality group order. We will not reimburse costs related to the interview such as travel to and from the interview site. If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee eligible for Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), you must receive a score of Highly Qualified or better to be rated as well qualified to receive special selection priority.

Document Requires:-

The following documents are required and must be provided with your application. All application materials, including transcripts, must be in English. Resume - Your resume MUST contain dates of employment (i.e., month/year to month/year or present). To ensure you receive full credit for relevant experience, include the hours worked per week. We recommend that your resume not exceed 5 pages. If including Federal service experience, you MUST provide the pay plan, series, and grade, i.e., GS-0301-09. If the pay plan, series, and grade are not provided, it may result in an ineligible determination. Your resume must NOT include photographs, classified or government sensitive information, social security number (SSN), encrypted/digitally signed documents, or links to social media such as LinkedIn, or other inappropriate material or content. If your resume contains prohibited information as listed above, your application will be determined ineligible, and you will not receive consideration for this position. (Cover letters are optional.) Please view Resume Tips. It is also recommended that your resume not include personal information such as age, gender, religion, race, disability, etc. Online Application - Questionnaire responses Education - See Education Section above Performance Appraisal/Awards (if applicable) - You are strongly encouraged to submit a copy of your most recent, signed, completed annual performance appraisal which includes the final rating and copies of any incentive/performance awards you received. If a revalidated appraisal is used for merit promotion, the supervisor must prepare a narrative for each critical job element that does not have a narrative describing the performance in the appraisal period covered by the rating. Note: If you are a manager or management official, your most recent annual performance appraisal must be used for the overall rating identified. Registration/License (if applicable) - active, current registration/license IRS Reassignment Preference Program (RPP) (if applicable) - You MUST meet the requirements in your RPP notice. Submit a copy of your RPP Notice along with a copy of your most recent annual performance appraisal. Your performance appraisal must have a fully successful or higher overall rating. Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) (if applicable) - You MUST submit the required documentation as outlined at: Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP). If you are an IRS CTAP eligible, you can apply for jobs within and outside the commuting area. If you are a Treasury CTAP eligible can apply for jobs within the commuting area. NOTE: DO NOT copy the specialized experience statement or position description into your resume for experience as this is not a demonstration of your experience and could result in an ineligible determination. If you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, your application will be determined incomplete, and you will not be considered for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible).

How to appy this Job

The following instructions outline our application process. You must complete this application process and submit any required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on 09/15/2025 and/or cut-off dates in this announcement. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. ET, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, please contact us by noon ET on 09/15/2025. To preview the Application Questionnaire, please click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12620262 To begin the application process, click the "Apply Online" button. You will be re-directed to USASTAFFING to complete your application process; answer the online questions and submit all required documents. (To submit supporting documents, import documents from USAJOBS to the appropriate document types. If the document you need was not imported from USAJOBS, you may upload it directly into this application. To protect your privacy, we suggest you first remove your SSN). To complete, you must click the "Submit Application" button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on 09/15/2025. To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account (https://secure.login.gov/). There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Update Application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account: Welcome | Login.gov . All of your applications will appear on the Welcome page. The application record in your USAJOBS account provides an Additional Application Information page that provides information regarding the documentation you submitted and any correspondence we have sent related to this application. 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/. Are you unsure how to write your federal resume? We are here to help. The Treasury Recruitment Service regularly offers Writing Your Federal Resume training sessions, and other career-related information sessions, to assist you in your career search journey. To register for a session, click here to go to our Career Information Sessions webpage.

Apply Online

Next Step after Apply

Treasury believes in a working environment that supports inclusion; to review reasonable accommodation policies and procedures please visit https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/disability-employment/reasonable-accommodations/. We provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact us if you require this for any part of the application and hiring process. Once your application package and online questionnaire is received you will receive an acknowledgement email. You are responsible for checking status updates and notifications in USAJOBS. Hard copy notifications will not be sent to you. You may check the status of your application for this position at any time by logging onto the USAJOBS "My Account" tab and clicking on "Application Status." For a more detailed update of your application status, you may click on "more information." Please notify us if your contact information changes after the closing date of the announcement. If your email mailbox is full or blocked (SPAM) you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position. As a current employee, you know the great benefits we offer. Should you have any questions about benefits, please contact the Employee Resource Center (ERC) at 1-866-743-5748 option #1 for ERC.