CONTRACT SPECIALIST.

Office of Naval Research; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

The Office of Naval Research in the United States seeks a contracts specialist to maintain contact with award recipients and ensure compliance with contract, grant, and award terms. You will manage initial and final conferences, review subcontracts, and oversee payments and reports to keep awards in good standing.

This role requires DAWIA certification within set timeframes, US citizenship, and successful completion of DoD qualification requirements.

Qualifications

• Specialized experience must demonstrate performing contract administration functions (closeout, voucher reviews, modifications).
• Experience in supporting business process improvement and conducting risk evaluations.
• DoD contracting qualification requirements and time-in-grade concepts must be met.

Responsibilities

• Maintain ongoing contact with award recipients to ensure compliance with contract, grant, and award terms.
• Conduct initial conferences with award recipients to clarify provisions of contracts and awards.
• Make final determinations on cost allowability, allocability, reasonableness, and other administrative matters.
• Review proposed subcontracts and consent or withhold consent for their placement.
• Negotiate administrative modifications, deobligation of funds, and other contract documents.
• Approve or disapprove requests for payments and advance payments from award recipients.
• Perform or manage reviews of contractors’ purchasing and property management systems for compliance.
• Close out completed awards by verifying final reports and disposition of property.
• Analyze contractor claims, conduct negotiations, and prepare findings of fact and final decisions.
• Participate in process improvement projects, develop templates and procedures.
• Perform audit resolution, e.g., to resolve findings in DCAA Audits.

Skills

Contract administration

Pre-award risk reviews

Post-award conferences

Cost/price analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Duties

• You will maintain ongoing contact with award recipients to ensure compliance with contract, grant, and award terms while resolving problems that arise.
• You will conduct initial conferences with award recipients to clarify standard and special provisions of contracts, grants, and other awards.
• You will make final determinations on cost allowability, allocability, reasonableness, and other key administrative matters affecting awards.
• You will review and analyze proposed subcontracts and either consent to or withhold consent for their placement.
• You will negotiate administrative modifications, deobligation of funds, and other contract documents.
• You will approve or disapprove requests for payments and advance payments from award recipients.
• You will perform or manage reviews of contractors’ purchasing and property management systems for compliance with federal regulations and policies.
• You will close out completed awards by verifying final reports, allowable costs, property disposition, and all other requirements are met.
• You will analyze contractor claims, conduct negotiations, and prepare findings of fact and final decisions as required.
• You will participate in process improvement projects, develop templates and procedures, or perform other assigned duties.
• You will perform audit resolution, e.g., to resolve findings in DCAA Audits.

Requirements

• Must be a US Citizen.
• Must be determined suitable for federal employment.
• Must participate in the direct deposit pay program.
• New employees to the Department of the Navy will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov
• Generally, current federal employees applying for GS jobs must serve at least one year at the next lower grade level. This requirement is called time-in-grade. Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
• This position is covered under the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA). Certification in the Acquisition Functional Area and category assigned to the position is required within established category timeframes.
• Within the Department of Defense (DoD), the appointment of retired military members within 180 days immediately following retirement date to a civilian position is subject to the provisions of 5 United States Code 3326.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• You will be required to obtain and maintain an interim and/or final security clearance prior to entrance on duty. Failure to obtain and maintain the required level of clearance may result in the withdrawal of a job offer or removal.
• This position is covered under the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA). Certification in the Functional Area and Tier assigned to the position, along with Continuous Learning (CL) points, are required within established timeframes.
• This position may require travel from normal duty station to CONUS and OCONUS and may include remote or isolated sites. You must be able to travel on military and commercial aircraft for extended periods of time.

Qualifications

In addition to the Basic Requirements for this position, your resume must also demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11/12) or pay band (NO-03) in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector.

Specialized experience must demonstrate the following: (1) performing the full range of contract administration functions (e.g., closeout, voucher reviews, executing modifications), (2) supporting business process improvement, (3) conducting pre-award risk reviews or responsibility checks, and (4) conducting post-award conferences with contractors.

Applicant must meet the following Department of Defense qualification requirements for 1102 contracting positions:

And The Title 10 Requirements Found Here

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., professional, philanthropic, religious, spiritual, community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment.

Education

Applicants must meet the following Basic Education Requirement of the Department of Defense Qualification Standard for Contracting Positions:

A bachelor's degree from an accredited educational institution authorized to grant baccalaureate degrees.

NOTE: The education requirement listed above applies only to individuals entering DoD GS-1102 positions on or after October 1, 2000. Current civilian personnel 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 are exempt from meeting this requirement. Current military members who occupied a similar occupational specialty to the GS (or equivalent) 1102 or before September 30, 2000 are also exempt from meeting this requirement.

Additional information

This position is covered by the Department of Defense Priority Placement Program.

Additional vacancies may be filled by this announcement.

A tentative offer of employment will be rescinded if the selectee fails to meet the pre-employment requirements, including failure to report to any of the scheduled appointments.

During the application process you will have the ability to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions in the local commuting area. Depending on the hiring organization and the position being filled, job requirements (e.g., security clearance, travel, drug testing, financial disclosure filing, bargaining unit status, etc.) may vary. If you opt-in and are referred on a certificate, your resume will be available to other hiring managers for 180-days from the date the job announcement closes. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

Federal annuitant information: The selection of an annuitant is subject to the Department of Defense and Department of the Navy policy on the employment of annuitants. Policy information may be found at:

ICTAP Applicants: To be considered well-qualified and exercise selection priority as an ICTAP candidate, displaced Federal employees must satisfy all qualification requirements for the position and receive a rating in the highly qualified category (score 85) or higher. ICTAP candidates must provide copies of all of the following documentation at the time of application: 1) agency notice; 2) most recent performance appraisal; and 3) most recent SF-50 or notification of personnel action that includes position, grade level, and duty location. Applicants who do not provide this documentation will not receive consideration as an ICTAP candidate. For more information about ICTAP eligibility please review the following link:

Military Spouse Preference applicants will be placed at the highest grade for which they have applied and are determined Best Qualified (BQ). A BQ military spouse possesses knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies comparable to others who meet the competitive referral criteria for the specific position.

PPP applicants will be placed at the FPL, if determined Well Qualified (WQ). To receive priority consideration, the FPL must be the same grade level or equivalent of the retained grade or the grade held immediately prior to separation.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding.

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.