Contract Specialist

U.S. Coast Guard; Oakland (CA); On-site; USD 76,000 - 145,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Thrift Savings Plan

Flexible Spending Account

Paid federal holidays

Tuition reimbursement

Uniform allowance

Fitness centers

Job summary

U.S. Coast Guard within the Department of Homeland Security seeks a Contract Specialist (GS-1102-11/12) in Norfolk, VA. The role develops and implements acquisition strategies for complex contracts, negotiates, and prepares essential documentation under FAC-C certification timelines.

The position requires formal education verification, transcripts, and potential foreign education evaluation. Training and USA Hire assessments are part of the process, with an announced deadline of 2026-11-20.

Qualifications

• This position has a positive education requirement.
• Submit college transcripts (official or unofficial) from an accredited institution.
• Foreign education may be used if comparable to U.S. education.

Responsibilities

• Serve as Contract Specialist and support development and implementation of acquisition strategy for various contract actions.
• Act as technical consultant to the Contracting Officer and Supervisory Contract Specialist on complex acquisition questions.
• Collaborate with project officers to plan long- and short-range acquisition plans and strategies for program goals.
• Develop and implement acquisition strategy for design, construction, and major renovation of facilities.
• Prepare pre-negotiation positions, lead negotiations, and document supporting materials (Determination and Findings, etc.).
• Communicate clearly in writing and verbally; review acquisition documents for conciseness.

Job description

• Department: Department of Homeland Security

This vacancy is for a GS-1102-11/12, Contract Specialist located in the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, SILC BOD BUSINESS AND INFORMATION SERVICES BRANCH in NORFOLK, Virginia.

Key Responsibilities

You will serve as a Contract Specialist and be responsible for supporting the development and implementation of acquisition strategy for various contract actions . Being a Coast Guard civilian makes you a valuable member of the Coast Guard team. Typical work assignments include: Serving as a technical consultant to the Contracting Officer and the Supervisory Contract Specialist on complex acquisition questions.

Collaborating with project officers to plan and develop long and short-range acquisition plans, strategies and realistic approaches for program goals. Developing and implementing acquisition strategy for the design, construction, and major renovation of facilities.

Developing pre-negotiation positions, serving as lead negotiator, and preparing required documentation to support the acquisition action, including Determination and Findings, and pre and post negotiation memoranda. Ability to communicate information and ideas clearly and concisely both verbally and in writing and reviewing other acquisition documents for conciseness.

Mandatory training is required which must be successfully completed and other training may occur as necessary for success in the position. A. Selectee must meet position requirements for Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) Professional certification4 within 36 months as of entrance on duty.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application.

Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis.

If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement.

To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. Reasonable Accommodation Information

Requirements & Education

This position does have a positive education requirement. If you are including education on your resume, report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. See Required Documents section for detail. Are you qualifying based on education? Submit a copy of your college transcript (unofficial is acceptable) from an accredited institution.

Once selected & prior to appointment, applicants must provide an official college transcript. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet Federal qualification requirements if you can show that your foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited educational institutions in the U.S. (see FOREIGN EDUCATION below).

College Transcript: If this position requires specific educational course work to qualify, or you are qualifying based in whole or part on education, you are required to provide all unofficial transcripts (undergraduate, graduate, etc.) by the closing date of this announcement or you will be disqualified from further consideration.

Transcripts should be legible and detailed, showing course number and department (i.e., bio 101, math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours, and grade earned. If course content cannot be easily identified from the title of the course as listed on your transcript, you must submit an official course description from the college/university that reflects the content at the time the course was taken.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet Federal qualification requirements if you can show that your foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence with your application.

See Recognition of Foreign Qualifications click here Only experience and education obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered.

• health, dental, vision, life, and long-term care insurance
• retirement plan
• Thrift Savings Plan [similar to a 401(k)]
• Flexible Spending Account
• Employee Assistance Program
• personal leave days
• paid federal holidays
• flexible work schedules
• tuition reimbursement
• transportation subsidies
• uniform allowance
• health and wellness programs
• fitness centers
• Disabled veteran leave will be available to any federal employee hired on or after November 5, 2016, who is a veteran with a service- connected disability rating of 30 percent or more.

DHS is committed to employee development and offers a variety of employee training and developmental opportunities. For more information, go to the DHS Careers website and select "Benefits".

Which agency is hiring for this position?

This position is with U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security.

What is the salary for this position?

The posted pay range is $75788 - $145468/yr.

What is the application deadline?

Applications close on 2026-11-20.

Who is eligible to apply?

This position is open under the 'Fed Transition' hiring path.

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Source: USAJOBS.gov - U.S. Federal Government, Retrieved 2026-11-12, Not affiliated with or endorsed by OPM or USAJOBS.gov