Contract Specialist

U.S. Government Publishing Office; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Government Publishing Office in Washington, DC seeks a contracting professional for the Agency Acquisitions Office. This Direct Hire role requires a bachelor’s degree with relevant coursework and at least 4 years in contracting or related fields.

A FAC-C certification or equivalent is highly valued, with the potential for advancement to GS-13 and above. The position focuses on selecting contract types, procurement strategies, and negotiating complex acquisitions, alongside rigorous bid

Qualifications

• 4+ years of contracting or related experience.
• Specialized experience at the next lower grade level is required.
• Must meet education requirements with a 4-year degree and relevant coursework.

Responsibilities

• Oversee contract types, procurement strategies, and negotiations for complex acquisitions.
• Evaluate bids and perform cost price analysis.

Skills

Contracting experience

Analytical skills

Decision making

Education

Bachelor's degree with 24 relevant credit hours

Job description

GPO employees possess a diverse array of talent in many administrative fields and trades. We provide other agencies with innovative services for the printing, publishing, storage, and distribution of digital content. If you are an energetic, inventive, individual looking for a challenging, yet rewarding career opportunity, GPO may be the place for you.

This position is located in Agency Acquisitions, at the Government Publishing Office in Washington, District of Columbia. THIS IS A DIRECT HIRE ANNOUNCEMENT. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Direct Hire Authority, authorized by 5 United States Code (U.S.C.), Section 3304 and 5 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 337, Subpart B. Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants do not apply to the Direct Hire process.

Basic Requirements:

1. Completion of 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 the next lower level of the position, and must have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the work of the position.

   and

2. 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.

3. 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 as stated below.

4. 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 of Paragraphs 1 and 2 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 under this paragraph, 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.

1102 Qualifications PG-13 & above

You must meet the requirements in A, B, or C below:

A. All of the following

1. The incumbent must meet the Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) (Professional) requirement through one of the options listed below:

   • Already possess the FAC-C (Professional) Certification
   • Legacy program Federal Acquisition in Certification in Contracting (FAC-C). For the functionality of this position, must already have earned FAC-C Level II or III Certification from the Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI) or Defense Acquisition University (DAU).

2. NOTE: To keep FAC-C (Professional) Certification, contracting professionals are required to earn 100 Continuous Learning Points every two years. All CLP classes shall be approved by the first line supervisor. For those who are already certified, the two-year period begins on issue date of the established training policy for contracting professionals in Acquisition Services.

3. At least 4 years of experience in contracting or related positions including 1 year of specialized experience at or equivalent to work at the level described below;

   and

4. Completion of 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.

B. Exception

If you were in a GS/PG-1102 position on January 1, 2000, you will be exempt from meeting the educational requirements for the grade level of that position. However, to be promoted you will have to meet 1 or 3 from Option A above.

C. Waiver

GPO's senior procurement executive has the discretion to waive any or all of the requirements in Option A above.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE

In addition to the basic requirement stated above, you must have one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to work at the next lower grade level of the position to be filled.

PG-13

your resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the PG-12 grade level. Specialized experience includes the following:

1. overseeing the best methods to regulate policy and regulations while determining contract types, procurement strategies, and negotiating complex acquisitions
2. evaluating bids and cost price analysis.

Additional qualification information can be found from the following Office of Personnel Management website:https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1100/contracting-series-1102/

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). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement 09/09/2026 to be considered.