Contract Specialist

Justice Management Division; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

The Justice Management Division, located in Washington, DC, seeks a Senior Level Contract Officer to lead complex, high-dollar procurements, develop acquisition strategies, and oversee post-award activities. The role requires managing solicitations, evaluating proposals, and ensuring contractor performance compliance.

Applicants must meet federal contracting qualifications, including FAC-C Professional certification, and possess the ability to obtain a Public Trust clearance.

Qualifications

• Completion of mandatory agency training for progression to GS-13 or higher in contracting, including 4 years of contracting-related experience.
• Specialized experience required for GS-14: one year at GS-13 level or equivalent with two of four criteria.

Responsibilities

• Wards and administers complex, high-dollar value contracts.
• Coordinates procurement activities for high-dollar contracts (products or professional/technical services).
• Plans, develops, and executes an acquisition strategy for the organization.
• Determines contract vehicles, task orders, or modifications and secures approvals.
• Coordinates with team in preparing solicitations and evaluating proposals.
• Conducts post-award functions: negotiations, modifications, performance evaluations, dispute resolution, and closeouts.

Skills

High-value contracts

Acquisition strategy

Contract negotiations

Education

Bachelor's degree with 24 semester hours in accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, or related fields

Job description

Summary

This position serves as a Senior Level Contract Officer, located in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Justice Management Division (JMD), Office of Acquisition Management (OAM).

Duties

• Awards and/or administers complex, high dollar value contracts.
• Coordinates procurement activities associated with high-dollar contracts for products and/or professional and technical services.
• Plans, develops and executes an acquisition strategy for the organization.
• Determines type of contract vehicles, task orders or modifications to be used, prepares justifications, and obtains necessary approvals.
• Coordinates with team members in preparing solicitations, evaluating vendor proposals and quotations.
• Conducts all post-award functions, to include negotiating and issuing modifications, evaluating contractor performance, resolving issues, disputes, and closing out contracts.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

• You must be a United States Citizen or National.
• You must successfully pass a security/background investigation and a drug screening.
• Selective Service registration is required, see the "Additional Information" section for full details.
• Financial Disclosure: If selected, you may be required to disclose financial information in accordance with DOJ and Federal ethics guidelines.
• You may be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
• You may be required to obtain and maintain a Public Trust security clearance.
• A USA Hire assessment is required. An email will be sent with additional information after you submit your application. You will have 48 hours from receipt of the notification email to complete the USA Hire assessment.
• Mandatory Training: A Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) (Professional) certification is required for successful performance of the assigned duties.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications

• 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 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 next lower level of the position, and must have provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully 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. (NOTE: Transcripts must be provided)
• 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 under Paragraph D.

AND

Specialized Experience:

For the GS-14, you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service, which includes meeting 2 of the 4 statements below:

• Performing pre-award and post-award functions to include, preparing Solicitations/Requests for Proposals (RFP)/Request for Quotes/Request for Task Order Proposals;
• Identifying appropriate contract type/method for the product and/or service being procured;
• Preparing contract modifications, justifications, determinations and findings;
• Performing contractor performance quality assurance evaluations, resolving issues and disputes and closing-out contracts.

Mandatory training:

A Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) (Professional) certification is required for successful performance of the assigned duties. Applicants must possess or be eligible for a FAC-C (Professional) certification in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI) FAC-C Certification Standards or equivalent Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) certification standards. Applicants who currently possess or are eligible for FAC-C Professional certification and can achieve certification according to FAI or DAWIA standards within twelve months from the date of appointment to this position will also be considered. Please indicate in your application your level and source (FAI, DAWIA) of certification or eligibility for certification.

Documentation must be attached to the application package. Applicants that meet the training requirements are required to provide proof of a current FAC-C (Professional) certification, DoD Contracting Professional certification, or equivalent certification. Applicants requesting consideration based on ability to achieve the training requirement within the twelve month time period shall provide documentation to support path to completion.

You MUST meet all qualification requirements by the following dates: Initial cut off date: 08/27/2026, then quarterly thereafter: November 27, 2026; March 1, 2027; June 1, 2027 and August 12, 2027.

Your resume must support your responses to the application questionnaire and the qualification requirements. Failure to do so may result in an ineligible rating.

Education

Education must be reviewed and certified by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, in order for it to be creditable towards your qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from accredited institution.

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 a conventional U.S. education program. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see All documentation must be in English or include an English translation.

Additional information

Additional selections may be made from this announcement.

Veterans Preference and other Category Rating procedures do not apply to this announcement. Applicants must meet all qualification requirements of the position. The hiring office may interview and select any qualified candidate of their choosing from the qualified pool.

Career Transition Programs (

These programs apply to Federal and/or DOJ employees who meet the definition of surplus or displaced from a position in the competitive service. To receive selection priority for this position, you must:

Be rated well-qualified for the position based on the competencies listed above; and submit the appropriate documentation to support your

Probationary Period:

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest.

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

EEO Statement/Policy

The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. More information can be found here:

DOJ Reasonable Accommodation Statement

Federal agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the hiring agency directly. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case‑by‑case basis. The DOJ Reasonable Accommodation policy can be found here:

Selective Service

If you were born male, on or after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. Additional information is found at:

Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs

Fair Chance Act prohibits Federal agencies from requesting an applicant's criminal history information before the agency makes a conditional offer of employment. If you believe a DOJ employee or Federal contractor acting on its behalf has violated your rights under this Act, you may submit a written complaint within 30 days of the date of the alleged non‑compliance directly to agency contact information within the job announcement.

• 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R.
• 920.201(b) certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance Act.

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.

Required Documents

Resume - All Applicants:

• Official position title,
• Employer name and contact information,
• Start and end dates (including month and year),
• Indicate full‑time or number of hours worked per week if part‑time,
• A list of duties performed and accomplishments.

CTAP/ICTAP eligibility documentation

• A copy of the agency notice (i.e., letter of intent to separate, separation notice, or agency RIF letter),
• Your most recent performance appraisal, and
• Most recent SF-50 showing current/former position, grade, promotion potential, and duty location.

If you are using education to qualify for this position, or education is required:

• You must submit a transcript, which may be unofficial, as long as it contains a full listing of courses, credit earned, grade and grade‑point‑average, subject area, degree(s) earned, and dates of award.
• Your
• Please do not submit electronic transcripts with documentation security protection. These may prevent our application system from accepting and processing the document.
• If submitting a foreign transcript, you must have the transcript

Professional Certification

You must provide a copy of a current, valid Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C)(Professional) certification.

Agency contact information

Kim Hall
Phone
Email Address
Justice Management Division, Office of Acquisition Management
2 Constitution Square
145 N Street, NE
Washington, DC 20530
US