Summary This position is in the Architect of the Capitol, Office of the Chief Engineer, Design and Construction Acquisition Division, Design and Construction Branch. The selectee serves as a warranted Senior Contract Specialist with responsibility for awarding highly technical design and construction contracts, including preparation of acquisition plans, solicitation documents, pre-proposal conferences, proposal evaluation, negotiation, and competitive range determination. Responsibilities **This position is temporary in nature and is not to exceed 2 years. This is strictly a temporary appointment where there is no permanent need or permanent funding available for the work involved. This position is subject to the project needs of the Agency. Therefore, the appointment could be terminated at any time due to shortage of work or shortage of funds without any advance notice. If project work continues however, it could be extended beyond the 2-year time frame at the sole discretion of the Agency. As a non-permanent employee, you may also be separated for failure to meet management’s expectations, with no advance notice. ** Major Duties: Pre-award Duties: Serves as contracting officer with a $25 million signatory authority to enter into contracts for acquisition of significant systems or programs characterized by: (1) large funding levels and a commitment period extending over a long period of time (approximately five to twenty-five years); (2) the magnitude and terms of the contract substantially impact on the economic wellbeing of the AOC; (3) the agency head monitors progress due to criticality and visibility of the program; and (4) the final product is typically a highly complex historically preserved construction project. Serves as a principal contracting advisor in the acquisition planning process; Represents the agency or department as the program's contractual authority at conferences and meetings. Prepares acquisition plans, solicitation documents, pre-proposal conferences, proposal evaluation, negotiation, and competitive range determination. Plans, develops, and establishes the contractual strategy for the overall acquisition program. Functions as principal during contract negotiations; Coordinates and applies advice from various areas of expertise such as technical departments, legal counsel, audit, and subordinate activities. Oversees and guides all negotiation and contract actions, to include acting as the Chairperson of a cost evaluation team coordinating the efforts of cost analysts. Negotiates with senior management personnel of major corporations, participates as lead negotiator of multi-disciplined Government negotiation teams and directs the analysis of the team evaluations. Determines negotiation strategy to assure attainment of negotiation goals and arrive at an agreement determined to be in the best interests of the Government in both technical and cost areas. Directs debrief of unsuccessful bidders and responds to protests. Post-award Duties Guides the full range of contract administration actions required for the acquisition program, including the issuance of contract modifications, negotiation of changes, exercise of options, investigation and resolution of delays, contractor performances appraisal, subcontractor surveillance, disposition of claims, commissioning, acceptance, close-out and similar matters. Stakeholder Liaison Develops relationships between OCE, AOC, Members of Congress and their staff, oversight committee staff, general public, and contractors to achieve mission critical requirements. Performs other related duties as assigned. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be able to pass a drug test. Your resume and question responses must demonstrate the job-related KSAs. You must meet the definition of specialized experience. Must possess FAC-C (Professional) certification or equivalent experience. To be employed by the Architect of the Capitol in a paid position, an individual must meet one of the categories below: A citizen of the United States; A person who is lawfully admitted for permanent residence and is seeking citizenship as outlined in 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)(B); A person who is admitted as a refugee under 8 U.S.C. 1157 or is granted asylum under 8 U.S.C. 1158 and has filed a declaration of intention to become a lawful permanent resident and then a citizen when eligible; A person who owes allegiance to the United States (nationals of American Samoa, Swains Island, and the Northern Mariana Islands, and nationals who meet other requirements described in 8 U.S.C. 1408); or A person who is currently an officer or employee of the Government of the United States. Qualifications You must meet the United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements (including specialized experience and/or educational requirements) for the advertised position. You must meet all eligibility and qualifications requirements by the closing date of the job announcement. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on the OPM web site at OPM qualification standards Within the resume, candidates must demonstrate evidence of the specialized experience which relates to the Knowledge, Skills and Abilities required to successfully perform the duties of the position. Candidates for the GS-14 grade level must have at least 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower (GS-13) grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position includes the following: Serving as Contracting Officer with a $25 million signatory authority to enter into contracts for acquisition of systems and programs; Formulating contracting strategies, developing pre-negotiation position, and making determinations on the type of contracts and negotiation authority to be used together with the justification; Advising on the full range of contract administration actions required for acquisition programs; and Working with internal and external entities (e.g., Members of Congress and their staff, contractors, general public etc.) to ensure agency objectives are met. ** Selective Placement Factor: All applicants must have a FAC-C (Professional) certification or equivalent experience. Education In addition to meeting the specialized experience requirements for this position, applicants must possess the following: A. 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 one (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- B. 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. C. 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. D. 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 A and B 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 D, 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. Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Education completed outside of the United States must be deemed equivalent to that gained in conventional/accredited U.S. education programs to be acceptable for Federal employment. Qualifying education from colleges and universities in foreign countries must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part of foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. You must provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing if selected. Transcripts are required upon selection. Additional Information Welcome Veterans. The Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) gives veterans' preference rights in the legislative branch to certain veterans as applied by the Congressional Accountability Act. Veterans' preference is applied on this vacancy announcement. If you are a veteran and have been separated under honorable conditions, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 or other proof of eligibility; SF-15, if applicable; and Department of Veterans Affairs documentation of disability, if applicable. For more information, please visit OPM vet guide If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System. If you are exempt from registration under Selective Service Law, you must provide appropriate proof of exemption. Please visit the Selective Service System website for more information. DRUG TESTING: The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) is a Drug Free Workplace. As part of the AOC’s suitability assessment, a candidate tentatively selected for a position is required to submit to screening for illegal drug use. Satisfactory completion of a drug test is a condition of employment with the Agency. A candidate must test negative prior to being eligible for appointment into a position. We will schedule, provide, and cover the cost for the drug test. The selectee(s) under the vacancy announcement for this position is subject to a criminal record check by the U.S. Capitol Police and satisfactory adjudication to be eligible for employment at the Architect of the Capitol. The Architect of the Capitol is an E-VERIFY Participant. E-VERIFY is an Internet-based system that compares information from an employee's Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to data from U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration records to confirm employment authorization in the United States. If you are selected for this position, the documentation that you present for purposes of completing the DHS Form I-9 will be verified through the DHS "E-VERIFY" electronic system. For more information on E-Verify, please visit http://www.dhs.gov/files/programs/gc\_1185221678150.shtm The Architect of the Capitol is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, genetic information, sexual orientation and/or disability. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be on a case-by-case basis. Moving expenses are not authorized. Relocation expenses may be authorized for non-federal employees. Probationary Period- Selectee(s) is subject to the completion of a one-year trial/probationary period, regardless of whether or not a trial/probationary period has been completed previously with the Architect of the Capitol or another Federal agency. This vacancy announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies in any of the jurisdictions of the Architect of the Capitol. All application materials become the property of the Architect of the Capitol. Note: Please be advised that federal retired annuitant candidates may only be considered as a temporary employee if the role can be filled in that capacity.