Security ClearanceOther
Duties
For a Contract Specialist, specific duties vary by hiring agency. Examples may include: Reviewing requisitions to determine that the proper specifications or purchase descriptions are included in solicitation documents. Evaluating contract proposals based on price, technical capability, and compliance with specifications to recommend award decisions. Assisting higher-level Contract Specialists and Contracting Officers in the administration of contract reviews and analysis of contractor performance, reports, and deliverables to identify discrepancies or issues requiring resolution. Making recommendations to resolve disputes and claims from contractors by applying knowledge of Federal regulations and contract law in achieving fair outcomes. Conducting market research and analysis to identify potential suppliers and evaluate their capabilities in meeting contract requirements.
Requirements
This is a shared cross-government announcement open to agencies throughout Federal government. If you are invited to interview or offered a job, be sure to get clarification from the particular hiring agency about the duty location and other conditions of employment. Specific requirements vary by hiring agency and include: Current civil service employees selected will be given new appointments to the civil service and subject to a new probationary period; however, benefits, time served, and other Federal entitlements may remain the same. May be covered by a bargaining unit. May qualify for bonuses, incentives, and/or reimbursement of relocation expenses, in accordance with hiring agency policy. May require financial disclosure filing upon appointment and annually. May require a pre-employment drug test and/or random drug testing during the period of employment. Must be a U.S. citizen or national. Must successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov. Per Public Law 104-134, all Federal employees are required to have Federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution. Promotion potential varies by hiring agency. Some positions may have promotion potential to higher grade levels. Security clearance varies by hiring agency. Must be able to pass a background investigation and/or obtain and hold a security clearance, as determined by the hiring agency. Selective service registration is required, as applicable. Travel varies by hiring agency.
Qualifications
THIS IS AN OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT. This announcement will close at 11:59 PM (ET) on 05/19/2026. Applicants will be referred periodically throughout the announcement open period, based on the schedule below. Applicants must meet all eligibility and qualification requirements by the cut-off dates listed below. Eligibility and qualification claims are subject to verification. First Cut-Off on May 4, 2026: To be considered in the first review, applicants must submit their application package and complete the USA Hire assessments by May 4, 2026. Final Cut-Off on May 19, 2026: Applicants who submit their application package and complete the USA Hire assessments after May 4, 2026 will be considered in the final review. BASIC REQUIREMENT: To be considered for this position, you must demonstrate that you meet the basic requirement: A. Degree: Successful completion of a 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with a major in any field. (You must submit transcripts.) OR B. Industry-Specific Coursework: Successful completion of 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. (You must submit transcripts.) OR C. Exception for Contracting Series (1102): Federal employees in Contracting Series (1102) positions will be considered to have met the standard for positions they occupy on January 1, 2000. Employees who occupy Contracting Series positions equivalent to grades GS-05 through 12 will be considered to meet the basic requirement for other Contracting Series positions up to and including those classified at GS-12 or equivalent. This includes positions at other agencies and promotions up through GS-12 or equivalent. However, employees must meet specialized experience requirements when seeking another position. (You must submit SF-50s.) In addition to meeting the Basic Requirement above, applicants must meet the following Minimum Qualifications in order to be considered: MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: To be considered minimally qualified for this position, you must demonstrate that you possess the specialized experience and/or education for the grade level to which you are applying. GS-07 Specialized Experience: Must have at least one year (52 weeks, full-time) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service (or comparable level of experience from outside the Federal service) performing at least 3 of the 4 following duties: Assisting in the review of technical or administrative documents to ensure they are complete and accurate; Using regulations, procedural manuals, or policy guidance (e.g., financial, administrative, legal, or program-related) to support program recommendations; Preparing written materials such as reports, summaries, memoranda, correspondence, instructions, or background research to present information clearly and accurately; Reviewing data for accuracy to identify discrepancies, and/or recommending adjustments to improve workflow. Your resume must include how you meet at least 3 of the 4 specialized experience statements. OR Education: One full academic year (18 semester hours or equivalent) of graduate education or law school. Your field of study must have been in one or a combination of the following fields: accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, or organization and management. (You must submit transcripts.) OR Combination of Education and Experience: Combination of successfully completed graduate education and specialized experience may be used to meet Minimum Qualifications for this position. To determine your combination, first compute your experience as a percentage of the experience listed above; then compute your graduate education as a percentage of the graduate education listed above; then add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent. Only graduate-level education may be combined with specialized experience. (Experience must be reflected in your resume, and you must submit transcripts.) OR Superior Academic Achievement (SAA): A bachelor's degree in one or more of the following fields: accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, or organization and management, or any field that equipped you with the knowledge, skill, and ability to perform the work of a Contract Specialist, AND meet one of the following: (1) Grade point average of "B" (GPA of 2.95 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all completed undergraduate courses, or those completed in the last two years of undergraduate study; (2) Grade point average of "B+" (GPA of 3.45 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all courses in your major field of study, or those courses in your major completed in the last two years of undergraduate study; (3) Rank in the upper one-third of your class in your college, university, or major subdivision; or (4) Membership in a national honor society (other than freshman honor societies) recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies. (You must submit transcripts.) GS-09 Specialized Experience: Must have at least one year (52 weeks, full-time) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service (or comparable level of experience from outside the Federal service) performing at least 3 of the 4 following duties: Analyzing contract materials, technical specifications, or financial statements to support the preparation of acquisition-related documentation; Reviewing contract proposals for pricing, technical capabilities, and/or adherence to specifications to make informed recommendations for award decisions; Preparing reports, summaries, memoranda, correspondence, instructions, or background research memoranda used to support procurement or operational decisions; Responding to inquiries to provide business or administrative recommendations supported by research or analysis. Your resume must include how you meet at least 3 of the 4 specialized experience statements. OR Education: Two full academic years of progressively higher-level graduate education or master's or equivalent graduate degree or LL.B. or J.D. Your field of study must have been in one or a combination of the following fields: accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, or organization and management. (You must submit transcripts.) OR Combination of Education and Experience: Combination of successfully completed graduate education and specialized experience may be used to meet Minimum Qualifications for this position. To determine your combination, first compute your experience as a percentage of the experience listed above; then compute your graduate education as a percentage of the graduate education listed above; then add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent. Only graduate-level education in excess of one year (18 semester hours or equivalent) may be combined with experience. (Experience must be reflected in your resume, and you must submit transcripts.) IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. If your resume does not support your application questionnaire responses, we will not allow credit for your response(s). A full-time year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours per week spent in such employment.
Education
If you are claiming education as any part of the Basic Requirement and/or Minimum Qualifications for this position: You must submit a copy of your college transcript. An unofficial transcript with the degree title, list of courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned can be used as a substitute for official transcripts at the time of application. If you are selected for a position, official transcripts will be required prior to entering on duty. For GS-07: Note about Superior Academic Achievement (SAA): Applicants usually cannot claim credit based on their overall GPA if more than 10 percent of their total credit was based on pass/fail or similar systems, rather than on traditional grading systems. However, if they can document that only their freshman-year courses (25 percent or less of their total credit) were credited on a pass/fail or similar system, they can use their overall GPA to claim SAA. If 10 percent or fewer credits or only freshman-year courses were based on pass/fail or similar systems, such credits can be ignored and the GPA can be computed from the graded courses. Applicants can, however, still claim credit based on their last 2 years if 10 percent or fewer credits were based on pass/fail or similar systems. Applicants who cannot claim credit under the GPA requirements may claim credit for SAA only on the basis of class standing or honor society membership. Note about Graduate Education: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications; applicants' resumes and supporting documentation should only reflect education received from schools accredited by such institutions. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: https://ope.ed.gov/dapip/#/home.If a relevant course is not clearly qualifying (e.g., special topic, seminar, research, thesis, obscure or misleading course title, etc.), please submit an official course syllabus and/or detailed course description from the university/college for that particular course to ensure you are properly evaluated. Provide all relevant transcripts, not just your most recent one. Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the Basic Requirement or Minimum Qualifications, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program, or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. Failure to provide such documentation with your application will result in lost consideration. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.
Other Information
Agencies across Federal government may hire from this cross-government announcement. Agencies with non-General Schedule (non-GS) pay plans or bands may hire from this announcement when the vacancy they are filling is equivalent to the GS grade(s) advertised. The hiring agency's servicing HR office must verify grade-equivalency alignment with the advertised GS grade(s). Selections from this announcement must be for the GS grade(s) (or equivalent pay plan or band) included in the announcement. Current civil service employees selected will be given new appointments to the civil service and subject to a new probationary period; however, benefits, time served, and other Federal entitlements may remain the same. Final duty location and pay will be determined by the hiring agency. The salary range posted in this announcement is an approximation and subject to locality adjustment. Recruitment and/or relocation incentives may be available, depending on the hiring agency's policy. Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, non-career SES, or Presidential appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office. 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 Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire 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 Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire 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.