Contract Specialist

Duties

WHAT IS THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF PROCUREMENT DIVISION?

A description of the business units can be found at:

Vacancies will be filled in the following specialty areas: PROCUREMENT

The following are the duties of this position at the full working level.

-Advises and supports OCPO Senior Managers and Executives in developing and directing controls for IRS procurement and contract programs. Consults with and furnishes authoritative advice and guidance to staff. The employee is responsible for devising sophisticated pricing arrangements and for managing all contractual aspects of the services and systems acquisition process. Primary point of contact and authority for OCPO Senior Managers and Executives on acquisition approaches and alternatives, market analysis and outcomes the drive the acquisition approaches for major procurement of supplies, services (including information technology, architectural and engineering, or research and development) using broad authority and oversight within warrant level to legally bind and obligate agency funding through contract issue cure notices and terminate contracts for convenience or default.

-Takes a leadership role in coordinating and representing the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer on complicated and controversial acquisition issues with all impacted parties. The employee must be prepared to defend the acquisition strategy, competition approach, or award summary or other positions due to challenges from a variety of entities such as congressional staff members, state government, or other federal government authorities such as Government Accountability Office. Serves as a leader for the short- and long-range planning, development, coordination, and implementation of very broad and complex procurements that impact support services and information technology for Internal Revenue business units. Knowledge of related disciplines and functions involved in the acquisition process, such as design or system engineering, integrated logistics support, financial management, and their interrelationships with contracting. Advises and supports the OCPO Senior Managers and Executives, Program Managers, and COR's in developing and directing controls for IRS procurement and contract programs. Consults with and furnishes authoritative advice and guidance to staff. Consults with and furnishes authoritative advice and guidance.

-Develops and maintains innovate contractual language, terms, and conditions. Serves as a program contractual authority and advisor on the acceptability and applicability of contractual matters related to procurement actions. Interprets and applies Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), Department of Treasury Acquisition Regulations (DTAR), and Internal Revenue Service Acquisition Procedures (IRSAP) to every acquisition regardless of type of procurement and dollar threshold. Responsible for reviewing acquisitions strategies recommended by program officials to ensure accuracy, quality, adherence to FAR, DTAR, and IRSAP prior to approving streamlined and innovative acquisition strategies that bring the greatest value to the IRS mission.

-Serves as the subject matter expert for other contracting professionals in the Office of Procurement Operations by utilizing experience, knowledge, and training to guide, coach, and mentor contracting professionals through establishing acquisition strategies, navigating challenging procurements, responding to protests, responding to Freedom of Information Act requests, responding to congressional inquiries, drafting negation strategies, drafting award decisions, analyzing the impact of new legislation, and procurement policies on procurement actions.

- Approves acquisition strategies, evaluation criteria, appoints contracting officer technical representatives, award decisions, negotiation strategies. Participates and collaborates with IRS senior executives, program managers, attorneys, small business specialists, procurement policy, and senior procurement executives on contract review board prior to approving acquisition strategy.

Requirements
Conditions of Employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National and provide proof of U.S. Citizenship. (Birth certificate showing birth in the U.S; Unexpired U.S. Passport; Certificate of Citizenship or Naturalization; or Report of Birth Abroad of a U.S. Citizen (Form FS-240))
  

Qualifications

Federal experience is not required. The experience may have been gained in the public sector, private sector or One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-timework is considered on a prorated basis. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week, on your resume.

You must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement:

BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR GRADE 13 & ABOVE:

You must have completed 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 or equivalent to work at the next lower level of the position, and must have provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform 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.

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.

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 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, 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.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below:

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE GS-15 LEVEL:

To be minimally qualified for the position you must have one (1) year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-14 level. Specialized experience is defined as experience demonstrating mastery the principles and practices of acquisition planning, contract formation, partnering with government and industry, administration, and resolution of disputes and claims, and providing procurement advice and counsel to agency program managers and executives; Responsible for overseeing the development and execution of the contracting portion of project management plans; Ensuring the award and administration of contracts complies with applicable contracting laws, directives, and policies; Managing the procurement of all types of equipment, supplies and/or services using multiple acquisition strategies including competition or contracting by negotiations, settlement of terminations for convenience and default, claims for delay and disruption, and resolution of contractor performance issues. Experience applying communicative techniques to interact with internal and external customers effectively and diplomatically.

For more information on qualifications please refer to .

Education

For positions with an education requirement, or if you are qualifying for this position by substituting education or training for experience, submit a copy of your transcripts or equivalent. An official transcript will be required if you are selected.

A college or university degree generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools which meet these criteria, please refer to .

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 conventional U.S. education program. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. Click (Section 3, Explanation of Terms) or for Foreign Education Credentialing instructions.

Additional information

• A 1-year probationary period is required. Note: Current Federal employees may be required to serve a new probationary period (5 CFR 315.802(b)).
• Have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer.
• We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies. Additional jobs may be filled.
• This is a non- bargaining unit position.
• Tour of Duty: Monday - Friday 8:00AM - 4:30PM EST.
• Alternative work schedule, staggered work hours or telework may be available.
• In the event that a building is closed due to rent management, new hires may be placed in a local commuting location.
• Telework Eligible Positions: Telework eligible positions do not guarantee telework. Employees must meet and sustain IRS telework eligibility requirements (e.g., reporting at least twice a pay period to your assigned Post of Duty (POD)) and supervisor's approval to participate in the IRS Telework Program. Employees must also be within a 200-mile radius of their official assigned post-of-duty (POD) while in a telework status. As a reminder - If you are selected for a position, you are responsible for reporting to your designated POD (location) on the negotiated start date or as directed by management.
• Obtain and use a Government-issued charge card for business-related travel.
• If this position is designated as hard to fill and you were referred by an IRS employee, the employee may be eligible to receive a bonus for referring you under The Employee Referral Bonus Program (ERBP), recruiting strategy.
  

Though many locations may be listed, you will be limited to a maximum of 3 location choices. Please consider each location carefully when applying. If you are selected for a position at one of your location selections, that location will become your official post of duty.

This is an open continuous announcement which allows applicants to apply up to the closing date of the announcement, 11/25/2025. This announcement will establish an inventory of applicants. Contingent upon funding and space requirements, one or more vacancies may be filled at the locations listed in this announcement as they come available.

For more information regarding Union Representation click

• 
  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

The following documents are required and must be provided with your application. All application materials, including transcripts, must be in English.

1. Online Application - Questionnaire
2. Education - See Education Section above
3. Registration/License (If Applicable) - active, current registration/license
4. High School Diploma (or equivalent) - If you are 16 or 17 years of age, you MUST submit documentation of graduation from high school (or equivalent); OR completion of a formal vocational training program; OR statement from school authorities agreeing with your decision to pursue employment rather than continuing your education.
   

NOTE:

• DO NOT copy the specialized experience statement or position description into your resume for experience as this is not a demonstration of your experience and could result in an ineligible determination.
• If you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, you may not be considered for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible).
  

How to Apply

This Direct Hire Public Notice is to gather applications that may or may not result in a referral or selection. Your application will remain active through the open period of this Public Notice. Applicants will be referred on a first in, first out basis. Those applicants who are applying earlier in the process will stand a much better chance of being referred for consideration in the selection process.

The following instructions outline our application process. You must complete this application process and submit any required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on 11/25/2025 in this announcement. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. ET, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, please contact us by noon ET on 11/25/2025.
To preview the Application Questionnaire, please click the following link:

• To begin the application process, click the "Apply Online" button.
• You will be re-directed to USA STAFFING to complete your application process; answer the online questions and submit all required documents. (To submit supporting documents, import documents from USAJOBS to the appropriate document types. If the document you need was not imported from USAJOBS, you may upload it directly into this application. To protect your privacy, we suggest you first remove your SSN).
• To complete, you must click the "Submit Application" button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on 11/25/2025.
  

To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account (). There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Update Application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.

To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account: . All of your applications will appear on the Welcome page. The application record in your USAJOBS account provides an Additional Application Information page that provides information regarding the documentation you submitted and any correspondence we have sent related to this application. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: .

Are you unsure how to write your federal resume? We are here to help. The Treasury Recruitment Service regularly offers Writing Your Federal Resume training sessions, and other career-related information sessions, to assist you in your career search journey. To register for a session, to go to our Career Information Sessions webpage.

Agency contact information

IRS Memphis External

Email

Address

OCPO - DCPO - Deputy Chief Procurement Officer

1111 Constitution Ave NW

Washington, DC 20224

US

Next steps

Treasury believes in a working environment that supports inclusion; to review reasonable accommodation policies and procedures please visit . We provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact us if you require this for any part of the application and hiring process.

Once your application package and online questionnaire is received you will receive an acknowledgement email. You are responsible for checking status updates and notifications in USAJOBS. Hard copy notifications will not be sent to you. You may check the status of your application for this position at any time by logging onto the USAJOBS "My Account" tab and clicking on "Application Status." For a more detailed update of your application status, you may click on "more information." Please notify us if your contact information changes after the closing date of the announcement. If your email mailbox is full or blocked (SPAM) you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.

Fair & Transparent

The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.

---