Summary This position is located in the Contracts and Grants Directorate, Chief Operating Officer. Responsibilities The position is 100% remote eligible or onsite with the option for telework. The salary range advertised is for the Washington, DC area and may be adjusted based on the geographic locale of the selected applicant. The incumbent serves as a contract specialist for the Library of Congress programs. This position will be utilized through the Office of the Chief Operating Officer. The incumbent awards and administers a wide range of contracts actions for the various library service units. The incumbent serves as a Contracts Team Leader. Negotiates contracts for several Library programs that include various contract types of varying complexity. Contracting methods and types are utilized to procure large, highly sophisticated, and important equipment systems, programs, and services where little or no contractual precedent exists. Plans the negotiation strategy, coordinates strategy with negotiation team, and conducts negotiations with contractors to arrive at contract prices and terms. Prepares the contracts and recommends award. Serves as Contract Specialist responsible for complex procurements containing numerous differing processes or elements. Performs procurement planning. Prepares novel or innovative acquisition plans, source selection plans, and contract terms, conditions, or financial arrangements which serve as models for future acquisitions. Prepares procurement objectives relating to the terms of competition and price range and constructs the contractual vehicle including use of pricing arrangements, subcontracting policy, and like considerations. Prepares milestone charts and related schedules. Advises program officials in procurement planning. Advises program officials of the procurement objectives to be utilized and assists in preparing statements of work. Identifies need for regulatory or policy deviation and prepares determinations and findings. Prepares pre-award contract file and solicitation documentation Engages in contract administration activities for important, highly specialized procurements. Responsibilities typically include functions such as exercising options, reviewing and negotiating requests for equitable adjustment and claims, coordinating schedule extensions, incorporating change orders, issuing stop work orders, approving payment schedules and terms, and ensuring final payment and release of claims prior to closeout. Independently reviews contractor performance through site visits, correspondence, and phone conversations for completion of applicable contract clauses e.g., intellectual property rights, labor laws, and performance reports, and deliverables. Makes recommendations and issues cure or show cause notices when the contractor is not in compliance. Conducts contract reviews to assess performance. Oversees contractor activities through personal contact or review to ensure compliance with technical, financial, delivery, and other contract terms. Serves as a Team Leader. Articulates and communicates to the team the assignment, project, problem to be solved, actionable events, milestones, and/or program issues under review, and deadlines and time frames for completion. Identifies, distributes, and balances workload and tasks among employees in accord with established workflow, skill level, and/or occupational specialization. Makes adjustments to accomplish the workload in accord with established priorities to ensure timely accomplishment of assigned team tasks. Monitors and reports to the supervisor on the status and progress of work, checking on work in progress and reviewing completed work to ensure instructions on work priorities, methods, deadlines, and quality have been met. Answers questions from team members on procedures, policies, regulations, etc. Prepares reports and maintains records of work accomplishments and administrative information, as required, and coordinates the preparation, presentation, and communication of work-related information. Estimates and reports to the team on progress in meeting established milestones and deadlines for completing assignments, projects, and tasks. Ensures all team members are aware of and participate in planning for achievement of team goals and objectives. Performs other duties as assigned. The position description number for this position is 347532. The salary range indicated reflects the locality pay adjustments for the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan area. The incumbent of this position will work a compflex, flextime, or maxiflex work schedule. This is a non-supervisory, non-bargaining unit position. Relocation expenses will not be authorized for the person(s) selected under this vacancy announcement. Requirements Conditions of Employment Conditions of Employment Library of Congress employees are prohibited from using illegal drugs, including marijuana. The Library is part of the Federal Government and abides by federal law, so regardless of individual state or District of Columbia laws, marijuana use is illegal, considered criminal activity, and can affect your employment at the Library. In addition, past or current drug use and activities (e.g., selling or distributing) may deem you ineligible for employment. Qualifications Applicants must have had progressively responsible experience and training sufficient in scope and quality to furnish them with an acceptable level of the following knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the position without more than normal supervision. Knowledge of Federal contracting laws, regulations, principles, policies, and procedures to develop and issue solicitations and contracts. ** Ability to communicate in writing. ** Ability to solicit, negotiate, and monitor contracts. ** Ability to lead a team. Ability to assess and meet customer needs. Ability to communicate effectively other than in writing. Education Basic Requirements for GS-13 and above. 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 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. You must submit a legible copy of your college/university transcripts to your online application. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable at the time of application. Official transcripts will be required if selected. Failure to submit the required legible documentation at the time of application will result in disqualification of your application. Foreign Education – Education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed equivalent to conventional/accredited U.S. education programs to be acceptable for Federal employment. If your college/university is outside the U.S., your transcripts must be accompanied by a report from a credential evaluation service that is a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) or the Association of International Credentials Evaluators (AICE). Failure to submit a foreign education evaluation report will result in disqualification of your application. Additional Information This position is limited to the first 100 applications. This vacancy will be closed after 30 days or after the first 100 applications are received, whichever comes first. Although it is the Library's policy to afford the maximum pay benefit to employees when setting rates of pay, a new appointee who has had no previous Federal service will generally be paid at step one of the grade. The Library of Congress is an equal opportunity employer. Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities who meet eligibility requirements are strongly encouraged to apply. Applicants must submit a complete application package that is received by the closing date of this announcement. Appointment/retention is subject to a favorable evaluation of an appropriate personnel security/suitability investigation. For more information, please see: Vetting Process 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 email ADA@loc.gov. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be determined on a case-by-case basis. Applicants with disabilities may be considered under special hiring procedures and must submit an appropriate certificate of eligibility when applying for this position. The proof or disability/certification may be issued by the State Vocational Rehabilitation Office, Disability Services or Career Services office of the applicant’s college or university, or the Department of Veterans Affairs. The letter must verify that the applicant has a severe disability and must be dated within three years of the date of the application. Certification from health care providers are not accepted. For more information contact the Library's Office of EEO/Diversity Programs at 202-707-6024 or email spp@loc.gov. FAILURE TO SUBMIT YOUR CERTIFICATION WILL CAUSE YOUR APPLICATION TO NOT BE CONSIDERED UNDER THE SELECTIVE PLACEMENT PROGRAM. The Library of Congress is the national library of the United States and is part of the Legislative Branch of the Federal government. As such, all positions are in the excepted service. The Library reserves the right to fill a lesser or greater number of vacancies indicated during the life of this vacancy announcement. Initial permanent appointments to the Library of Congress require completion of a one-year probationary period. Probationary periods served at other Federal agencies do not count toward this requirement. A “Not to Exceed" (NTE) status is used to identify an appointment with a specific ending date. However, the Library has the right to separate a NTE employee at any time due to either performance issues or budget constraints. Are you a veteran? Please indicate the type of veterans' preference you are claiming in your application materials and/or applicant profile and provide the appropriate supporting documentation to validate your claim. Those applying for 5-point preference must submit Member Copy 4 of your DD 214. Those applying for 10-point preference must fill out an SF-15 (click here for the form) and provide the required documentation listed on the back of the form. If required supporting documentation is not attached, Veterans' Preference will not be considered in the application process.