Archived listing. The details below describe a past opening.
Summary Serves as the Medical Center Liaison and advisor on contract related services focusing on critical clinical and healthcare services, product acquisition and support services required by project managers, program managers, upper management, and stakeholders on all aspects of procurement for a wide variety of items to include specialized services. Renders expert contract pre-award and post award expertise to all Administrative and Clinical Service lines. Duties
Duties to include but not limited to the following:
- Serves as the medical center liaison and advisor on contract related services focusing on critical clinical and healthcare services, product acquisition and support services required by project managers, program managers, upper management and stakeholders on all aspects of procurement for a wide variety of items to include specialized services.
- Develops procedures, policies, and supporting artifacts to ensure procurement activities are consistent with Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), VA Acquisitions Regulations (VAAR) and other federal procurement laws and regulations.
- Develops and implements processes and procedures as changes are made to the VHA Procurement Manual.
- Uses discretion in determining the intent of policy, interpreting the policy and engaging in professional discourse to resolve varying differences in interpretation and execution.
- Provides expertise as the contract analyst responsible for furnishing advice, reviews and services concerning a wide variety of service procurements requiring in-depth analysis and resolution.
- Develops performance work statements and objectives, cost benefit analysis, gap analysis, sole source justifications, past performance, quality assurance surveillance plans (QASP), market research, independent government estimates, evaluation criteria, options, funding, delivery schedules, lead times and reporting requirements.
- Reviews procurement documents for accuracy, adequacy and completeness, and assists service line managers as needed to ensure the final documents are acceptable.
- Develops sole source justifications in relation to cost, limited availability or unusual nature based on health care resource needs.
- Reviews contracts, work directives, and other ordering instruments to extract schedules of deliverable items and services, and maintains records of performance and delivery against those schedules.
- Assists in the development of procurement documents to ensure conformity to requirements including sole source justifications, government estimates, evaluation criteria, options, funding, delivery schedules, and lead times.
- Establishes and maintains controls to ensure that contracts are executed in accordance with terms.
- Recommends contract termination and need to exercise option years of the contract based on contract performance monitors, funds availability, and the need for continuation of services being rendered.
- Oversees and ensures compliance with the terms of contracts to determine modifications.
- Monitors contract expenditures requiring funds control (e.g. monitoring labor hour contracts to ensure funding levels are not exceeded). Reports on deviations from contract terms and manages a record system that includes contractor information and key contractual due dates to ensure the contractual actions are completed timely.
- Ensures that all contracted services provided by licensed independent practitioners and professionals are operating within the scope of their privileges, training, or credentials.
- Coordinates with leadership, clinical service customers, Contracting Officer Representatives (CORs), logistics staff, and other stakeholders to develop and execute acquisition strategies.
- Advises professional and technical personnel on the conditions of the contract, payments, changes, and other administrative issues which affect the financial position of the government and contractors.
- Analyzes and develops procedures to resolve gaps specificity or conflicts in guidelines consistent with supply program objectives and recommends/implements changes to current processes and procedures to improve the effectiveness of supply distribution.
- Provides training to the facility CORs on procurement policies and new processes and procedures related to procurement with the Federal government.
- Provides advice regarding procurement regulations for negotiations and resolves problems.
Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.
Work Schedule: Monday-Friday: 7:30am-4:00pm
Telework: This position is not authorized for telework
Virtual: This is not a virtual position
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Position Description/PD#: Acquisition & Utilization Specialist/ 99492S & 99810SQualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/11/2026.
Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS 09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS 07. For a GS 11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS 09.The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.
Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.
You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:
GS 09 Minimum Qualification:
- Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS 7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to establishes, expedites, and reviews consolidation of, all procurement packages, including unique, emergent, and complex requirements, to meet timely and technical needs of assigned acquisitions, develops sole source justifications in relation to cost, limited availability or unusual nature, when the health care resource need is either unique in the medical community, or is subject to maximum utilization only through health care resources contracting, develops sole source justifications in relation to cost, limited availability or unusual nature, when the health care resource need is either unique in the medical community, or is subject to maximum utilization through health care resources contracting, and identifies other alternative sources that exist within the local, regional or national geographical areas, develops and implements processes and procedures as changes are made, works collaboratively with clinical chiefs, healthcare professionals at affiliates or within the community to discuss clinical needs to develop health resources, and direct sharing agreements with other organizational components.
OR
- Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED)
OR
- Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond above information. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED)
GS 11 Minimum Qualification:
- Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS 09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to develops procedures, policies, and supporting artifacts, establishes guidelines are unclear or conflicting, develops local policies, procedures, SOPs, and associated training materials, develops and conducts presentations/recommendations to senior leadership as well as other internal and external stakeholders, develops and analyzes local and regional reports. Makes presentations/ recommendations to senior management officials regarding the contracting support of the facility. Prepares reports or briefs, contract data for meetings, inspections, audits and in-progress reviews, monitors quality assurance surveillance plans to ensure that contracted services meet the expectations and needs of the facility.
OR
- Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED)
OR
- Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond above information..(TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED)
You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
- Communication
- Contracting/Procurement
- Control of Funds
- Negotiation
- Reasoning
- Technical Competence
- Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Note: A full 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 a week spent in such employment.
Physical Requirements: Work is primarily sedentary in nature. Requires occasional travel to conduct inspections of contract facilities or motor vehicles providing contracts for healthcare resources to ensure joint commission and safety requirements are met.
For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. Education A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.
Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.
Requirements
- You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
- Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
- Subject to background/security investigation
- Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
- Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
- Drivers License Required.
As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:
- your performance and conduct;
- the needs and interests of the agency;
- whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
- whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
Upon completion of your probationary period or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.How you will be evaluated IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.
Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.
The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.
For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.
Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.
It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.
Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.How to apply All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 07/21/2026 to receive consideration.
To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13106843.
- To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
- Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package.
NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.
Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed.
Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement.
Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume:
- Prioritize most relevant and recent experience
- Use concise, results focused language
- Align language from the job announcement
- Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies
- Remove outdated or unrelated experience
- Use the USAJOBS resume builder
Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at:
- https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit
- https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/merit-hiring-plan-resources/applicant-guidance-on-the-two-page-resume-limit/
Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.
The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.
During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.Other information Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.
Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
