Acquisition & Utilization Specialist

You will render expert contract pre-award and post award expertise to all administrative and clinical services within the medical center and supported catchment area. Duties include but may not be limited to the following:

• 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;
• Conducts analyses and recommends courses of actions to ensure that vision clinical and administrative service requirements have addressed considerations such as construction budgeting supporting manpower and other factors;
• Provides training to the facility Contracting Officers on procurement policies and new processes and procedures related to procurement;
• 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 and conducts presentations/recommendations to leadership and other stakeholders to explain regulations and procedures;
• Negotiates performance requirements among multiple sites and service lines in order to obtain agreement standardize enterprise equipment supply and/or service requirements in support of strategic acquisition plans;
• Establishes and maintains controls to ensure that contracts are executed in accordance with terms;
• Advises on all phases of negotiation with the contract specialist/contracting officer for contract modifications change orders supplemental agreements and delivery order processes including requirements definition justification and approval for service contract extension method of contracting evaluation of proposals and all phases of contract administration; and
• Monitors quality assurance surveillance plans to ensure that contracted services meet the expectations and needs of the facility.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• To be considered for this position you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• 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. Work is performed primarily in an office setting with adequate lighting heating and ventilation.
• 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 ( Effective May 7 2025 drivers 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)

• 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.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement 02/04/2026.

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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9. 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 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.

Preferred Experience: current COR I certification or previous experience as a COR managing a government contract

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

• Specialized Experience: One (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level in the Federal service that equipped you with the particular knowledge skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of an Acquisition Utilization Specialist and that is typically in or related to the work of this position. Specialized experience includes: handling contract related services product acquisition and procurement of items in a healthcare environment; overseeing contracts including pre-award and post-award; preparing procurement packages with unique emergent and complex requirements including development of requirement documents (e.g. performance work statements and objectives cost benefit analysis gap analysis sole source justifications past performance market research etc.); developing sole source justifications; developing and analyzing reports to make recommendations on acquisition and contracting issues; participating in negotiations with other officials throughout all phases of contract administration; and monitoring expenditures and reporting on deviations from contract terms. -OR-
• Education: A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or three (3) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M. if related that provided the knowledge skills and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. -OR-
• Combination: An equivalent combination of successfully completed graduate education and specialized experience as described above which meets the total qualification requirement for the GS-11 grade level.

Required Experience:

IC