Small Business Specialist

Job Description

SALARY RANGE: $63,722.00 to $118,069.00 / Per Year

OPEN PERIOD: Thursday, June 4, 2015 to Wednesday, June 10, 2015

SERIES & GRADE: GS-1101-11/13

POSITION INFORMATION: Full-time appointment in the Competitive Service. - This position is in the bargaining unit. - Permanent

PROMOTION POTENTIAL:13

DUTY LOCATIONS: 2 vacancies in the following location:
District of Columbia, DC View Map

WHO MAY APPLY: The area of consideration for this announcement is U.S. Citizens.

SECURITY CLEARANCE: Secret

SUPERVISORY STATUS: No

JOB SUMMARY:

About the Agency

USAID is an independent Federal Government agency that receives overall foreign policy guidance from the Secretary of State. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., USAID fosters transformational development around the world. Our work supports economic growth and trade; agriculture and the environment; education and training; democracy and governance; global health; global partnerships and humanitarian assistance. We operate in four regions of the world: Sub-Saharan Africa; Asia and the Near East; Latin America and the Caribbean; and Europe and Eurasia. USAID employees in the Civil Service and Foreign Service, as well as individuals employed through Personal Service Contracts, must adhere to our Counter Trafficking in Persons Code of Conduct. For information on the effort to counter all forms of human trafficking, including the procurement of commercial sex acts and the use of forced labor, visit http://www.state.gov/g/tip.

SUMMARY:

The position is located in the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. The Office serves as the initial point of contact at USAID for U.S. Small Businesses, Small Disadvantaged Businesses, Women-Owned Small Businesses, HUBZone Small Businesses and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses. The Office is an advocacy and advisory office for these referenced Small Businesses. The position provides Small Business program and advisory support and also conducts internal and external outreach.

For more information about USAID, visit http://www.usaid.gov.

TRAVEL REQUIRED

• Not Required

RELOCATION AUTHORIZED

• No

KEY REQUIREMENTS

• U.S. Citizen or national
• Relevant education and experience (see Qualifications below)
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance
• Males born after 12/31/1959, must be registered with the Selective Service
• Direct Deposit/Electric Funds Transfer is required
• May be required to serve a 1 year probationary period

DUTIES:

As a Small Business Specialist, at full performance level, you will:

• Serve as an OSDBU representative to a specific USAID Bureau(s) to expand Small Business representation;
• Analyze buying activities’ procurement plans to identify opportunities for U.S. based Small Business concerns;
• Negotiate with buying activities and the program office to ensure appropriate Small Business utilization in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and agency policy;
• Collaborate with senior managers to address and resolve difficult issues, specific situations or problems;
• Promote U.S. based Small Business programs;
• Utilize acquisition and assistance systems to identify capable Small Business concerns and to track the agency’s acquisition and assistance announcements and activities;
• Educate potential contractors/service providers on acquisition and assistance procedures, such as advertisement and negotiation of acquisitions, submission of unsolicited proposals and the Agency’s forecast; and
• Other related duties as assigned.

There is a higher level of supervision at the lower grade levels.

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:

In order for your application to be considered, you must meet the following knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOC’s) by the closing date of this announcement:

• Technical Knowledge - Contracting/Procurement: Contracting/Procurement - Knowledge of various types of contracts, techniques, or requirements (for example, Federal Acquisitions Regulations) for contracting or procurement, and contract negotiation and administration.
• Laws, Policies and Regulations: Knowledge of, and ability to apply, applicable federal, state, and local laws, statutes, regulations, agency policies and procedures.
• Presentation Skills/Oral Communication: Expresses information to others effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information; makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues and responds appropriately.
• Influencing/Negotiating: Persuades others; builds consensus through give and take; gains cooperation from others to obtain information and accomplish goals.

Please be advised that a narrative is not required, but the KSAOC’s must be clearly displayed within your resume.



GS-11


You must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-9 level in the Federal service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. Examples of qualifying specialized experience at the next lower level for this position includes: assisting with the planning and organization of meetings between contracting officials; researching opportunities for Small Business inclusion; preparing Small Business outreach opportunities for consideration.

OR

Possess a Ph.D. or equivalent graduate degree or three full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree directly related to the work of the position or LL.M. if related (Must submit transcripts)

OR

Possess a combination of the required experience and graduate education beyond the first two years of graduate study that together meet the requirements for this position (Must submit transcripts)

GS-12

You must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. Examples of qualifying specialized experience at the next lower level for this position includes: planning, organizing and conducting meetings with contracting officials to address acquisition strategy, policy and procedure; researching, identifying and sharing opportunities for Small Business inclusion with contracting and technical staff; and participating in vendor outreach events to increase Small Business participation.

GS-13

You must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-12 level in the Federal service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. Examples of qualifying specialized experience at the next lower level for this position includes: reviewing acquisition proposals for procurement requests to determine application to and opportunities for U.S. Small Business; negotiating Small Business inclusion with contracting and technical staff; and supporting vendor outreach events to increase Small Business participation.

In order for your application to be considered, you must meet the specialized experience requirement by the closing date of the announcement.

This position may require a one (1) year probationary period.

HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED:

CATEGORY RATING: Candidates who meet the basic qualification requirements for this vacancy will be rated according to Category Rating Procedures and in accordance with veteran preference eligibility. This means that candidates will be assigned to a pre-defined quality based on answers to the assessment questions, veteran’s preference and a review of work experience described in the resume. Generally, only candidates in the top-tier quality category will be referred to the hiring manager. There are three quality categories: Gold, Silver, Bronze. The Gold category represents the most highly qualified individuals. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

We use a multi-step process to evaluate and refer applicants: Qualified applicants receive a score of 70 to 100 before veteran’s preference points are applied (if applicable). You will be rated on your qualifications for this position as evidences by the education, experience, and training you report on relative to this positions that show the degree to which you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities or competencies listed on this vacancy announcement. USAID must be able to conduct reference checks as part of its assessment process. Applicants who do not permit reference checked from previous employers may be disqualified.

Your application must show that you meet all requirements, including the education and/or experience required for this position. You may be found “not qualified” if you do not possess the minimum competencies required for the position. If your application is incomplete, we may rate you as ineligible.
To preview questions please click here
.

BENEFITS:

You can review our benefits at:https://careerconnector.jobs.treas.gov/cc/usaid/vacancy/preview!benefits.hms?orgId=664&jnum=124210

OTHER INFORMATION: This announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies within 5 months of the closing date.

These are Testing Designated Positions (TDP’s) under the Agency’s approved Drug Free Work Place Program. All applicants selected for this position will be subject to random drug testing once they begin working for the Agency.

Moving and relocation expenses are not authorized.

EEO Policy: www.eeoc.gov/eeoc

Reasonable Accommodation Policy: www.opm.gov/disability/reasonableaccommodation.asp

Disability: www.opm.gov/disability/mngr_3-13.asp

Veterans’ Information: www.fedshirevets.gov/

Telework: www.telework.gov

Selective Service Registration: www.sss.gov
/ HOW TO APPLY:
The following instructions outline our application process. You must complete this on-line application process and submit any applicable required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. If applying on-line poses an extreme hardship, you must contact the human resources office no later than two business days prior to the closing date of this vacancy announcement. An alternative application method will provided upon approval of the hardship notification. After this time, requests to apply via alternative methods will not be granted.

Please note that all required documents must be received by the closing date, via online or alternative methods, and that we will determine your eligibility and qualifications based solely on the material received by the closing date.

Step 1 - Review the Job Announcement
Before you apply, we suggest you review the entire job announcement. Pay close attention to the Major Duties section and the How You Will Be Evaluated section where you will see the areas upon which your application will be evaluated and a link for previewing online questions.

Step 2 - Create or Upload a resume with USAJOBS (www.usajobs.gov)

-Create or upload a resume in USAJOBS. You may wish to customize your resume to ensure it supports your responses to the online questions and addresses the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section of the job announcement. For resume tips, click here.

-Although you must enter your Social Security Number (SSN) for USAJOBS, we will only see the last four digits for identification purposes.

Step 3 - Apply Online
Click the “Apply Online” button on this announcement and then select the resume you wish to submit with your application. You will be redirected to the Department of the Treasury’s CareerConnector website to complete the application process.

Step 4 - Answer the Online Questions and Submit Your Online Application
If this is your first time on Treasury’s CareerConnector website, you will be prompted to register by answering questions related to your eligibility for Federal employment. The system will save these responses and take you back to the main screen so that you can answer the job-specific questions. Select “Take me to the assessment” and click on the “Next” button to answer the job-specific questions. You must answer all the questions and click the “Finish” button.

Step 5 - Review and Confirm Your Submission
You will now have the option to upload a document or print fax cover-sheets for documents (see Step 6 for details). Once you click “Done,” you will see a summary of your application for your review. You may also print a copy for your records. When you click “Finish” at the bottom of the page, you will then be directed back to USAJOBS where you can confirm that your application has been submitted and track your application status.

Step 6 - Submit Documents
You can submit any applicable required or optional documents (see below) by document upload, fax, or e-mail. Whichever method you choose, please include the job announcement number with your documents. To protect your privacy, we encourage you to remove your SSN from any documents that you submit.

Document Upload: You may upload documents in one of two ways:
1. Once you finish answering the questions in the job announcement, you will be prompted to upload your document(s) to your application. You will be given the choice to either upload the document as part of the application process or you can select a document that you’ve already loaded on USAJOBS. Or

2. You can upload a document to an existing application by logging into your USAJOBS account profile. Click on “My Applications” and search for the vacancy. Once you’ve located the vacancy, click on the vacancy and select “Apply Online.” Move through your existing application to the Documents page and select Upload in order to add a document to your application. Be certain to review your complete application for confirmation that the document uploaded.
In the Application Review section, you may verify acceptance of your documents in Career Connector if you see them listed on the “Vacancy Documents” screen. Then, click on “Finished” to be returned to USAJOBS.

Fax: Print a fax cover-sheet in Career Connector by following the “Faxing Supporting Documentation” instructions. The fax number will be provided on the cover-sheet.

If you are having difficulty within the Career Connector system and need technical assistance please email the help desk at careerconnectorhelp@treasury.gov. The help desk is available to assist you during the hours of 8:00 am- 4:30 pm EST. REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:

• Resume showing relevant experience.
• Supporting documentation if claiming veteran’s preference eligibility (e.g, DD-214, SF-15, and Veteran’s Administration Letter). For a detailed list of documents, click here.
• Transcript (only if applying on the basis of education; unofficial is acceptable for the application; the official transcript will be requested if selected for the position)

AGENCY CONTACT INFO: Lydia Greene
Phone: 202-712-4273
Fax: 202-630-0056
Email: lygreene@usaid.gov Agency Information:
United States Agency for International Development
1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington , DC
20523-0016
US
Fax: 202-630-0056 WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT: Applicants are evaluated using an automated applicant assessment system. After determining basic eligibility and qualifications, the supplemental questionnaire will be used to identify the best qualified applicants to be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and possible interviews. After making a tentative job offer, we will conduct a suitability/security background investigation. A final job offer is contingent upon a favorable suitability determination and a favorable SECRET level security clearance investigation and determination.

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.” You will receive final notification via email when this vacancy has been filled. Please notify us if your contact information changes after the closing date of the announcement. Also, note that if you provide an email address that is inaccurate or if your mailbox is full or blocked (e.g., spam-blocker), you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.