Contract Specialist
Department of Defense
Summary
See below for important information regarding this job.
Duties
- Leading all actions related to acquisition planning, solicitation, evaluation, negotiation, contract award, contract administration, and contract management functions.
- Serving as a senior level warranted Contracting Officer.
- Training and providing guidance to less experienced acquisition specialists.
- Responsibility for contracts and/or agreements for Performance Based Logistics, Strategic Supplier Alliances, Supply Chain Alliances, and Long-Term Contracts (e.g., Corporate Contracts or Prime Vendor Contracts)
- Coordinating with Program Managers to ensure contracts are performing as desired.
- Exercising extensive in-depth knowledge of local, agency and federal acquisition regulations and statutory laws applicable to the overall acquisition process.
- Developing negotiation strategies and objectives, exercising prudent judgment, initiative, and resourcefulness.
- Assuring high quality decisions and actions during all phases of the acquisition process, including contract performance and administration for life cycle of corporate and long-term contracts.
- Performing contracting officer reviews
- Providing briefings to leadership, when required.
Education
Substitution of education may not be used in lieu of specialized experience for this grade level.
How You Will Be Evaluated
The assessments for this job will measure the following Competencies: Accountability Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Influencing/Negotiating Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reading Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork Once the application process is complete, a review of your resume and supporting documentation may be completed and compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. The rating you receive is based on your responses to the assessment questionnaire and USA Hire assessments. The score is a measure of the degree to which your background matches the competencies required for this position. If your resume and/or supporting documentation is reviewed and a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, you may lose consideration for this position.
Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating.
Required Documents
- To apply for this position you must provide a complete Application Package.
- Each Application Package MUST include: Your Resume: IMPORTANT UPDATE: Your resume must not exceed two (2) pages.
- If your resume exceeds the two-page limit, you will be removed from consideration for this announcement.
- The resume and required supporting documentation should provide the minimum qualifications and relevant experience for the announced position.
- Must include the work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment, and duties performed.
- If multiple resumes are submitted by an applicant, only the last resume submitted will be reviewed for qualifications and referred for selection consideration, if eligible.
- The resume must not be more than 5MB and should be saved and uploaded 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.
- Page margins should be 0.5 inches, and font styles must be legible.
- Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text.
- We recommend using a font like Lato, if available.
- Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans.
- Applicable documents to support the eligibility(s) for which you are applying.
- Please review the following link for a listing of the additional documents you will need to provide: Supporting Documents.
- If you are requesting a reasonable accommodation to the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, submit documentation to support your request, including the Reasonable Accommodation Request Form found here.
- Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): If you are an eligible ICTAP applicant you may apply for special selection over other candidates for this position.
- To be well-qualified and exercise selection priority for this vacancy, displaced Federal employees must be rated at a score of 85 or higher for this position.
- ICTAP eligibles must submit one of the following as proof of eligibility for the special selection priority: a separation notice; a "Notice of Personnel Action" (SF-50) documenting separation; an agency certification that you cannot be placed after injury compensation has been terminated; an OPM notification that your disability annuity has been terminated; OR a Military Department or National Guard Bureau notification that you are retired under 5 U.S.C. 8337(h) or 8456.
- Priority Placement Program (PPP) DoD Military Spouse Preference (MSP): In order to receive this preference, you must choose to apply using the "Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Spouse Preference (MSP)" eligibility.
- If you are claiming MSP and are determined to be among the Best Qualified for the position, you may be referred to the hiring manager as a priority applicant.
- To be eligible as a MSP, you must submit the following supporting documents with your application package: Spouse's Permanent Change of Station (PCS) orders; Marriage Certificate or License; PPP Self Certification Checklist; Veterans' Preference documentation (e.g., DD-214, VA Letter, Statement of Service, if applicable); Transcripts (if applicable).
- These documents must provide acceptable information to verify: Residency within the commuting area of your sponsor's permanent duty station (PDS); proof of marriage to the active duty sponsor; proof of military member's active duty status; and other documentation required by the vacancy announcement to which you are applying.
- NOTE: Previous federal employees must also submit the following additional documentation: SF-50s (e.g., LWOP, highest grade held, overseas appointments, etc.), SF-75 information, and documentation of performance rating of record (dated within the last 12 months).
- Selected PPP MSP applicants will need to certify they have not accepted nor declined another offer of permanent, Federal employment (to include NAF and the military exchange services) since relocating to the military sponsor's current duty station.
- Priority Placement Program (PPP) DoD Retained Grade Preference (RGP): In order to receive this preference, you must choose to apply using the "Priority Placement Program, DoD Retained Grade Preference (RGP)" eligibility.
- If you are claiming RGP and are determined to be Well Qualified (score of 85 or above) for the position, you will be referred to the hiring manager as a priority applicant.
- Information and required documentation for claiming RGP may be found at the General Applicant Information and Definitions link below.
- To be eligible as a RGP, you must submit the following supporting documents with your application package: a signed Retained Grade PPP Self-Certification Checklist (DD3145-1 (whs.mil)); a copy of your Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) effecting the placement in retained grade status; or a copy of the notification letter you received regarding the RIF or classification downgrade.
About this role
The Contract Specialist position with the Department of Defense is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. See below for important information regarding this job. The role pays $117,284 to $152,471 per year.
Day to day, the work involves leading all actions related to acquisition planning, solicitation, evaluation, negotiation, contract award, contract administration, and contract management functions. The full list of duties, conditions, and required documents appears in the official announcement linked on this page.
Who should apply
Review the announcement's Qualifications section closely, since it defines exactly what federal finance and contracting experience this Contract Specialist position requires. Match your federal resume directly to the announcement's wording so a reviewer can confirm each requirement in writing. For this Contract Specialist position with the Department of Defense in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, confirm you meet each requirement before applying.
How competitive it is
At $117,284 to $152,471 per year, this is a mid-to-senior role where a precisely tailored application matters most. Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it competes within that local market, which can mean lighter competition than major metropolitan postings. The announcement closes on June 22, 2026, and federal postings can close early once enough applications arrive, so applying promptly is wise.
This overview is general guidance from Job Army to help you understand the role. Always read the official announcement for exact duties, qualifications, and requirements before applying.