About This Position
This is an open-continuous announcement with an established initial cut-off date of Monday, February 02, 2026. Please see the "How You Will Be Evaluated" section for more information. See below for important information regarding this job. This position may be filled at grade levels GS-09, GS-11, and/or GS-12. Annual 2026 salary ranges (Steps 01 - 10) are listed below. GS-09: $68,013 - $88,421 GS-11: $82,289 - $106,982 GS-12: $98,630 - $128,221
Qualifications
To qualify for a Contract Specialist, your resume and supporting documentation must support: A. Basic Contracting Requirement: A.) A bachelor's degree from an accredited educational institution authorized to grant baccalaureate degrees OR B.) a current civilian employee in DoD or member of the Armed Forces, who occupied an 1102 position, contracting officer position, or comparable military contracting position with authority to award or administer contracts above the simplified acquisition threshold on or before September 30, 2000, are excluded from the requirements of "A)" above. AND B. Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience that equipped you with the particular competencies to successfully perform the duties of the position and is directly in or related to this position. To qualify at the GS-09 level, applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level or equivalent under other pay systems in the Federal service, military, or private sector. To qualify at the GS-11 level, applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level or equivalent under other pay systems in the Federal service, military, or private sector. To qualify at the GS-12 level, applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level or equivalent under other pay systems in the Federal service, military, or private sector Applicants must meet eligibility requirements, minimum qualifications, and any other regulatory requirements by the cut-off/closing date of the announcement. Creditable specialized experience includes: GS-09 With assistance, applying contracting/acquisition planning, principles, laws, statutes, regulations, and procedures applicable to procurement/contracting actions. Assisting in soliciting offers to procure a variety of requirements ranging from standard to specialized supplies or services. Communicating through written communications and discussions with vendors/customers. GS-11 With assistance, applying contracting/acquisition planning, principles, laws, statutes, regulations, and procedures applicable to procurement/contracting actions. Soliciting offers to procure a variety of requirements ranging from standard to specialized supplies or services. Participating in negotiations to procure supplies. Communicating through written communications and discussions with vendors/customers. GS-12 Applying and adapting contracting principles, laws, statutes, regulations, and procedures applicable to procurement/contracting actions. Soliciting offers to procure a variety of requirements ranging from standard to specialized supplies or services. Performing acquisition planning. Conducting negotiations to procure supplies. Communicating through written communications and discussions with vendors/customers. OR C. Education Substitution: Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. Education must be from a college or university accredited by an organization approved by the U.S. Department of Education. See http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/Search.aspx. If using education to meet basic qualifications, YOU MUST SUBMIT A TRANSCRIPT as supplemental documentation. To qualify based on education in lieu of specialized experience, you must possess: GS-09 Two years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree. GS-11 Three years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a PhD or equivalent Doctorate degree. Such education must be from an accredited college or university, and must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities to do the work. GS-12 Education may not be substituted in lieu of Specialized Experience for this grade level. OR D. Combination: Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements for grade levels GS-09 and GS-11 and may be computed by first determining the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determining the applicant's education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grade GS-09 and GS-11. 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, religious, 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.
Major Duties
If selected at the GS-09 or GS-11 grade levels, the below responsibilities will be performed in a developmental capacity.
Serving as the central point of contact for assigned procurements, performing intensive market research to determine availability of the product or producers and to develop new sources.
Developing acquisition strategy involving previous history, market conditions and specifications or technical data packages, as well as reviewing Sourcing Strategy recommendations.
Determining contract type, method of solicitation, options determination, and sources to be solicited
Checking for adequacy of item description, previous contracts, requirement for option, and appropriate mailing list.
Coordinating set-asides with the Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization Office (SADBU).
Inputting synopses for formal publications and sealed biddings in accordance with acquisition regulations.
Considering and recommending acquisition plans to achieve socioeconomic goals for small or disadvantaged businesses, or for businesses in labor surplus areas.
Serving as the central point of contact for assigned procurements, performing intensive market research to determine availability of the product or producers and to develop new sources.
Developing acquisition strategy involving previous history, market conditions and specifications or technical data packages, as well as reviewing Sourcing Strategy recommendations.
Determining contract type, method of solicitation, options determination, and sources to be solicited
Checking for adequacy of item description, previous contracts, requirement for option, and appropriate mailing list.
Coordinating set-asides with the Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization Office (SADBU).
Inputting synopses for formal publications and sealed biddings in accordance with acquisition regulations.
Considering and recommending acquisition plans to achieve socioeconomic goals for small or disadvantaged businesses, or for businesses in labor surplus areas.
Education
Are you using your education to qualify? You MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: Unofficial transcripts are acceptable at time of application. GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours that your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study. FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.
How You Will Be Evaluated
Open-Continuous Cut-off Information: An initial cut-off date of Monday, February 02, 2026, will be used to evaluate candidates for the initial available vacancies. Any application received after the initial cut-off date will only be considered should additional vacancies be received after the initial cut-off date. If additional vacancies are received after the initial cut-off date, ALL applicants that have applied will be evaluated/re-evaluated and ranked as stated within the Evaluation statement in the announcement. Direct Hire Evaluation: Once the application process is complete, a review of your application will be made to ensure you meet the job requirements. This vacancy will be filled through a Department of Defense Direct Hire Authority. All applicants who meet the basic qualification requirements will be forwarded to the Selecting Official for consideration. The rule of Three, Veteran's Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants do not apply to this vacancy. We will evaluate your application for basic eligibility and to determine if your experience meets the basic qualification requirements described in the announcement. All applicants who meet the qualifications and other basic requirement are eligible for referral and selection consideration. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating.
Additional Information
Defense Acquisition Workforce: Position requires DoD Acquisition Contracting (C/CON), Professional (Foundational) level certification within required timeframes. Selectee must also achieve 80 hours of Continuous Learning Points (CLPs) every 2-years. Click here for more details and Resources. For Important General Applicant Information and Definitions go to: http://www.dla.mil/portals/104/documents/careers/GenAppInfoDef.pdf Reemployed Annuitants: This position does not meet criteria for appointment of Reemployed Annuitants. The DoD criteria for hiring Reemployed Annuitants can be found at: https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/140025/140025_vol300.PDF Drug-Free Workplace Policy The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) is committed to maintaining a safe, drug-free workplace. All DLA employees are required to refrain from illegal drug use on and off duty. DLA conducts pre-employment, reasonable suspicion, post-accident, and random drug testing. Applicants tentatively selected for employment in testing designated positions will undergo a urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Refusal to undergo testing or testing positive for illegal drugs will result in withdrawal of the tentative job offer and a six-month denial of employment with DLA from the date of the drug test. Employees in drug testing designated positions are subject to random drug testing. The DLA drug testing panel tests for the following substances: marijuana, cocaine, opiates, heroin, phencyclidine, amphetamines, methamphetamines, fentanyl, norfentanyl, methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), and opioids. ADVISORY: Use of cannabidiol (CBD) products may result in a positive drug test for marijuana. DLA employees are subject to Federal law and under Federal law, Marijuana is a Schedule I drug and is illegal. Additional guidance on writing a federal resume can be found at: USAJOBS Help Center - How do I write a resume for a federal job? 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.
How to Apply
To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. To receive consideration for the initial cut-off date, the complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) of that established date. All applications received thereafter, will be considered should additional vacancies be received after the initial cut-off date in which additional cut-off dates will be established. To begin, click Apply Online to access an online application. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account or you may need to create a new account. You will be taken to an online application. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation, and submit the application. NOTE: Resumes up to a total of two pages will be accepted. 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. You will receive an email notification when your application has been received for the announcement. To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account, https://www.usajobs.gov, select the Application Status link and then select the More Information link for this position. The Application Status page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and your responses submitted to the online application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. To preview the questionnaire, please go to https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12846375.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the salary for the Contract Specialist (12 Month Register) position at Defense Logistics Agency?
The salary range for this position is $68,013 - $128,221/yr. This is a GS-9/12 position on the General Schedule pay scale. Actual pay may vary based on locality adjustments.
Where is the Contract Specialist (12 Month Register) job located?
This position is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This is an on-site position.
What qualifications do I need?
To qualify for a Contract Specialist, your resume and supporting documentation must support: A. Basic Contracting Requirement: A.) A bachelor's degree from an accredited educational institution authorized to grant baccalaureate degrees OR B.) a current civilian employee in DoD or member of the Armed Forces, who occupied an 1102 position, contrac...
How do I apply for this position?
Apply through USAJobs.gov by clicking the 'Apply on USAJobs' button. You'll need a USAJobs account, a federal-style resume, and supporting documents. The deadline is Dec 10, 2026.
Is a security clearance required?
No security clearance is required for this position.
What does GS-9/12 mean?
GS-9/12 refers to the General Schedule grade level. Higher grades require more experience and offer higher pay. Visit our GS Pay Scale page for full salary tables by grade and locality.
What benefits do federal employees receive?
Federal employees receive comprehensive benefits including health insurance (FEHB), retirement through FERS, Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) with government matching, paid annual and sick leave, paid parental leave, life insurance, and student loan repayment programs.