Acquisition Utilization Specialist

About the role

As the Acquisition Utilization Specialist you will serve 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.

Responsibilities

• 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.
• Counsels on contract pre-award and post-award expertise to all administrative and clinical services within the medical center and supported catchment area.
• 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;
• Maintains quality assurance surveillance plans to ensure that contracted services meet the expectations and needs of the facility.

Requirements

• Current permanent employees of the Department of VA including VA Title 38, Title 38 Hybrid, and Canteen employees serving on excepted appointments;
• All federal employees serving on a Career/Career-Conditional appointment;
• CTAP/ICTAP eligible;
• Former competitive civil service employees eligible for reinstatement;
• Veterans eligible under the VEOA, as 30% Disabled Veterans, and under a VRA;
• Certain Military Spouses and those eligible under the Employment Program for People with Disabilities.

Qualifications

• To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/15/2026.
• 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: 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.
• 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 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.
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond graduate education and specialized experience, as described above, which meets the total qualification requirement for the GS-11 grade level.