Program Specialist

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/03/2026. 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-14 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-13 level. 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 announcement. In 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 some former Federal employees applying for reinstatement, as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. See the Required Document section below for more information regarding the SF-50s needed to verify time-in-grade. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-13 level) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Managing programs such as Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) and providing guidance, acquisition oversight, planning, and execution support for all FFRDC efforts; Providing Life Cycle Management engineering services to Program Management Office, their subordinate project managers, as well as other VA organizations and Government agencies which comprise VA's customer base; Directing program acquisitions, contracts, and providing contract administration; Providing advice and guidance to management and technical personnel on contract administration of the customer's technical requirements programs; Providing business program management and customer support methods including contract types, funding acquisition life cycle management, funding principles practices, and procurement functions; Collaborating with all stakeholders during the acquisition planning process to support proposed FFRDC acquisition strategy or providing an alternative commercial contracting strategy. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Communications Customer Service Information Technology Program Management Teamwork Technical Competence Veteran and Customer Focus 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; religions; 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. Note: Resume must include job title and employer name, number of hours worked per week, start and end dates (including month and year), list of duties and responsibilities for each position held. In addition, if the experience was a federal position, you must list series and grade for each position held. Failure to include this information may result in an ineligible rating. A full year of work is considered to be 40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: The work is typical of that in any modern office environment. The incumbent may be required to travel to meeting locations, nationwide. Physical demands will be those required that are typical of work in any modern office environment. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provides eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be found well qualified, applicants must meet the following qualifications: Demonstrated expert knowledge in planning, organizing and directing systems acquisitions to successful conclusion. This knowledge should be reflected in actual experience in effectively leading systems acquisitions and/or formal training programs and curricula completed. Expert knowledge of regulations, policies and procedures and best practices evidenced by performance of tasks such as; reviewing and evaluating proposed regulations, policies and procedures prepared by higher level authority and efficiently and effectively completed actions. Experience presenting actionable recommendations to stakeholders, and/or providing advice or recommendations to senior acquisition personnel or program offices, on highly complex acquisitions in a format understandable to non-contracting personnel. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. Local Commuting Area: The local commuting area for this position is defined as a radius of 50 miles from Eatontown, NJ. This includes all locations that fall within a 50-mile driving distance from Office of Procurement, Acquisition and Logistics, Technology Acquisition Center, 23 Christopher Way, Eatontown, NJ. This Program Specialist is a part of the VA Office of Procurement, Acquisition and Logistics (OPAL), Technology Acquisition Center (TAC). OPAL enables its customers to provide solutions to Veterans and their families by directing acquisition, contracting, and contract administration. TAC provides acquisition and program management expertise and support for life cycle management of enterprise-wide solutions in IT. TAC enables its customers to provide secure, high quality, and responsive service.