U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs · 20 hours ago
Acquisition & Utilization Specialist
Iowa City, IA
Full-time
Onsite
Entry, Mid Level
$75K/yr - $97K/yr
1+ years expThe U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking an Acquisition & Utilization Specialist who will act as a liaison and advisor on contract-related services focusing on critical clinical and healthcare services. The role involves overseeing procurement activities, providing training, and ensuring compliance with federal regulations while managing contract execution and quality assurance.
GovernmentMedicalNational SecurityPublic Safety
No H1B
U.S. Citizen Only
Responsibilities
You will render expert contract pre-award and post award expertise to all administrative and clinical services within the medical center and supported catchment area
Major duties and responsibilities include: 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
Conducts analyses and recommends courses of actions to ensure that vision clinical and administrative service requirements have addressed considerations such as construction - budgeting - supporting manpower and other factors
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
And Monitors quality assurance surveillance plans to ensure that contracted services meet the expectations and needs of the facility
Qualification
Required
Applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 02/02/2026
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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09
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
Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment
To qualify for this position at the GS-11 level - you must meet one of the following: Specialized Experience: One (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level in the Federal service that equipped you with the particular knowledge - skills - and abilities to perform successfully the duties of an Acquisition Utilization Specialist - and that is typically in or related to the work of this position
Specialized experience includes: 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
OR - Education: 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
OR - Combination: An equivalent combination of successfully completed graduate education and specialized experience - as described above - which meets the total qualification requirement for the GS-11 grade level
Work is primarily sedentary in nature
Requires occasional travel to conduct inspections of contract facilities or motor vehicles providing contracts for healthcare resources to ensure joint commission and safety requirements are met
Work is performed primarily in an office setting with adequate lighting - heating - and ventilation
You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position
Company
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Welcome to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Official LinkedIn page.
10001+ employees
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageLeadership Team
Charles Worthington
Chief Technology Officer
Helga Rippen
Chief Interoperability and Veteran Access Officer
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