Contract Price/Cost Analyst (Keystone)

Duties

• This is an entry-level (developmental) career ladder position in the Pricing Division of the Cost and Pricing Command.
• Support price and cost analysis by interacting with senior analysts on the team to become familiar with performing price and cost analyses on various elements of contractor proposals.
• Observe and participate with senior analysts to gain basic knowledge in the forecasting of price trends, economic factors, and efficiencies in production for future accounting periods.
• Gain an understanding of requesting, coordinating, and integrating the various technical evaluations of cost elements into a comprehensive pricing report.
• Become familiar with proposal compliance principles and policies and the requirements for evaluating contract price proposals for adequacy and compliance with laws and regulations, and with Cost Accounting Standards (CAS).
• Acquire essential knowledge of contractor forward pricing rate, final overhead rate, and cost impact proposals.
• Observe cost monitoring efforts that maintain the accuracy of the Forward Pricing Rate Agreements/Recommendations.
• Attend and complete required training as outlined in the Training Plan to include Acquisition Workforce Back to Basics requirements.
• Complete administrative actions such as submission of required training forms, and actively participate in mentoring/counseling activities to improve knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. citizen
• Security Requirements: Non-Critical Sensitive with Secret Access
• Appointment is subject to the completion of a favorable suitability or fitness determination, where reciprocity cannot be applied; unfavorably adjudicated background checks will be grounds for removal.
• Selective Service Requirement: Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service.

Qualifications

To qualify for a Contract Price/Cost Analyst (Keystone) position your resume and supporting documentation must support:

A. Basic Contracting Requirement:

A baccalaureate degree from an accredited educational institution authorized to grant baccalaureate degrees OR

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 "1" above.

AND

B. Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience that equipped you with the competencies to successfully perform the duties of the position and is directly in or related to this position. To qualify at the GS-07 level, applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level or equivalent under other pay systems in the Federal service, military, or private sector. Applicants must meet eligibility requirements including minimum qualifications and any other regulatory requirements by the cut-off/closing date of the announcement. Creditable specialized experience includes:

• Knowledge of commonly used federal statutes, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), and DCMA policies and procedures applicable to acquisition, contract principles, policies, regulations, and procedures
• Knowledge of general contract price/cost analyst procedures, and the laws, regulations, precedents, and basic business and industry principles governing pricing
• Familiarity with a limited range of basic statistical, accounting, analytical principles and techniques, and related business and industry operations and practices
• Knowledge of standard contract price/cost methods pertaining to the performance of contract price/cost analysis functions
• Skill in effective oral and written communications and in solving practical problems relating to pricing matters

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: 1 full academic year of graduate education, law school, or superior academic achievement.

Education

If the position has a minimum education requirement you MUST provide transcripts (unofficial are acceptable at the time of application) to support your educational claims. Or, if you are using education to qualify in lieu of specialized experience you MUST provide transcripts (unofficial are acceptable at the time of application) to support your educational claims. The transcripts must include your name, the name of the college or university, class/course list, completed number of credits/hours, and the date degree conferred (if applicable). Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Licenses must be current 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.

Additional information

• This position does not meet criteria for appointment of Reemployed Annuitants. The DoD criteria for hiring Reemployed Annuitants can be found at: .
• Tour of Duty: Flexible
• FLSA: Non-Exempt
• Bargaining Unit: No
• Selectee may be required to serve a trial/probationary period.
• Acquisition, Technology & Logistics (AT&L) NON-CAP: Position requires DoD Acquisition Contracting, Professional (Foundational) certification within required timeframes. Selectee must also achieve 80 hours of Continuous Learning Points (CLPs) every 2-years. Click for more details and .
• Mobility Agreement Required: This position may require extended temporary duty (TDY), or a permanent change in duty station (PCS) to any location within the Continental United States (CONUS). A signed mobility agreement to accept directed TDY or PCS is required. Failure to comply with the signed agreement may result in personnel separation in accordance with appropriate U.S. Office of Personnel Management regulations or may adversely affect career.
• Current federal employees may be entitled to pay retention, if selected.
• Military spouses working remotely are exempt from in-person work under the conditions explained by OPM's February 12, 2025 and the March 20, 2025 .
• This position is a Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) Keystone Program Opening. Prior to appointment, all candidates will be required to sign a Keystone Conditions of Employment Agreement. Additional vacancies may be filled from this announcement.
• DCMA Location Negotiable upon Selection. This job will close when we have received 150 applications, which may be sooner than the closing date. See , not all locations may be available.

NOTE: During the Keystone Program, participants will receive specialized formal classroom training, computer-based training, and on-the-job (OJT) training. The training development program will consist of the following:

Report initially to the Contract Management Office (CMO)/Center in the duty location for which you were selected.

Travel TDY (Temporary Duty Travel) for one week to attend training at the DCMA Learning Campus (DLC) in Fort Lee, VA.

Spend 6 months in the CMO/Center for on-the-job (OJT) and developmental training.

Return within the three-year developmental training to the DLC, HQ or other CMO locations for assessment/various functional specific training.