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  1. Doing Business with FDA

Acquisition Career Opportunities at FDA

Acquisition Career Opportunities at FDA

 

Career Opportunities with OAGS

What we do:

In the Office of Acquisitions and Grant Services (OAGS), we strive to train, develop, and maintain a skilled workforce of acquisition professionals with up-to-date knowledge in this constantly evolving career field.

When you join OAGS, you will be greeted by our Training and Development Branch who offers you a personalized path for your acquisition career goals. You can explore the possibility of obtaining a federal acquisition certification which can allow you to pursue additional career opportunities, such as becoming a Contracting Officer, Purchase Card Holder, etc. 

If you already possess a certification, we offer frequent "internal" training opportunities, such as;

  • OAGS Academy - A structured virtual training program for our staff members that spans from October to March. There are a minimum of 10 topics, many presented by in-house experts on topics ranging from technical knowledge to professional development. Each topic has two sessions for you to choose from—one, in the fall and one in the spring.
  • Consolidated Acquisition Training Symposium (CATS) – A two-day annual in person event that focuses on both acquisition training and soft skills. Speakers for different agencies share the latest information on techniques and technologies to keep our workforce informed.
  • ChatOAGS - Monthly Q&A Session with OAGS SMEs, covering various Acquisition Topics. 

These training sessions will not only assist with your personal learning and development skills but will also aid in maintaining your hard-earned certifications by offering continuous learning points for each hour of learning.

All OAGS job announcements are posted on USAJobs. Please set up a saved custom search with the Keywords "Food and Drug Administration (FDA) OAGS" to be alerted to our postings: USAJOBS Help Center - How to save a job announcement.


Understanding the profession


How we on-board

Hiring authorities are the different ways the Agency has at its disposal to hire Federal employees. FDA has 9 Hiring and Pay Authorities available. Some of these ways are also described below:

  • Schedule A (Excepted Service) is an Excepted Service appointment (5 CFR 213.3102) or hiring authority that allows selecting officials to hire people with disabilities without going through the traditional job posting and competitive process. To be eligible for Schedule A, a person must meet the definition for a disability which is defined as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
  • Cohort Training Program: The training cohort is new way of bringing on acquisition professionals and offering a ground-up style approach to learning the acquisition career. Through a curated combination of classroom-style, web-based, and on-the-job training, cohort members will develop a strong foundation of acquisition knowledge that will set them up for future success as they progress through their careers. The OAGS Cohort Program positions are advertised on SAM.gov as GS-5/7/9 positions. 
  • Pathways was launched by an Executive Order in December 2010 and allows students or recent graduates to gain experience in the Federal government.


Testimonials

"As a graduate of the cohort training program my expectation of training was minimal.  I knew I would learn the foundation of contracting, but what I learned through this program gave me the confidence and knowledge to be successful as a Contract Specialist.  The pace of the program in my opinion is on target; you are given time to learn at your own pace instead of trial by fire.  James O’Keefe was the right choice to lead this program.  He challenged me with tasks he knew I could handle and keep me engaged.  Everyone learns differently and this program allows all participants to engage and learn from one another, and from former graduates of the program."

Warren Jackson, Cohort Graduate
 

"ORA-IB has been the happy recipient of two cohorts from the OAGS Cohort Program. Both employees arrived at the branch with the basic working knowledge of the FAR, PRISM and ALP and were able to perform their job duties to include package review, market research, solicitation, negotiation/source selection and award for simplified acquisitions <250, task orders and GSA buys. For our branch, this program is a huge success."

Kathy Harrigan, Branch Chief  

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