Duties of the Senior Contracting

Duties of the Senior Contracting Official

The authority to contract represents a legal obligation on the part of the contracting agency, with the federal government representing one such major agency in the United States today. Senior Contracting Officials play an important role in the administration and oversight of this function. This white paper sets forth some of the duties and responsibilities of Senior Contracting Officials, followed by a summary of the research and important findings in the conclusion.

Senior Contracting Official Duties

Although every contracting position within the U.S. government will differ in some fashion, Senior Contracting Officials must perform the general duties and satisfy the responsibilities discussed further below.

Provide Contracting Oversight and Assessments of Assigned Organizations

The Head of Contracting Activity (HCA) may delegate responsibility to the Senior Contracting Official (SCO) for the oversight of contracting to ensure that it is compliant with statute, regulation, and sound business practices (Contracting Officer's Authority, 2011).

Oversee and Assess the Effectiveness of Contracting Programs

The SCO is responsible for developing policies and procedures to oversee and assess the effectiveness of contracting programs including the following:

1. Administrative plans to control documents, maintain records, and conduct audit trails of procurement actions for simplified acquisitions (imprest funds, Standard Form 44, and government-wide commercial purchase cards) as well as large contracts.

2. Overseeing and assessing the effectiveness of contracting programs.

3. Developing and providing oversight management control programs.

4. Conducting special reviews as required.

5. Managing the Contract Audit Follow-up Program (Contracting Officer's Authority, 2011, p. 3).

Issue Contracting Warrants and Determine Delegated Warrant Authorities

The Senior Contracting Official is also responsible for issuing warrants and determining delegated warrant authorities (Contracting Officer's Authority, 2011).

Participate in the Acquisition Review Board Process

An important role played by the Senior Contracting Official is participating in the Joint Acquisition Review Board, with primary responsibility for forces support (Contracting Officer's Authority, 2011).

Manage and Execute Procurement Management Reviews to Ensure Contract Office is Following Procedures

The SCO is tasked with the responsibility for managing and executing periodic procurement management reviews to ensure the contract office is adhering to established procedures (Contracting Officer's Authority, 2011).

Coordinate Joint Contracting Operations

Finally, the SCO is responsible for coordinating joint contracting operations, including chairing the Joint Contracting Support Board when directed to do so (Contracting Officer's Authority, 2011). In addition, the SCO is also responsible for coordinating inter-command agreements that set forth the details of contracting support relationships between United States armed forces and coordinating operational plans or requirements that originate with the Joint Staff as well as the provision of host nation support, status of forces agreement, assistance in kind agreements, or any treaties for Contingency Contracting Officer review (Contracting Officer's Authority, 2011).

This final responsibility also requires a high level of expertise and experience in the relevant field. For example, Bianca reports that, "Senior level contracting requires more knowledge of the impact of business trends and new laws on an organization. The contracting function, under the supervision of a senior contracting officer, must help the organization achieve its strategic goals" (2010, p. 2). With respect to the coordination of joint contracting operations, Bianca adds that, "A senior contracting officer may resolve issues and disputes, terminate or renegotiate contracts in which contractors perform poorly and account for his or her department to external agencies" 2010, p. 3). Finally, the lines of authority within which senior contracting officials operate is illustrated in Figure 1 at Appendix a.