A federal contract comes with a cast of government officials, each with a distinct role and a distinct set of powers. Contractors who confuse those roles make avoidable mistakes: following direction from someone without authority to give it, sending invoices to the wrong office or waiting for a decision from a person who cannot make it. Here is who does what.
The contracting officer
The contracting officer is the only person authorized to enter into, administer and modify a contract on behalf of the government. That authority comes from a written warrant with dollar limits. Everything that changes the contract, from scope to schedule to price, must go through the contracting officer, and a direction from anyone else is not binding on the government even if it is well intentioned. On larger programs you may encounter separate procuring and administrative contracting officers, the first responsible for award and the second for administration, and at the end of a contract a termination contracting officer may appear.
Contract specialists work under the contracting officer, handling much of the day-to-day paperwork. They are valuable contacts, but their communications carry the contracting officer’s authority only when the contracting officer has delegated it.
The contracting officer’s representative
The contracting officer’s representative, or COR, is appointed in writing to monitor performance on a specific contract. Some agencies use the term contracting officer’s technical representative. The COR usually sits in the program office, knows the work intimately and is your most frequent contact. CORs inspect deliverables, review invoices for accuracy, maintain surveillance records and provide input to performance evaluations.
What the COR cannot do is as important as what they can. A COR has no authority to change the contract’s scope, price, schedule or terms, to direct work outside the contract or to commit funds. The appointment letter spells out the limits, and contractors are entitled to ask for a copy. When a COR asks for something the contract does not cover, the right response is to raise it with the contracting officer before acting.
The program office
Program managers and their staff own the requirement. They defined the need, hold the funding and live with the results. They are the ultimate customer and the source of most feedback, and the relationship with them often determines how a contract feels day to day. But they are not parties to the contract and have no authority over it. Treat their requests as valuable information to be routed through proper channels.
The supporting cast
- Small business specialists advocate for small firms within the agency and are a point of entry before award
- Payment offices, often separate from the contracting office, process invoices; their instructions appear in the contract
- Audit and administration agencies, such as the Defense Contract Audit Agency and the Defense Contract Management Agency on many defense contracts, review costs, systems and performance
- Security officers handle clearances and facility access
- Property administrators oversee government-furnished property
Working with the structure
Learn the names and roles on day one, ideally at the kickoff meeting, and record them. Direct contractual matters to the contracting officer in writing, technical matters to the COR and relationship matters to the program office, and copy the right people so no one is surprised. When direction comes from the wrong source, respond respectfully but route it correctly; a contractor who performs unauthorized work usually bears the cost. The structure exists to protect both sides, and contractors who respect it find that it protects them too.