Audit of Department of State Selection and Positioning of Contracting Officer’s Representatives

OIG recommends that the Bureau of African Affairs require that incoming employees or detailees have prior contract oversight experience or a current Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) certification issued by another Government agency when filling positions with individuals expected to perform COR duties.

OIG recommends that the Bureau of African Affairs not use contractors to perform contract administration and oversight tasks to avoid assigning inherently governmental, critical, or closely related functions to contractors, as prohibited by the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

OIG recommends that the Bureau of African Affairs explore all of the hiring, appointment, and funding authorities available to it for employing Government employees to perform contract administration and oversight tasks to avoid assigning inherently governmental, critical, or closely related functions to contractors, as prohibited by the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of the Procurement Executive, enhance or replace the current Federal Acquisition Certification for Contracting Officer's Representatives online system to allow for improved management of Contracting Officer's Representatives and Government Technical Monitors. These enhancements could include nomination requests and delegation actions for specific contracts and task orders across the Department.

OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of the Procurement Executive, implement a more robust Contracting Officer Representative (COR) workforce planning effort by identifying the appropriate number of CORs and Government Technical Monitors needed by each bureau in the annual Acquisition Human Capital Plan to ensure an accurate representation of COR workforce needs for the management, tracking, and budgeting purposes.

OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of the Procurement Executive, develop and issue guidance specifying the types of information that bureau officials should document in Contracting Officer's Representative and Government Technical Monitor nomination memoranda regarding a nominee's training, experience, and technical qualifications to ensure implementation of Department of State Acquisition Regulations and Foreign Affairs Handbook nomination requirements.

OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of the Procurement Executive, provide periodic training to Contracting Officers that covers how they should make a determination of the appropriate level of certification required for particular contracts during the planning phase of acquisitions, and also how they should document those determinations to ensure implementation of Procurement Information Bulletin 2012-15.

OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of the Procurement Executive, in coordination with the Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Human Resources, develop a method of tracking the requirement for Contracting Officer's Representative-specific responsibilities to be included in job performance elements of affected employees to ensure implementation of the Department Notices.

OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of the Procurement Executive, in coordination with the Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Human Resources, establish guidelines to standardize the manner in which supervisors should hold individuals other than Civil Service or Foreign Service employees assigned as Contracting Officer's Representatives and Government Technical Monitors accountable for their performance in those positions.

OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of the Procurement Executive, in coordination with the Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Human Resources, establish guidelines to standardize the manner in which supervisors of Contracting Officer's Representatives and Government Technical Monitors obtain feedback from Contracting Officers regarding employee performance and incorporate this feedback into performance evaluations for affected employees.