Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) Competencies

General Business Competencies

Technical Competencies and Performance Outcomes

PDF of Current COR Competencies (PDF 131 KB)

General Business Competencies

• Attention to Detail
  Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.
• Decision-Making
  Makes sound, well informed, and objective decisions; perceives the impact and implications of decisions; commits to action, even in uncertain situations, to accomplish organizational goals; causes change.
• Flexibility
  Is open to change and new information; adapts behavior or work methods in response to new information, changing conditions, or unexpected obstacle; effectively deals with ambiguity.
• Influencing/Negotiating
  Persuades others to accept recommendations, cooperate, or change their behavior; work with others towards an agreement; negotiates to find mutually acceptable solutions.
• Integrity/Honesty
  Contributes to maintaining the integrity of the organization; displays high standards of ethical conduct and understands the impact of violating these standards on an organization, self, and others; is trustworthy.
• Interpersonal Skills
  Shows understanding, courtesy, tact, empathy; develops and maintains relationships; deals with difficult people; relates well to people from varied backgrounds; is sensitive to individual differences.
• Oral Communication
  Expresses information to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information; makes clear and convincing presentations, listens to others; attends to nonverbal cues.
• Planning and Evaluating
  Organizes work, sets priorities, determines resource requirements, determines goals and strategies; coordinates with other organizations, monitors progress; evaluates outcomes.
• Problem Solving
  Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and make recommendations.
• Project Management
  Develops and maintains a workable plan and manages resources to accomplish the overall goal of the project; plans, manages and follows through to ensure the smooth flow and timely completion of activities that deliver project results; anticipates obstacles or gaps that would impact project success and works to continuously improve the agency's capability to achieve success.
• Reasoning
  Identifies rules, principles, or relationships that explain facts, data or other information; analyzes information and makes correct inferences or accurate conclusions.
• Self-Management/Initiative
  Sets well-defined and realistic personal goals; displays a high level of initiative, effort, and commitment towards completing assignments in a timely manner; works with minimal supervision; is motivated to achieve; demonstrates responsible behavior.
• Teamwork
  Encourages and facilitates cooperation, pride, trust; fosters commitment; works with others to achieve goals.
• Writing
  Recognizes or uses correct English grammar, punctuation, and spelling; communicates information in a succinct and organized manner, produces written information that is appropriate for the intended audience.

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Technical Competencies and Performance Outcomes

Acquisition Planning

Performance Outcomes

• Documenting the Source- Assist in determining whether a written source selection plan is necessary, and if so, properly documenting the source selection planning or acquisition strategy.

• Methods of Payment- Assist in the selection of the most appropriate method of payment that will best minimize the Government's overhead.

• Contract Financing- Assist in determining whether to provide for Government financing, and, where necessary, the method of financing to use.

• Unpriced Contracts- Assist in the preparation of unpriced orders and contracts.

• Recurring Requirements- Assist in determining whether and how to provide for recurring requirements.

• Contract Type- Assist in determining appropriate contract type(s).

• Compliance to FAR Guidelines- Assist the CO with compliance of applicable FAR guidelines when acquiring products and services.

• Determining Need for EVM- Mitigate potential problems with cost, schedule, and technical risks.

• Task and Delivery Order Contracting- Suggest possible ordering vehicles to the CO in order to assist in determining the appropriate vehicles and submitting work package to request work under the contract.

• Strategic Planning- Advise customers on their acquisition-related roles and acquisition strategies needed to assure that supplies and services are available to meet mission requirements.

Market Research (Understanding the Marketplace)

Performance Outcomes

• Conduct, collect, and apply market based research to understand the market place/requirement to identify the sources for a supply or service, the terms and conditions under which those goods/services are sold to the general public, and assist the CO on the best way to meet the need.
• Gather all information related to the potential sources of an acquisition as well as, for commercial items, the terms and conditions under which the sources sell the goods and/or services involved.
• Industry Trends- Understand the industry environment and determine availability of sources of supply and/or services.

• Warranties- Support the Contracting Officer in determining whether a warranty is appropriate for a specific acquisition including nature and use of the supplies or services; the cost of applying a warranty and any issues with administration and enforcement.
• Conflict of Interest- Identifying potential conflicts of interest.
• Technology- Understanding available sources of information (e.g., internet, spreadsheets) to efficiently conduct sufficient market research.

Defining Government Requirements

Performance Outcomes

• Writing Statements of Work- Create statements of work, SOOs and other related documents.

• Conducting Needs Analysis and Preparing Requirements Documents- Perform an analysis, based on standard methodology, to identify all requirements and obligations in order to assist in the development of requirements documents.

• Assisting in the Development of Acquisition Strategy- Assist the CO with the development of an appropriate acquisition strategy.
• Pricing Information from Offerors- If requested by the CO, assist in determining what pricing information to require from offerors.

Effective Pre Award Communication

Performance Outcomes

• Publicizing Proposed Acquisitions- Recommend to CO additional methods of publicizing the proposed procurement when appropriate.

• Subcontracting Requirements- Recommend appropriate requirements be put into solicitations for subcontracting or make-or-buy situations.

• Solicitation Preparation- Assist in the preparation of a written solicitation, providing guidance as needed in the selection of the appropriate provisions and clauses for the requirement.

• Pre-Quote/Pre-Bid/Pre-Proposal Conferences- Assist with the pre-quote, pre-bid, or pre-proposal conference when appropriate and maintain an accurate record of the meeting.

• Amending/Canceling Solicitations- Provide input into the amendment or cancelation of a solicitation when it is in the best interest of the Government and/or Agency.

Proposal Evaluation

Performance Outcomes

• Evaluating Non-Price Factors- Apply non-price factors in evaluating quotations, proposals, and past performance.

• Evaluation Documentation- Ability to clearly document reasoning behind proposed evaluation.
• Ethics- Ability to demonstrate ethical conduct during the procurement process.

Contract Negotiation

Performance Outcomes

• Negotiation Strategy- Assist CO in preparing a negotiation strategy that will permit negotiators to maximize the Government's ability to obtain best value.

• Conducting Discussions/Negotiations- Assist CO in preparing for a negotiation session.

• Determining Capability- Assist in determining and documenting the capability of a firm to effectively perform the terms and conditions of the contract.

Contract Administration Management

Performance Outcomes

• Contract Administration Planning and Orientations- Define the COR roles and responsibilities by knowing the terms and conditions to which they are assigned; and participate in post-award orientation meetings to review contract milestones and responsibilities.

• Requests for Contract Modification and Adjustment- Provide appropriate documentation in support of contract modification or adjustments to the CO.

• Work Order Management- Submit work package to request work under the contract.
• Financial Analysis and Reporting- Track the indexes as well as the appropriate burn rate for a given contract.

Effective Inspection & Acceptance

Performance Outcomes

• Inspect and accept deliveries and services by inspecting deliverables and monitoring services for conformance with contract/order/agreement terms and conditions, and accept or reject them.
• Ensure compliance and completion by the Contractor of all required operations, including the preparation of any forms (ex. Material Inspection and Receiving Reports) or equivalent which shal be authenticated and certified by the COR that the services/supplies have been received and are acceptable. 
• Process inspection report as supporting documentation for payment and maintain documentation of all inspections performed including disposition of the results. Ensure that invoice properly aligns with delivered services and products received and accepted.

Contract Quality Assurance & Evaluation

Performance Outcomes

• Ensures consistency of appropriate quality requirements as they relate to the contract and validates/verifies adherence specified requirements through test and measurement activities. 
• Monitors the products or services throughout their life cycle.
• Influences knowledge management practices (e.g. continuous process-improvement).

Contract Closeout

Performance Outcomes

• Given a contract type, identified the FAR regulations, agency supplemental requirements, as appropriate and steps associated with closeout. Distinguish between physical contract completion and administrative contract closeout.
• Recommend the appropriate rating criteria for the Contractor's performance evaluation within the agency past performance system.
• Identify condition for final payment to the Contractor.
• Identify the appropriate program file completion requirements.
• Identify the conditions under which a COR's duties and responsibilities end for a specific contract.

Contract Reporting

Performance Outcomes

• Develop the COR file in accordance with Agency requirements.
• Monitor Contractor's performance.
• Accept or reject an invoice for a given task or deliverable in accordance with the Prompt Payment Act.

Business Acumen and Communication Skill Sets

Performance Outcomes

• Manage effective business partnership with the Contracting Officer, agency and other business advisers, and program participants.
• Participates and/or contributes to the formulation of objectives and priorities, and where appropriate, implement plans consistent with the long-term interests of the organization in a global environment. 
• Manages stakeholder relationships that generates buy-in to the business and technical management approach to the program.
• Risk Management- Identify, mitigate, and advise against potential risks.
• Monitors schedule and delivery processes.

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