Contracting officer vs operations consultant

The differences between contracting officers and operations consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an operations consultant has an average salary of $87,229, which is higher than the $60,007 average annual salary of a contracting officer.

The top three skills for a contracting officer include contractor proposals, contract administration and contract management. The most important skills for an operations consultant are risk management, strong analytical, and business process.

Contracting officer vs operations consultant overview

	Contracting Officer	Operations Consultant
Yearly salary	$60,007	$87,229
Hourly rate	$28.85	$41.94
Growth rate	-	11%
Number of jobs	59,896	122,880
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	-	-

What does a contracting officer do?

In government agencies, a Contracting Officer plays a vital role in securing contracts for different projects. They are responsible for liaising with internal and external parties, conducting research and analyses, developing plans to attain project requirements, negotiating contracts, and procuring materials according to standards. They are also responsible for supervising the administrative processes related to the deals, from planning to execution, ensuring that everything runs smoothly and efficiently. Moreover, it is essential to function as a contracting officer while adhering to government policies and regulations.

What does an operations consultant do?

The duties of an operations consultant may vary in one's place or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around working with clients to determine a business's strengths and weaknesses, identifying areas needing focus and development, and utilizing expertise in devising cost-effective strategies for improvement. Moreover, an operations consultant must produce evaluation and progress reports, facilitate budget coordination and training activities, and introduce new technologies. It is also essential to implement the company's policies and regulations, all while adhering to their vision and mission.

Contracting officer vs operations consultant salary

Contracting officers and operations consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Contracting Officer	Operations Consultant
Average salary	$60,007	$87,229
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $95,000	Between $65,000 And $116,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Maryland	Hawaii
Best paying company	Pacific Northwest National Laboratory	eBay
Best paying industry	Government	Finance

Differences between contracting officer and operations consultant education

There are a few differences between a contracting officer and an operations consultant in terms of educational background:

	Contracting Officer	Operations Consultant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Contracting officer vs operations consultant demographics

Here are the differences between contracting officers' and operations consultants' demographics:

	Contracting Officer	Operations Consultant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 65.7% Female, 34.3%	Male, 62.7% Female, 37.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 70.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 70.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between contracting officer and operations consultant duties and responsibilities

Contracting officer example responsibilities.

Compile RFQ's, internet research, and manage officers.
Manage the RFQ and RFP solicitation process with campus departments to ensure legal and ethical compliance with state statutes.
Analyze requirements' effects on budget and formulate alternative logistics plans when operations or requirements change to accomplish unit's mission.
Perform market analysis of government agencies utilizing and not utilizing GSA travel services to capture undeveloped market.
Implement GSA assist acquisition service to provide task order support for federal agencies procuring ETS2 master contract.
Resolve day to day issues between personnel, contracting companies, base operations, government personnel and the DoD.

Operations consultant example responsibilities.

Lead the design and implementation of a new customer income verification tool using SharePoint and InfoPath.
Manage a team to leverage demand planning, supply , 6 sigma strategic sourcing processes, and negotiate vendor pricing.
Program initiatives include case management, commercial / manage care / government dispute management, appeals, and retro authorizations.
Manage departmental Sarbanes-Oxley compliance activities.
Manage system security and hardware encryption.
Revise and manage quality assurance procedures within PMO.

Contracting officer vs operations consultant skills

Common contracting officer skills

Contractor Proposals, 8%
Contract Administration, 7%
Contract Management, 5%
Contract Terms, 5%
Market Research, 4%
Technical Assistance, 4%

Common operations consultant skills

Risk Management, 13%
Strong Analytical, 13%
Business Process, 10%
Operational Risk, 9%
Project Management, 3%
Internal Controls, 3%

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Contracting Officer
Contracting Officer vs Operations Consultant

Updated January 8, 2025

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