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Contracting officer vs procurement administrator

The differences between contracting officers and procurement administrators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a contracting officer has an average salary of $60,007, which is higher than the $46,745 average annual salary of a procurement administrator.

The top three skills for a contracting officer include contractor proposals, contract administration and contract management. The most important skills for a procurement administrator are purchase orders, data entry, and logistics.

Contracting officer vs procurement administrator overview

Contracting OfficerProcurement Administrator
Yearly salary$60,007$46,745
Hourly rate$28.85$22.47
Growth rate--3%
Number of jobs59,89656,668
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 58%Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age4446
Years of experience-2

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 a procurement administrator do?

Procurement administrators support their procurement teams by performing general administrative duties and ordering equipment and materials for their projects. Working in this position involves organizing and making purchase orders, keeping records updated, storing documents, and solving order issues. A procurement administrator needs excellent organization skills, people skills, math skills, and should know his/her way around word documents and spreadsheets. Procurement Administrators based in the United States make an estimated annual salary of around $45,775 or $22 per hour, but this amount changes depending on the state, country, or the company they are working for.

Contracting officer vs procurement administrator salary

Contracting officers and procurement administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

Contracting OfficerProcurement Administrator
Average salary$60,007$46,745
Salary rangeBetween $37,000 And $95,000Between $35,000 And $61,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCSacramento, CA
Highest paying stateMarylandAlaska
Best paying companyPacific Northwest National LaboratoryHelix Energy Solutions Group
Best paying industryGovernmentHealth Care

Differences between contracting officer and procurement administrator education

There are a few differences between a contracting officer and a procurement administrator in terms of educational background:

Contracting OfficerProcurement Administrator
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 58%Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeWestern Carolina UniversityWestern Carolina University

Contracting officer vs procurement administrator demographics

Here are the differences between contracting officers' and procurement administrators' demographics:

Contracting OfficerProcurement Administrator
Average age4446
Gender ratioMale, 65.7% Female, 34.3%Male, 34.5% Female, 65.5%
Race ratioBlack 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, 10.2% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 13.3% Asian, 8.7% White, 61.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage11%7%

Differences between contracting officer and procurement administrator 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.
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Procurement administrator example responsibilities.

  • Manage various accounts with downstream product supply from orders to delivery, logistics and inventory management.
  • Review RFQ and RFP, reviewing for completeness and necessary information to obtain competitive quotes.
  • Direct the development and administration of standard contracts and solicitations, including RFP, IFB and RFQ formats.
  • Conduct commercial negotiations on pricing, scope of supply, terms and conditions and logistics.
  • Evaluate supplier proposals submit in response to RFP, and develop the corresponding recommendations for awards.
  • Develop local RFP's, obtain and analyze quotations, negotiate total cost elements for maintenance commodities.
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Contracting officer vs procurement administrator skills

Common contracting officer skills
  • Contractor Proposals, 8%
  • Contract Administration, 7%
  • Contract Management, 5%
  • Contract Terms, 5%
  • Market Research, 4%
  • Technical Assistance, 4%
Common procurement administrator skills
  • Purchase Orders, 27%
  • Data Entry, 9%
  • Logistics, 6%
  • Procurement Process, 6%
  • Vendor Relationships, 6%
  • Bid Proposals, 3%

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