How to hire a contracting officer

How to hire a contracting officer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step contracting officer hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a contracting officer job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new contracting officer
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a contracting officer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a contracting officer, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A contracting officer's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, contracting officers from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents contracting officer salaries for various positions.

   Type of Contracting Officer	Description	Hourly rate
   Contracting Officer		$17-45
   Business Internship	In a business internship, the responsibilities will vary by the directives given by the supervising staff. However, one of the primary duties as an intern is to perform support-related tasks for the department or office where they are assigned... Show more	$12-21
   Business Development Internship	A business development intern is responsible for supporting the organization's goals and objectives in providing the best services to clients and ensuring a smooth flow of operations with maximum productivity and efficiency. Business development interns observe the operational processes of the department and perform duties under the supervision of a direct manager or tenured staff... Show more	$12-20

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Contractor Proposals
   • Contract Administration
   • Contract Management
   • Contract Terms
   • Market Research
   • Technical Assistance
   • Price Analysis
   • DOD
   • Contractor Performance
   • Logistics
   • RFP
   • Federal Acquisition Regulation
   • Source Selection
   • Contract Award

   Check all skills

   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.

   More contracting officer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your contracting officer job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A contracting officer can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, contracting officers' average salary in vermont is 60% less than in district of columbia.
   • Seniority. Entry-level contracting officers 61% less than senior-level contracting officers.
   • Certifications. A contracting officer with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a contracting officer's salary.

   Average contracting officer salary

   $60,007yearly

   $28.85 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level contracting officer salary

   $37,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 17, 2025

   Average contracting officer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	District of Columbia	$79,904	$38
   2	California	$74,747	$36
   3	Virginia	$73,733	$35
   4	North Carolina	$73,378	$35
   5	Georgia	$72,776	$35
   6	Florida	$67,314	$32
   7	Ohio	$64,909	$31
   8	Arizona	$62,379	$30
   9	New York	$61,776	$30
   10	Texas	$59,544	$29
   11	Illinois	$56,765	$27
   12	Washington	$54,834	$26
   13	Alabama	$52,907	$25
   14	Oregon	$52,810	$25
   15	Oklahoma	$51,375	$25
   16	Nebraska	$48,340	$23
   17	Colorado	$47,117	$23
   18	Alaska	$46,085	$22
   19	Minnesota	$45,148	$22
   20	Utah	$44,892	$22

   Average contracting officer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Pacific Northwest National Laboratory	$101,021	$48.57
   2	Bank of America	$95,129	$45.74	77
   3	Department of Homeland Security	$93,782	$45.09	50
   4	The Aerospace Corporation	$92,619	$44.53	2
   5	California Institute of Technology	$79,132	$38.04	1
   6	University of Alaska	$76,300	$36.68	2
   7	Soliant	$74,602	$35.87
   8	The University of Chicago	$72,342	$34.78	20
   9	King County	$72,234	$34.73	8
   10	Cedars-Sinai	$71,055	$34.16	2
   11	CIA Inc	$70,094	$33.70
   12	Cornell University	$69,034	$33.19	3
   13	Modern Technology Solutions	$67,322	$32.37	1
   14	Columbia University in the City of New York	$66,106	$31.78	24
   15	Nyc Parks	$65,065	$31.28
   16	Indian Health Service	$64,355	$30.94	10
   17	DHS Group	$63,789	$30.67
   18	Harvard University	$63,104	$30.34
   19	UCI Health	$60,558	$29.11	2
   20	Navy Federal Credit Union	$60,545	$29.11	7

4. Writing a contracting officer job description

   A good contracting officer job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a contracting officer job description:

   Contracting officer job description example

   The Andrew Young School of Policy Studies (AYSPS) seeks to hire an experienced Grants & Contracts Officer II. This position will serve as pre- and post-award administrator for the Dean's Office research faculty, AYSPS NextGen, and 2CI Principal Investigators, whose research portfolios are funded by diverse sponsors, including federal, state, local, and private entities. The pre-award duties include proposal preparation (ex: budgets, budget justifications, etc.) and submission of grants and contracts proposals via the GSU Research Portal. This role ensures that all applications meet agency and university guidelines and adhere to published timetables and deadlines. The Grants & Contracts Officer II is also responsible for submitting or assisting the PI in submitting proposals via funder websites and mechanisms such as grants.gov when required. This role reviews proposals submitted by the AYSPS departments via the OSPA Research Portal for accuracy and to ensure that the Dean agrees with the budget and work that is being proposed. The Grants & Contracts Officer II is expected to give feedback to the departments when there are errors or inconsistencies in the proposal submissions. Final approval for proposal submission resides with the Dean and the College Financial Officer.
   
   Post-award activities include broad duties in award management while working closely with the departmental administrators.
   The essential duties and responsibilities of the Grants & Contracts Officer II are thefollowing:
   Acts as pre-award and post-award research administrator for the Dean's Office research faculty and staff (others as assigned), 2CI, and NextGen faculty with tasks including: proposal and budget development in compliance with federal, state, local, and University; management of project expenditures once awarded until project closeout; facilitation of contract negotiations between faculty, sponsoring agencies and regulatory agencies; facilitation of no-cost extensions, subcontract agreements, and contract modifications. Reviews all proposals, contracts, grant budgeting, and extensions routed through the Research Portal for accuracy and to ensure that the Dean's Office agrees with the budget and work being proposed before submission to the College Financial Officer for signature. Provides technical assistance, support, and guidance to AYS faculty and research staff in developing and preparing proposals and budgets as needed. Train new staff with research support duties such as new departmental business managers or grants and contracts officers. Acts as liaison between department heads, faculty, legal, the Office of Research, and the sponsoring agencies to ensure the success of the proposal submission. Serves as AYS liaison to URSA and OSPA offices, communicates new developments, processes, or critical information in research administration, and presents research administration updates at the bi-annual Andrew Young School staff meetings. Maintains the Andrew Young School awards and submissions database and tracks all sponsored activities within the college or entity. Performs in-depth reviews of the award documents and award notifications throughout the grant and/or contract process. Conduct internal controls/expenditure review audits with CFO to ensure departments comply with GSU requirements regarding internal controls, which are done every other year. Oversee that the AYS complies with the Personnel Effort Reporting requirements for the University. Effort reporting is conducted three times per year. Works with the departments to make sure the Andrew Young School meets University deadlines. Serves as the pre-reviewer for the Dean's Office and the position's research portfolio and works with departments to clear up discrepancies. Acts as a departmental research administrator who has research administrator duties when departmental staff go on leave and/or there is a position vacancy until the vacancy has been filled or staff person returns. Research administration duties only (pre- and post-award). Perform other related duties as assigned by the Dean, Associate Dean, and CFO, such as keeping the AYS research support website updated with relevant college-related resources and information for research and research administrators.
   
   Disclaimer:
   
   This job requisition provides a high-level job definition. It is not intended to provide a comprehensive or exclusive list of job duties.
   
   As such, job duties and/or responsibilities within the context of this job requisition may change at the discretion the employee's direct supervisor.
   
   Qualifications:
   
   Bachelor's degree and three years of related experience; or a combination of education and related experience.
   
   Preferred Hiring Qualifications:
   
   Certified Research Administrator; experience with software/tools such as electronic proposal submission (ex: Cayuse), personnel effort reporting system (ex: ERS), financial system (ex: Oracle PeopleSoft Financials), HR system (ex: ADP), procurement system (ex: SciQuest/PantherMart), and MS Office Suite (Word, Access, Excel, PowerPoint.)
   
   Special Instructions:
   
   To be fully considered for this position, all candidates at the time of submission must provide the following documents: A complete and accurate GSU application Resume Cover Letter
   
   Georgia State University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against applicants due to race, ethnicity, gender, veteran status, or on the basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find contracting officers for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your contracting officer job on Zippia to find and recruit contracting officer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit contracting officers, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new contracting officer

   Once you've decided on a perfect contracting officer candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new contracting officer. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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