[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 48, Volume 4]

[Revised as of October 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 48CFR302.101]



[Page 9]

 

            TITLE 48--FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATIONS SYSTEM

 

                  CHAPTER 3--HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

 

PART 302_DEFINITIONS OF WORDS AND TERMS--Table of Contents

 

                        Subpart 302.1_Definitions

 

Sec. 302.101  Definitions.





    Chief of the contracting office (CCO) is a mid-level management 

official in charge of a contracting office who controls and oversees the 

daily contracting operation of an Operating Division (OPDIV) or major 

component of an OPDIV. The CCO is subordinate to the head of the 

contracting activity, and is located at a management level above other 

contracting personnel, usually as a branch chief or division director.

    Head of the agency or agency head, unless otherwise specified, means 

the head of the Operating Division (OPDIV) for AHRQ, CMS, PSC, CDCP, 

FDA, HRSA, IHS, NIH, and SAMHSA, or the Assistant Secretary for 

Administration and Management (ASAM) for the Office of the Secretary 

(OS).

    Head of the Contracting Activity (HCA) is defined in terms of 

certain organizational positions within the Office of Grants and 

Acquisition Management (OGAM), Agency for Healthcare Research and 

Quality (AHRQ), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Program 

Support Center (PSC), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP), 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Health Resources and Services 

Administration (HRSA), Indian Health Service (IHS), National Institutes 

of Health (NIH), and Substance Abuse and Metal Health Services 

Administration (SAMHSA), as follows:



OGAM-OS--Director, Office of Acquisition Management

ACF--Director, Division of Acquisition Management

AHRQ--Director, Division of Contracts Management

CMS--Director, Acquisition and Grants Group

PSC--Director, Division of Acquisition Management

CDCP--Director, Procurement and Grants Office

FDA--Director, Office of Acquisitions & Grant Services

HRSA--Director, Division of Grants and Procurement Management

IHS--Director, Division of Acquisitions and Grants Management

NIH--Director, Office of Acquisition Management and Policy

SAMHSA--Director, Division of Contracts Management



    In addition, the Director, Office of Acquisition Management and 

Policy (Director, OAMP) is designated as an HCA. Each HCA is responsible 

for conducting an effective and efficient acquisition program. Adequate 

controls shall be established to assure compliance with applicable laws, 

regulations, procedures, and the dictates of good management practices. 

Periodic reviews shall be conducted and evaluated by qualified 

personnel, preferably assigned to positions other than in the 

contracting office being reviewed, to determine the extent of adherence 

to prescribed policies and regulations, and to detect a need for 

guidance and/or training. The HCA shall be certified, or be certifiable, 

at Level IV of the HHS Acquisition Certification Program. Individuals 

appointed as HCA's who do not meet the Level IV requirements shall have 

one year from the date of appointment to obtain Level IV certification. 

The heads of contracting activities may redelegate their HCA authorities 

to the extent that redelegation is not prohibited by the terms of their 

respective delegations of authority, by law, by the Federal Acquisition 

Regulation, by the HHS Acquisition Regulation, or by other regulations. 

However, HCA and other contracting approvals and authorities shall not 

be redelegated below the levels specified in the HHS Acquisition 

Regulation or, in the absence of coverage in the HHS Acquisition 

Regulation, the Federal Acquisition Regulation. To ensure proper control 

of redelegated acquisition authorities, HCA's shall maintain a file 

containing successive delegations of HCA authority through and including 

the contracting officer level. Personnel delegated responsibility for 

acquisition functions must possess a level of experience, training, and 

ability commensurate with the complexity and magnitude of the 

acquisition actions involved.



[66 FR 4222, Jan. 17, 2001, as amended at 70 FR 39, Jan. 3, 2005]