Staff Office

Office of Contracting and Procurement

The OCP serves the Secretary and USDA mission areas by providing oversight, policy, guidance and coordination of acquisition planning, contracting and execution.

Mission

The Office of Contracting and Procurement serves the Secretary and USDA mission areas by providing oversight, policy, guidance and coordination of acquisition planning, contracting and execution.

Leadership

Hilary Erickson

Senior Procurement Executive
Director, Office of Contracting and Procurement

Hilary Erickson is the Senior Procurement Executive Director for USDA’s Office of Contracting and Procurement (OCP). Hilary has led acquisition initiatives and served as an acquisition professional at USDA and U.S. Department of Energy, most recently serving as the Deputy Director and Head of the Contracting Activity for OCP. Hilary has a BSBA in Marketing and Master of Business Administration from The University of Central Missouri. She is originally from Prairie Home, Missouri and currently resides in Kansas City, Missouri.

What We Do

OCP’s workforce provides contracting and procurement expertise across all USDA Mission Areas and agencies. OCP oversees over $10 billion in annual obligations. OCP provides leadership, policy, guidance, and contracting and Government purchase card (GPC) services and systems. OCP serves as the procuring office for the Office of the Secretary, USDA staff offices, and all USDA Mission Areas. The Forest Service maintains a separate contracting office supporting emergency incident procurement and the Agricultural Marketing Service maintains a separate contracting office supporting commodity procurement. All other USDA procurements are managed by OCP.

Division Breakdown

BUSINESS OPERATIONS DIVISION: The Business Operations Division (BOD) includes the Division Chief, Budget Analysts, and Management Analysts. The BOD provides budget, human resources, and administrative support to the entire OCP organization. This entity services all OCP employees and supervisors.

POLICY & WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT DIVISION

The Policy and Workforce Development Division (PWDD) is responsible for USDA-wide procurement policy and regulations, including the Agriculture Acquisition Regulation (AGAR) and Departmental guidance and templates. PWDD also leads USDA’s acquisition career management and training programs for the USDA Acquisition Workforce.

Contact PWDD at Procurement.Policy@usda.gov.

COMPLIANCE AND OVERSIGHT DIVISION

The Compliance and Oversight Division (COD) includes the Division Chief, the Government Purchase Card Program Section, and Procurement and Management Analysts supporting compliance and oversight requirements. COD employees support the following compliance and oversight activities: internal reviews of contract installations of the HCA, including ensuring operational contracting divisions are completing and reporting on contract file reviews and policy/template utilization as required; A-123 audits and systems compliance with A-123 requirements; coordinating OCP responses to Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Office of the Inspector General (OIG) reviews and audits; and supporting OCP data analysis and reporting in response to Government reporting requirements, data calls, and other management initiatives.

PROCUREMENT SYSTEMS DIVISION

The Procurement Systems Division (PSD) includes the Division Chief and IT Specialists, Procurement Analysts, and Management Analysts supporting the planning, development, operations and maintenance, and upgrades of OCP systems. PSD provides dynamic and integrated IT solutions, products, and services in support of USDA’s leadership and acquisition community. PSD manages the Department’s automated procurement application, Integrated Acquisition System (IAS), as well as many other related applications such as the Requirements Planning Tool, Workload Tracking Tool, Contract Justification Tracking Tool, and other IT applications.

To contact PSD, call the IAS Helpdesk: ias-helpdesk@usda.gov

PROGRAM ASSISTANCE DIVISION

The Procurement Assistance Division (PAD) includes the Division Chief and three sections that are focused on supporting agencies and their program offices with their procurement requirements. The sections within the PAD serve as a launch pad for agencies and programs that are “stuck” within the acquisition process, including the Program Coordination Section, the Acquisition Program Management Section, and the Acquisition Accelerators Section.

SERVICE AND SUPPLY DIVISION

The Service and Supply Division (SSD) Includes the Chief of the Contracting Office (COCO) for Service and Supply contracting, three Deputies, a small support staff that includes Procurement Analysts, a Management Analyst, and two Contract Coordinators, and twenty-six (26) operational contracting branches. This division plans, awards, administers and closes out contracts for services, supplies, and equipment, except for those service and supply contracts specifically designated as Land Management or Stewardship.

CONSTRUCTION AND ARCHITECTURE DIVISION

The Construction and Architecture Division (CAD) Includes the Chief of the Contracting Office (COCO) for Construction and Architecture and Engineering (A&E) contracting, a Deputy, a small support staff that includes Procurement Analysts, a Management Analyst, and a Contract Coordinator, and eight (8) operational contracting branches. The division plans, awards, administers and closes out contracts for construction and A&E needs across the Department.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DIVISION

The Information Technology Division (ITD) includes the Chief of the Contracting Office (COCO) for Information Technology contracting, a Deputy, a small support staff that includes Procurement Analysts, a Management Analyst, and a Contract Coordinator, and eight operational contracting branches. The division plans, awards, administers and closes out contracts for information technology services, supplies, and equipment.

LAND MANAGEMENT & STEWARDSHIP DIVISION

The Land Management and Stewardship Division (LMSD) includes the Chief of the Contracting Office (COCO) for Land Management and Stewardship contracting, a small support staff that includes Procurement Analysts, a Management Analyst, and a Contract Coordinator, and nine operational contracting branches. The division plans, awards, administers and closes out contracts for services and supplies in support of Land Management objectives. The division also awards USDA’s Integrated Resource Service Contracts (IRSCs) using a contracting authority that is unique to the Forest Service