PART 302--DEFINITIONS OF WORDS AND TERMS
Subpart 302.1--Definitions
Sec.
302.101 Definitions.
Subpart 302.2--Definitions Clause
302.201 Contract clause.
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 40 U.S.C. 486(c). [[Page 4223]]
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
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, Division of Acquisition Policy (DAP) 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.
Subpart 302.2--Definitions clause
The FAR clause, Definitions, at 52.202-1 shall be used as prescribed in FAR 2.201, except as follows:
(a) Paragraph (a) at 352.202-1 shall be used in place of paragraph (a) of the FAR clause.
(b) Paragraph (h), or its alternate, at 352.202-1 shall be added to the end of the FAR clause. Use paragraph (h) when a fixed-priced contract is anticipated; use the alternate to paragraph (h) when a cost-reimbursement contract is anticipated. This is an authorized deviation.