Now Hiring

Acquisition chiefs are in the market for a quality workforce.

Most chief acquisition officers need a permanent "help wanted" sign to hang outside their offices. The workforce in charge of buying goods and services is shrinking, while spending continues to climb. According to the Federal Acquisition Institute at Fort Belvoir, Va., a training center for federal employees, 12 percent of contracting specialists were eligible to retire in 2004. That number will jump to 30 percent in 2009. Outside consultants and industry groups often attribute problems with subcontracting and set-aside programs to a lack of oversight caused by personnel shortages.

But acquisition leaders aren't rolling over and waiting for people to turn in their departure forms-they're recruiting. "We're evaluating and ensuring we have proper retention strategies, and we're developing proper profiles in terms of incoming employees to best predict their potential for success," says Michael Harrison, assistant secretary for administration at the Agriculture Department.

Among the strategies: The Treasury Department is setting up a team to examine its acquisition workforce, Agriculture is surveying employees to help shape its recruitment and retention plan, and the Veterans Affairs Department is considering starting an acquisition-focused intern program, while the Interior Department offers loan repayment in some bureaus as an incentive.

Chief acquisition officers also are trying to make the jobs more exciting. Emily W. Murphy, chief acquisition officer at the General Services Administration, says one way to do that is to make it easier for employees to move among agencies. "We want to make sure the workforce has horizontal and vertical movement, so skilled people can progress in their careers," she says. She is working to make the certification process at the Defense Department and civilian agencies more similar so employees can move easily between the Pentagon and other agencies.

David Safavian, the head of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, repeatedly has declared recruitment and training to be among his top priorities. In March, the Office of Management and Budget announced that the Federal Acquisition Institute would move to Fort Belvoir to share space with the Defense Acquisition University, which primarily trains Defense acquisition employees. Safavian says the two schools already have started benefiting from sharing classes.

CHIEF ACQUISITION OFFICERS

• David Safavian
  Office of Management and Budget: Chief, Office of Federal Procurement Policy
• Michael Harrison
  Agriculture: Assistant Secretary for Administration
• Otto Wolff
  Commerce: Assistant Secretary for Administration, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Acquisition Officer, Chief Human Capital Officer
• Kenneth Krieg
  Defense: Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics
• Michael Dominguez
  Air Force: Acting Chief Acquisition Officer
• Claude M. Bolton Jr.
  Army: Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology
• John J. Young Jr.
  Navy: Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition
• Jack Martin
  Education: Chief Financial Officer, Chief Acquisition Officer
• Bruce Carnes
  Energy: Chief Acquisition Officer
• Emily W. Murphy
  General Services Administration: Chief Acquisition Officer
• Catherine Tyrell
  Health and Human Services: Chief Acquisition Officer
• Gregory Rothwell
  Homeland Security: Chief Procurement Officer
• Joseph A. Neurauter
  Housing and Urban Development: Chief Procurement Officer
• Lynn Scarlett
  Interior: Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Acquisition Officer
• Paul R. Corts
  Justice: Assistant Attorney General for Administration, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Acquisition Officer
• Ed Hugler
  Labor: Deputy Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management Operations, Senior Procurement Executive
• Tom Luedtke
  NASA: Assistant Administrator for Procurement
• Ronald Flom
  Office of Personnel Management: Deputy Associate Director for Contracting Facilities and Administrative Services
• Dale W. Sopper
  Social Security Administration: Deputy Commissioner for Finance, Assessment and Management, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Acquisition Officer
• Corey Rindner
  State: Procurement Executive
• David J. Litman
  Transportation: Senior Procurement Executive
• Sandra Pack
  Treasury: Assistant Secretary for Management, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Acquisition Officer
• C. Ford Heard
  Veterans Affairs: Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition and Materiel Management