Recovery Act Opportunities for Grants and Contracting Professionals

Employment opportunities abound for Federal grants and contract professionals, due to funds designated for both specialists and technicians under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which was passed and signed into law on February 17, 2009. 

 

During the current economic downturn, the largest, most important and most immediate grants and contracting opportunities are affiliated with the Recovery Act, which was designed to make a quick impact on the current sagging economy.

 

The Recovery Act has many provisions for disbursing funds through grants, agreements, and contracts.  The law also includes provisions for greater transparency and improved oversight of the disbursed funds by the grants and contracting professionals in Federal agencies.

 

In general terms, Federal grants consist of economic aid issued by the United States government out of the general Federal revenue.  A Federal grant is an award of financial assistance from a Federal agency to a recipient to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a law of the United States.

 

More than 1,000 programs in over 26 grant-making agencies provide over $500 billion annually in Federal financial assistance.  There are 21 Federal grants categories including business and commerce; community development; disaster prevention and relief; education; employment, labor and training; law, justice, and legal services; and science and technology.

 

There are many opportunities for grants and contracting professionals in the Federal service.  Working in this area means planning, developing, implementing, assessing, or supporting grants and contracts that provide funding for a variety of projects essential to the United States.

 

Grants and contracting positions also provide the opportunity to improve the procurement policies, procedures, and systems used by public agencies at the state, tribal, and local level.  Through the assessment of proposals, the grants and contracting professional is a key point of contact and technical advisor for entities wishing to secure Federal funds through the grants or contracting process.

 

Some grants policy professionals develop and seek ways to ensure that the grant application and evaluation processes are in place to maximize the distribution of agency funds towards the greatest impact areas.

 

 

According to OPM FedScope data, the number of Federal grants and contracting specialists has remained constant for the last five years at about 47,000.  Despite a nearly 272% increase in grants and contracting new hires from 2004 to 2008, the number of employees coming on board in Federal agencies increased only 17% during same period.  Much of this has been the result of heavy attrition in the grants and contracting profession.

 

Overall, there has been a decrease in grants and contracting support positions, such as procurement clerks and technicians, due to former manual data collection and tracking systems being replaced by on-line enterprise-wide support systems.

 

Five-year Federal hiring trends for grants and contracting professionals.