Catherine E. Mallay

Catherine E. Mallay serves as a Contracting Officer for USAID/Bosnia and Herzegovina, where she plays a pivotal role in advancing the agency’s mission of strengthening democratic governance, institutional capacity, and economic resilience through strategic procurement. She manages the full lifecycle of acquisitions for technical assistance and policy reform initiatives, including consulting services, institutional development programs, and public administration support. Her portfolio is centered on high-impact, results-driven contracts that align with USAID’s priorities in electoral integrity, audit quality improvement, energy policy modernization, and digital transformation. Mallay ensures compliance with federal acquisition regulations and U.S. foreign assistance policy while fostering transparent, accountable contracting practices in a complex post-conflict environment. Mallay collaborates with a diverse range of international and local service providers, including management consulting firms, policy research institutes, and technical implementation partners. While no single contractor dominates her portfolio, she consistently engages firms with demonstrated expertise in public sector reform, institutional capacity building, and governance innovation. Her contracting approach emphasizes performance-based outcomes, rigorous evaluation criteria, and local stakeholder engagement, fostering partnerships that build sustainable domestic expertise rather than dependency on external actors. Mallay’s procurement activity reflects a strong preference for open competition, with 100% of her acquisitions conducted without set-asides. This reflects the agency’s strategic focus on selecting the most qualified providers globally, regardless of socioeconomic status, to deliver technically robust and contextually appropriate solutions. While she does not prioritize 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB set-asides, her process remains fully compliant with all socioeconomic contracting regulations and emphasizes merit-based selection. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 541618 (Other Management Consulting Services) and 923120 (Administration of Public Health Programs), indicating deep engagement with governance consulting, public policy analysis, and institutional strengthening services. She routinely procures technical assistance for electoral system design, public financial management reform, energy regulatory frameworks, and digital public service delivery, requiring contractors with specialized expertise in transition economies and post-conflict governance environments.