Jessica L. Harker

Jessica L. Harker serves as a Contract Specialist with the Military Sealift Command (MSC), where she plays a pivotal role in executing complex acquisition strategies to support the Department of Defense’s global sealift and afloat logistics mission. She manages the full lifecycle of contracts for strategic ocean transportation, engineering support, and navigational services, ensuring compliance with FAR and DFARS requirements. Her work directly enables MSC’s ability to maintain a ready fleet of government-owned and chartered vessels, coordinating with technical stakeholders to align procurement outcomes with operational readiness goals. She routinely handles performance-based, cost-reimbursement, and indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts critical to sustaining naval expeditionary operations. While specific contractor names are not disclosed, Harker maintains consistent relationships with a diverse pool of vendors specializing in deep-sea freight transportation, maritime engineering, and fleet support services. Her contracting patterns reflect a preference for established industry partners with proven maritime operational expertise, including firms with experience in vessel chartering, marine engineering, and logistics integration. She fosters collaborative, performance-driven partnerships that emphasize reliability, safety, and compliance with DoD standards for maritime asset management. Harker’s procurement approach prioritizes open competition, with 90.6% of her acquisitions issued as non-set-aside actions. However, she demonstrates a measurable commitment to small business participation, consistently awarding approximately 9.4% of contracts under Total Small Business Set-Asides per FAR 19.5. Her portfolio reflects a balanced adherence to socioeconomic goals, though she does not routinely utilize 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB set-asides, instead favoring broad-based small business opportunities within the maritime and logistics sectors. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 483111 (Deep Sea Freight Transportation), which accounts for nearly 60% of her activity, followed by engineering services (541330) and management consulting (541618). She specializes in acquiring vessel chartering, marine navigation services, and technical support for fleet sustainment, demonstrating deep expertise in maritime logistics, operational readiness, and defense transportation policy.