Kathleen Y. Sears

Kathleen Y. Sears serves as a Contracting Officer responsible for managing the full lifecycle of professional, scientific, and technical services acquisitions. In her role, she ensures compliance with federal procurement regulations while advancing mission-critical objectives through strategic sourcing, competitive bidding, and contract administration. She specializes in complex, non-construction services requiring high levels of technical expertise and performance-based management, typically overseeing task orders and indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contracts under the 541990 NAICS category. Her work supports the delivery of specialized advisory, analytical, and technical services essential to federal operations. Kathleen cultivates a broad and diverse contractor base, engaging with both large professional services firms and small businesses offering niche technical capabilities. While no single contractor dominates her portfolio, she consistently fosters relationships with vendors capable of delivering high-quality, performance-driven solutions in areas such as policy analysis, program evaluation, data analytics, and operational consulting. Her procurement approach emphasizes transparency, fair competition, and rigorous source selection under FAR Part 15 procedures, ensuring value and accountability in every award. Her set-aside preferences reflect a strong commitment to full and open competition, with 100% of her acquisitions conducted without socioeconomic set-asides. This pattern indicates a focus on technical merit and capability over socioeconomic categorization, aligning with missions requiring specialized expertise that may not be widely available among small business concerns. While she does not prioritize 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB set-asides, her contracting decisions remain fully compliant with all applicable small business statutes and regulations. Kathleen’s primary procurement focus is on NAICS 541990—All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services—encompassing a wide array of high-skill, non-routine services including research, technical consulting, systems analysis, and performance measurement. She routinely procures services requiring advanced analytical methods, subject-matter expertise, and adaptability to evolving program needs, demonstrating deep familiarity with performance-based acquisition strategies and outcome-driven contract management.