Kent J. Howard

Kent C. Howard serves as a Contracting Officer for USAID/South Africa, where he plays a pivotal role in advancing the agency’s mission of sustainable development and humanitarian resilience across Southern Africa. Responsible for the full lifecycle management of procurement actions, Howard ensures compliance with federal acquisition regulations while aligning contracting strategies with USAID’s goals in public health, governance, and environmental conservation. He primarily oversees professional and technical services contracts that support institutional capacity building, technical assistance programs, and civic engagement initiatives, frequently engaging with consultants, research institutions, and implementation partners to deliver mission-critical outcomes. Howard’s contracting patterns reflect a broad, non-set-aside approach, with 100% of his acquisitions conducted under full and open competition. While he does not routinely prioritize socioeconomic set-asides such as 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB programs, his procurement strategy emphasizes merit-based selection and technical merit over socioeconomic categorization. His vendor partnerships are primarily with firms offering specialized expertise in development programming, monitoring and evaluation, and operational support services, fostering long-term collaborations grounded in performance and accountability. His primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 541990 (All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services), where he acquires high-level advisory services related to HIV/AIDS response, governance reform, and wildlife protection. He also routinely procures support services under NAICS 561990 and, to a lesser extent, commercial banking services under NAICS 522110 to facilitate financial management for program implementation. Howard’s domain expertise centers on complex, multi-stakeholder development engagements requiring technical precision, adaptive management, and alignment with U.S. foreign policy objectives in Southern Africa.