Contracting officer (CO or KO)
Also called: CO, KO, contracting officer, warranted contracting officer, contract specialist
A contracting officer is the government employee who holds a warrant authorizing them to enter into, administer and terminate contracts on behalf of the agency. Only a contracting officer can bind the government.
The authority is FAR 1.602-1, and FAR 1.602-2 gives the duties: ensure the contract is legally and factually supported, safeguard the government's interests and treat contractors fairly. A contract specialist does much of the daily work and signs emails, but the warrant belongs to the CO named in the solicitation and the award. Promises from program staff, CORs or end users do not change the contract unless the CO issues a modification.
What to check: who the CO is on your solicitation and on your contract (they are often different people), what the solicitation says about contacting them during the Q&A period and after the proposal deadline, and whether a notice to proceed or a change you were asked to make came in writing from the CO.
What it is not: a sales contact. During an open source selection a CO will not discuss the buy outside the formal process, and asking them to is a quick way to be remembered badly.
See also: Contracting Officer's Representative (COR), Amendment and the Q&A period, Debrief, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Contract modification (mod)
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