I have noticed alot of Contract Administrator jobs in the DC area and almost all of them require at least a Top Secret. Why do these jobs require a clearance? I thought most govt contracts are public record?
Most contracts are indeed public record, but the details of some are not disclosed. Also, the contract documents may not include all the details of the work to be performed, just that Contractor X is supposed to complete Task 001 on contract 12345-67-20 for Agency Y. The details of what constitutes Task 001 may be classified.
Also, most of the folks working in the “contracts” department on the contractor side sit in unclassified spaces, they may have to sit in a classified space if they are working on the government side.
Just my two cents worth of speculation based on years of working as a contractor.
There is such a thing as a classified contract.
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In my experience, there has almost always been some kind of unclassified vehicle through a contracting office that has a very generic title. I think it makes it very difficult to conduct the nuts and bolts of basic contracting and finance activities when you don’t have some kind of official contract vehicle to point to.
Years ago the National Reconnaissance Office did not exist officially, there were only an Assistant Sec of the Air Force for Space Systems or something… maybe in those days there were completely “black” contracts with the NRO.