Woman-Owned · Minority-Owned · Federal Acquisition Advisory
Strengthen contract execution without adding a full-time Director of Contracts.
Fractional federal acquisition leadership for $5M to $50M contractors managing growing contract volume, compliance demands, and negotiation decisions.
Start with a free Contract Health Check. Upload one contract through our SuiteDash portal, pricing redacted, and get a two-page risk map in two business days. Five slots this month.
Contract-administration review, not legal advice. Please remove any controlled or non-public information before uploading.
Book a GovCon Growth DiagnosticQuick Answer. The Fractional Director of Contracts is a retained CIG engagement in which a former federal acquisition executive leads contract administration, compliance visibility, and pricing and negotiation judgment for a $5M to $50M federal contractor. It runs on a defined weekly cadence from 10 to 30+ hours, with a 3-month minimum term. Your team keeps final approval and signature authority.
The problem
Contract demands outpace capacity.
Growing federal contractors reach a point where the work required to keep contracts moving exceeds the capacity of the people already carrying it.
Internal capacity is stretched. Contracts land with a proposal manager, a bookkeeper doing double duty, or the owner personally.
A full-time hire is a major commitment. A full-time Director of Contracts typically earns $155K to $260K in base salary alone (Glassdoor, 2026), before benefits, payroll taxes, or what it costs you if the hire does not work out. Executive cost per hire rose substantially in 2026, and executive time to fill stayed the same as the year before (SHRM, 2026).
Exposure keeps moving. Obligations, deliverables, compliance, Contractor Performance Assessment Reports (CPARS, FAR 42.15), pricing, and contract administration still require active attention.
What you get
Practitioner-led support, organized around the work.
Support organized around the contract work that keeps execution, compliance visibility, and decision quality on track.
Contract administration. Obligation tracking, modification management (FAR Part 43), and deliverable compliance, including the Contract Data Requirements List (CDRL), under FAR Part 42.
Compliance visibility. FAR and DFARS clause management (FAR Part 52, DFARS Part 252), audit-readiness support, and CPARS positioning.
Pricing and negotiation judgment. Support on live pursuits and existing contract actions.
Acquisition perspective. Direct access to a former federal acquisition executive from our founding team.
From our founding team
We have sat on the government side.
Our founding team sat on the government side of these contracts, so we know what an evaluator or contracting officer looks for when a contractor's file is thin. Most $5M to $50M contractors do not have a contracts lead who has seen both sides. This engagement puts that view inside your operation, one week at a time.
Compare
Compare the operating models.
The comparison is about headcount commitment, ramp time, and scope flexibility. It is not a guarantee of compliance or business outcomes.
Full-time Director. $155K to $260K typical base salary plus benefits, and a search that is not getting faster. A permanent hire, with severance and liability exposure if it does not work out. Experience depends on who you can attract at your budget.
Generalist consulting firm. Premium day rates with variable ramp time. Locked into a statement-of-work scope. A statement-of-work model caps how much senior judgment you actually get.
CIG Fractional Director. Scaled monthly retainer with a 3-month minimum term and a defined exit. Practitioner-led and starts fast, with leadership scaled to your operation. Flexible fractional support from a former federal acquisition executive.
How it works
How the engagement works.
Engagements scale with the hours your operation needs, from a foundational 10 hours a week to a fully embedded 30+.
Set the weekly cadence and scope of authority. Define the rhythm and boundaries up front.
Work inside the operation. Support active contract needs with administrative execution.
Provide execution and advisory judgment. Work within the agreed scope across contract administration, compliance, pricing, and negotiation.
Retain client approval and signature authority. CIG never binds your company as a signatory without your approval.
Every engagement runs on a 3-month minimum term so the relationship has room to show results.
Who it is for
Who this is for.
A $5M to $50M federal contractor without a dedicated contracts lead.
A growing operation where contract volume and compliance complexity are outpacing internal capacity.
A leadership team that needs experienced acquisition judgment without a full-time Director of Contracts.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions.
What is a fractional Director of Contracts?
A fractional Director of Contracts is a senior acquisition professional who leads your contract function part-time, on a defined weekly cadence, instead of as a full-time employee. At CIG, that person is a former federal acquisition executive who works inside your operation on contract administration, compliance visibility, and pricing and negotiation judgment.
Who is this engagement for?
It is built for federal contractors with roughly $5M to $50M in revenue who do not have a dedicated contracts lead, and whose contract volume and compliance complexity are outpacing internal capacity.
What does CIG do, and what stays with my team?
CIG leads and executes agreed contract-administration work. Your team keeps final approval and signature authority, and CIG never binds your company as a signatory without your approval.
How many hours a week does an engagement take?
Engagements scale from a foundational 10 hours a week to a fully embedded 30+ hours, depending on how much contract volume and compliance work your operation carries. The diagnostic call identifies which workstreams and cadence fit.
Why is there a 3-month minimum term?
A fractional executive role needs ramp time to show results. The 3-month minimum gives the work room to take hold, and every engagement has a defined exit.
Does this guarantee compliance or contract outcomes?
No. The engagement strengthens execution, compliance visibility, and decision quality. It is not a guarantee of compliance, audit results, or business outcomes.
What happens on the diagnostic call?
It is a 15-minute, practical conversation. We look at where capacity, compliance visibility, contract administration, or negotiation judgment may be creating avoidable exposure, and which workstreams and weekly cadence would fit your operation.
Next step
Start with a 15-minute conversation.
This is a practical conversation, not a sales pitch. We will identify where capacity, compliance visibility, contract administration, or negotiation judgment may be creating avoidable exposure.
Start with a free Contract Health Check. Upload one contract through our SuiteDash portal, pricing redacted, and get a two-page risk map in two business days. Five slots this month.
Contract-administration review, not legal advice. Please remove any controlled or non-public information before uploading.
Book a GovCon Growth Diagnostic