Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is the independent agency that manages the federal government's civilian workforce through human resources policy, recruiting, training, and benefits administration, while also conducting background investigations for federal employees and contractor personnel requiring security clearances and public trust determinations.

What is the Office of Personnel Management?

OPM serves as the chief human capital manager for the federal government, overseeing approximately 2.2 million federal civilian employees. Key OPM functions include establishing federal classification and pay policies, managing federal retirement and insurance programs (CSRS, FERS, FEHBP), administering federal hiring systems, providing training and leadership development through the Federal Executive Institute, and conducting personnel security investigations.

OPM's contracting is concentrated in two major areas: federal background investigation services and IT/HR systems. Following the massive 2015 OPM data breach, which compromised personnel records of 21.5 million federal employees and contractors, OPM has invested significantly in IT security modernization. The National Background Investigation Services (NBIS) program, now managed by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA), was the most significant change resulting from the breach, transferring investigation responsibility from OPM to DoD.

Contractors providing HR consulting services, federal workforce analytics, retirement processing services, and IT systems to OPM represent significant ongoing contracting activity. OPM's HR Connect system and other workforce management platforms have generated substantial IT development and maintenance contracts.

Why OPM matters for government contractors

OPM is a direct contracting customer for HR IT systems, security investigation support (now primarily through DCSA), and workforce management services. More broadly, OPM's personnel security investigation process affects all contractors requiring security clearances or public trust determinations, understanding OPM and DCSA's investigation timelines is critical for staffing planning on cleared contracts.

Example

An HR technology firm wins an OPM contract to modernize the USA Staffing system, the government's applicant tracking and hiring platform used by hundreds of federal agencies. The firm deploys an agile development team that works with OPM's human resources policy staff to implement new hiring assessment tools, applicant communication features, and analytics dashboards that help agencies measure hiring time-to-fill and quality-of-hire metrics.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is DCSA and how does it relate to OPM's security investigation role?

The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) assumed responsibility for most federal background investigations from OPM following the 2015 data breach. DCSA now operates the National Background Investigation Services (NBIS) IT system. OPM retains policy authority over suitability determinations but investigative work has largely transferred to DCSA.

Do contractors who provide services to OPM need security clearances?

Some OPM IT contracts require Public Trust suitability investigations (Medium or High Risk) rather than national security clearances. Contracts involving access to sensitive personnel records, background investigation data, or OPM's classified network segments require higher-level clearances. Contractors should carefully review security requirements in OPM solicitations.

What is OPM's role in federal contractor background investigations?

While OPM's investigation role has largely transferred to DCSA, OPM still conducts some federal employee suitability investigations and maintains the central personnel data file. All federal background investigation requests for contractor personnel flow through the agency's security officer to DCSA using the e-QIP (Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing) system.

How can contractors find OPM contracting opportunities?

OPM solicitations are posted on SAM.gov. OPM also publishes a procurement forecast through its Office of the Chief Financial Officer. Key contracting areas include HR IT systems, retirement processing services, training and workforce development, and administrative support services.