What term describes an individual under contract and compensated directly to provide professional or technical assistance to a contractor in a capacity requiring access to classified information?

• A. Consultant
• B. Employee
• C. Subcontractor
• D. Intern

Answer: (A)

The situation describes an external expert brought in on a contract to provide professional or technical help to a contractor, with payment made directly to that person, and access to potentially classified information. This arrangement is best described as a consultant. Consultants are external specialists engaged for a defined scope who are compensated directly by the hiring organization, rather than being regular employees. They can be cleared to access classified material under proper security controls.

An employee would be on the contractor’s payroll, integrated into the organization. A subcontractor is typically an external company or entity contracted to perform part of the work, with payment routed through the contractor to the subcontractor rather than directly to an individual. An intern is a trainee, usually not entrusted with access to classified information.