CONTRACT MANAGER SPECIALIST - 60005126

Requisition No: 885575

Agency: Children and Families

Working Title: CONTRACT MANAGER SPECIALIST - 60005126

Pay Plan: Career Service

Position Number: 60005126

Salary: $50,584.67 - $65,000.00 Annually

Posting Closing Date: 10/20/2026

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The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) isthe state of Florida’s social services agency. The agency oversees services for child safety, fostering, adoption, domestic violence, adult protective services, refugees, homelessness, mental health, substance abuse, childcare providers, human trafficking and public assistance. The agency’s mission is to work in partnership with local communities to protect the vulnerable, promote strong and economically self-sufficient families, and advance personal and family recovery and resiliency.

Within DCF, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health (SAMH) Program office is recognized as the single state authority for substance abuse and mental health services. The Office of SAMH is statutorily responsible for the planning, evaluation, and implementation of a comprehensive statewide system of care for the prevention, treatment, and recovery of children and adults with serious mental illnesses or substance use disorders.

TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THIS POSITION RESPONSES TO THE QUALIFYING QUESTIONS ARE REQUIRED AND MUST BE VERIFIABLE BASED ON YOUR SUBMITTED APPLICATION.

THIS IS NOT A TELEWORK POSITION. CANDIDATE WILL BE REQUIRED TO WORK IN THE TALLAHASSEE HQ OFFICE.

THIS ADVERTISEMENT WILL BE USED TO FILL CONTRACT MANAGER AND CONTRACT MANAGER SPECIALIST POSITIONS.

This is a highly responsible and professional position serving as a Contract Manager within the Contracts Unit. The ideal candidate will be a collaborative team player who works seamlessly across all sections within the program office. This role requires the use of independent judgment, a proactive approach to responsibilities, and exceptional attention to detail. If you are driven, organized, and thrive in a fast-paced environment, we encourage you to apply.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities include:

This is a professional position performing highly responsible technical, consultative and administrative work. This position serves as a contract manager, managing multiple contracts for the central Substance Abuse and Mental Health (SAMH) program offices. The person in this position has the following duties and responsibilities:

Contract Management

• Develop contract and grant agreement documents in accordance with state rules, statutes and department policies.
• Serve as single point of contact with service providers, ensuring positive provider relations and timely and effective resolution of issues.
• Review and approve deliverables, monitoring provider performance and ensuring accountability for service provision.
• Review, approve and process provider invoices and maintain detailed accounting and expenditure documentation.
• Maintain official contract and grant agreement files in accordance with statute, department operating procedures, funding source requirements and requirements of the Department of Management Services and the Department of Financial Services.
• Perform contract monitoring for assigned contracts and participate in cross-unit program monitoring team activity as needed. Monitoring activity includes on-site monitoring, desk audits, file reviews, corrective action planning and technical assistance where necessary.
• Perform contract renewal, amendment and closeout duties, including contract evaluation and review and documentation of provider performance.
• Coordinate with SAMH programmatic subject matter experts to
  • Negotiate contract terms and conditions,
  • Conduct cost analyses of provider budgets, and
  • Ensure ongoing provider delivery of quality services and adherence to contract terms and performance expectations in a positive, professional, transparent and accountable manner.

Procurement Management:

• When needed, collaborate with SAMH programmatic subject matter experts to identify appropriate mechanisms for contracts, purchase orders and general procurement.
• When needed, contribute to the development and implementation of competitive solicitations in concert with applicable rules and statutes and serve as assigned to support the SAMH procurement manager .

Financial Analysis:

• Conduct regular and ad hoc analyses of budgets, expenditure reports, projections, and other financial documents related to SAMH contracts and grant agreements for compliance with federal and state statutes and regulations, applicable funding restrictions and operating procedures and general accepted accounting principles.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Salary commensurate with experience.

An ideal candidate will be able to:

• Engage cooperatively and professionally with internal and external stakeholders.
• Simultaneously Manage multiple priority projects nimbly and seamlessly.
• Be flexible and able to function and succeed both with and without extensive direction.
• Understand and appreciate SAMH’s vision and demonstrate the ability to execute projects, assignments, and policy updates timely and accurately within a fast-paced environment.
• Function both independently and in a team environment.
• Propose solutions to complex problems.
• Determine the best “yes,” through the use of comprehensive research.

The Ideal Candidate Will Possess the Ability To:

• Engage cooperatively and professionally with both internal and external stakeholders.
• Manage multiple high-priority projects simultaneously with agility and precision.
• Demonstrate flexibility and the ability to succeed both independently and with minimal direction.
• Understand and align with the vision of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health (SAMH) Program, executing projects, assignments, and policy updates accurately and on time in a fast-paced environment.
• Collaborate effectively within a team while also excelling when working independently.
• Analyze challenges and propose thoughtful, practical solutions to complex problems.
• Conduct thorough research to identify and recommend the most strategic and effective course of action—the best “yes.”

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities required for the position:

• Knowledge of statutes, regulations, and policies related to community and facility-based substance abuse and mental health services
• Knowledge of statutes, regulations and policies related to procurements and contract management.
• Knowledge of basic management principles.
• Knowledge of methods for compiling, analyzing and evaluating data.
• Ability to conduct fact finding research.
• Knowledge of government accounting systems.
• Knowledge of mental health and substance abuse service and regulatory systems.
• Knowledge of quality assurance techniques.
• Skill in writing and preparing operational procedures and project reports.
• Skill in understanding and applying laws, rules, regulations, policies and procedures.
• Proficiency using basic computer equipment and Microsoft Office software applications.
• Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.
• Ability to understand and apply applicable statues, rules, regulations, policies and procedures.
• Knowledge of problem-solving techniques.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Four (4) years of experience in customer service, contract management, project management, procurement or other related business field.

• Must successfully complete contract and grant management training and obtain Contract Manager certification within six (6) months of hire, in accordance with section 287.057(15)(c), Florida Statutes.
• Possess at least five (5) years of experience managing contracts with an annual value exceeding $5 million, in accordance with section 287.057(15)(d), Florida Statutes.

Preference will be given to applicants who have:

• Currently a Florida Certified Contract Manager (FCCM) or held a FCCM certificate within the last five years.
• Working knowledge and experience using MyFloridaMarketPlace (MFMP) applications (i.e., Buyer, Sourcing, Vendor Information Portal, etc.), of contract or grant management, auditing invoices for contracted vendors or service providers, or of program research and evaluation.
• Professional administrative work experience (i.e., supervisory, managerial, purchasing agent, budget analyst, etc.).
• Associate or bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
• Experience auditing invoices for contracted vendors or service providers.
• Experience in areas such as purchasing, procurement, budgeting, financial analysis, or related functions (e.g., Purchasing Analyst, Purchasing Agent, Budget Analyst, Financial Analyst, etc.).

Candidate Profile (application) Requirements:

Candidate Profile (application) must be complete in its entirety.

• Work History - entered with the most recent/current listed first:
  • Any and all State of Florida jobs
  • Any and all Florida University jobs
  • All periods of employment
  • Periods of unemployment
  • Gaps 3 months or more*
  • Education
  • Volunteer Experience
• Include supervisor names and phone numbers including current place of employment.
• * Gaps 3 months or more must be addressed – you will need to account for and explain any gaps in employment including unemployment. You can either list these in your application under Period of Employment or attach a word document listing your gaps.
• Experience, education, training, knowledge, skills and/or abilities as well as responses to pre-qualifying questions must be verifiable to meet the minimum qualifications.
• If claiming Right to First Interview, candidate MUST attach a copy of your official layoff letter when applying. This only applies to employees laid off from Career Service positions.

If you experience problems applying online, please call the People First Service Center at View phone number on aiapply.co.

Benefits of Working for the State of Florida:

• Working for the State of Florida is more than a paycheck. The State’s total compensation package for employees features a highly competitive set of employee benefits.
• For a more complete list of benefits, visit

DCF EMPLOYMENT DISCLOSURES

US CITIZEN REQUIREMENT Only US citizens and lawfully authorized alien workers will be hired.

SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM REGISTRATION All selected male candidates born on or after October 1, 1962, will not be eligible for hire or promotion into an authorized position unless they are registered with the Selective Service System (SSS). Verification of Selective Service registration will be conducted prior to hire . For more information, please visit the SSS website:

RETIREE NOTICE If you are a retiree of the Florida Retirement System (FRS), please check with the FRS on how your current benefits will be affected if you are re-employed with the State of Florida. Your current retirement benefits may be suspended or voided, and you required to repay all benefits received depending upon the date of your retirement.

BACKGROUND SCREENING It is the policy of the Florida Department of Children and Families that any applicant being considered for employment must successfully complete a State and National criminal history check as a condition of employment before beginning employment, and, if applicable, also be screened in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 435, F.S., and Chapter 408, F.S. No applicant may begin employment until the background screening results are received, reviewed for any disqualifying offenses, and approved by the Agency. Background screening shall include, but not be limited to, fingerprinting for State and Federal criminal records checks through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and may include local criminal history checks through local law enforcement agencies.

Candidates requiring a reasonable accommodation, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, must notify the agency hiring authority and/or People First Service Center View phone number on aiapply.co). Notification to the hiring authority must be made in advance to allow sufficient time to provide the accommodation.

The State of Florida supports a Drug-Free workplace. All employees are subject to reasonable suspicion drug testing in accordance with Section 112.0455, F.S., Drug-Free Workplace Act.

VETERANS’ PREFERENCE. Pursuant to Chapter 295, Florida Statutes, candidates eligible for Veterans’ Preference will receive preference in employment for Career Service vacancies and are encouraged to apply. Certain service members may be eligible to receive waivers for postsecondary educational requirements. Candidates claiming Veterans’ Preference must attach supporting documentation with each submission that includes character of service (for example, DD Form 214 Member Copy #4) along with any other documentation as required by Rule 55A-7, Florida Administrative Code. Veterans’ Preference documentation requirements are available by clicking here. All documentation is due by the close of the vacancy announcement.