Community Services Contracts and Procurement Manager

Community Services Contracts And Procurement Manager

The Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) values diverse perspectives and life experiences. The Department encourages people of all backgrounds to apply, including people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ, people with disabilities, veterans and those with lived experience.

King County's Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) provides equitable opportunities for people to be healthy, happy, and connected to community.

The Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) is looking for a skilled, knowledgeable, highly motivated, and enthusiastic team player to collaboratively lead the Contracts and Procurement Unit, which develops and oversees compliance with department-wide procurement, contracting, and contract management processes. DCHS manages a portfolio of government funds with complex funding sources, including federal, state, and local funding, in various community services programs.

The Community Services Contracts and Procurement (C&P) Manager is a professional classification that reports directly to the Department's Director of Impact and Data Strategy, and plays a key leadership role in assuring effective, efficient, and equitable procurement, contracting, and contract management processes for community services programs across the department. In addition, the C&P Manager supports staff with procurement and contracting responsibilities in various work units and has direct supervisory responsibilities for a growing team with up to six direct reports. The desired candidate has expertise in government procurement, contract draft and management, and success in supervising and mentoring staff.

The ideal candidate will prioritize equity, racial, and social justice with an understanding of how entrenched systems have privileged some and excluded others, creating uneven distribution of benefits and burdens. They will commit to improving equity and access in procurement and contracting processes and align practices where possible to improve the experience of community-based organization applying for community services funding opportunities.

Job Duties

To be considered minimally qualified applicant must demonstrate a background that provides the knowledge, skills and ability to:

• Provide vision and leadership to continually improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and equitable outcomes of DCHS' procurement and contracting processes within the limits of local, state, and federal laws and regulations.
• Collaboratively create and maintain department-wide procurement, contracting, and contract management policies and procedures and engage effective change management and communication techniques to ensure they are implemented.
• Support the development and implementation of trainings for all staff involved in solicitations and contract development to improve quality and consistency.
• Supervise and mentor Contract Specialist and Project Program Management staff, including planning work assignments and supporting employee development and performance evaluation. Makes recommendations to the Director of Impact and Data Strategy regarding personnel actions.
• Take the lead in establishing a collaborative partnership with King County's Procurement & Payables Group, Prosecuting Attorney's Office, and Office of Risk Management to update and maintain contract practices, and address issues as they arise.
• Review and determine appropriateness of exceptions to DCHS standard procurement and contracting practices.
• Research, interpret, and summarize local, state, and federal laws and regulations to provide guidance to DCHS leadership on risk mitigation, novel approaches, etc.
• Partner with Public Health contracts and procurement staff, including their Equity Contracting Process Improvement Manager, to align and advance practices where possible.
• Serve as back up capacity for Contract Specialists in leading solicitations and developing contracts. Provide extra support for complex and/or high-profile solicitations and contract negotiations.
• Other duties as assigned.

Experience, Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills

WE ARE LOOKING FOR CANDIDATES WHO HAVE:

• Demonstrated understanding and experience with the principles, practices, and terminology typically used in public sector procurements.
• Deep experience and knowledge of services contract development and negotiations. Experience developing and managing contract templates, including standard terms and conditions and statements of work.
• Knowledge of insurance requirements related to public procurements and contracting.
• Understanding of principles and approaches to post-award contract management and administration. Experience writing contracts that facilitate both performance management and organizational capacity building overtime.
• Experience streamlining work processes, improving operations, decreasing turnaround time, meeting deadlines, and working cooperatively to provide high quality, seamless customer service.
• Values getting to the rule, not being beholden to a process i.e. can confidently respond to anyone asking "why" we are using a particular process and be willing to come up with other options if needed to accomplish program goals.
• Demonstrated skill in development and documentation of policies and procedures.
• Strong change management, communication, and team building skills.
• Demonstrated knowledge and reduction of how business processes and policies contribute to inequities, including the role of structural racism and bias in exacerbating and/or perpetuating these inequities.
• Strong management and supervisory experience; including hiring, supervision, staff development and performance management.
• Dedication to sharing power and authority, whenever possible.
• Ability to delegate and effectively manage the workloads of direct reports in a highly variable environment and provide oversight to ensure on-time and quality performance by staff.
• Demonstrated ability successfully working collaboratively on a team and in a virtual work environment.
• Demonstrated proficiency with MS Office suite, including Teams, SharePoint, and Planner.

Desired Qualifications:

• Deep understanding of the public procurement and contracting processes for delivering community and human service programs.
• Experience managing administrative and business functions in a large public sector organization.
• Experience with Agiloft, Icertis, or other similar contract lifecycle management software.
• Ability to provide engaging trainings and/or technical assistance with diverse groups using adult learning approaches.

Additional Position Information:

• This position has been designated Mission Critical. Unless otherwise directed by the County Executive, department director or agency head, all employees, regardless of designation, are expected to report to work or request leave during an emergency or inclement weather. For more detailed information, please visit HR Policy County Operations During Emergency Situations and the King County Guidelines for Workforce Management in an Emergency.
• The Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) team works in a hybrid model, with days in the office as well as telecommuting. The ratio of remote to onsite work will be dependent on business needs and is subject to change. The primary onsite location is Chinook, 401 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104. Employees must reside in Washington state and within a reasonable distance to their King County worksite to respond to workplace reporting requirements.
• King County has a robust collection of tools and resources to support working remotely. The individual selected for this opportunity will join an innovative and progressive team that is redefining how we work as we transition to the department's hybrid environment. Employees will be provided with a County-issued laptop and must maintain a home workspace with an internet connection where they can reliably perform work and remain available and responsive during scheduled work hours.
• This position is exempt from the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act and is not eligible for overtime. Typical hours are Monday - Friday, 8am - 5pm.
• This position is not represented by a union.
• Classification: Procurement Manager

WHO MAY APPLY: This position is open to all qualified candidates that meet the minimum qualifications. Interviews for this selection process will take place on or around the week of August 3rd, 2026. Candidates who wish to be considered for this position must submit an online King County application and respond to the supplemental questions. Your application may be rejected as incomplete if you do not include the requested and relevant information in the online application and supplemental questionnaire. Applications and/or supplemental questionnaires that state, "see my resume" are considered incomplete and will not be considered to be competitive. If you have any questions, please contact Alicia Larsen, View email address on click.appcast.io.

This selection process will fill our current vacancy but also create a pool of qualified candidates should additional Procurement Manager positions open up within the next 6 months.