Salary: $36,288.00 – $48,156.00 Annually
Location: Kittitas County – Ellensburg, WA
Job Type: Full Time – Permanent
Department: Dept. of Natural Resources
Job Number: 2023-4-7978-05129
Closing: 4/27/2023 11:59 PM Pacific

Be an integral part of accomplishing the Department of Natural Resources mission to manage, sustain, and protect the health and productivity of Washington’s lands and waters to meet the needs of present and future generations. The Contract Assistant position performs technical and professional duties in the Management Forester’s office within the Southeast (SE) Region.  Under the direction of SE Region’s Management Forester, this position serves as the lead in processing and submitting timber sales documentation. This position also assists in the administration of SE Region timber sale auctions, asset status report updating, quality control checks on official documentation, and contract compiling and submittal. The Contract Assistant regularly communicates with and provides professional and technical assistance to: other DNR regions, Forest Practice staff, Product Sales and Leasing Division, Forest Resources and Conservation Division, other public agencies, as well as public and private stakeholders.

Duties
Responsibilities:
This position supports the DNR’s forested management in Southeast Region by compiling contracts using approved templates, develops quality map products, monitors project funding, and assists with report data management and drafting. Additionally, this position will assist with other administrative tasks such as:.

  • Facilitates SE Region’s timber sales auction process.
  • Works with contracting staff in Olympia to assign appropriate contract methods and track the region’s limited public works contracts.
  • Compiles contracts for Limited Public Works (LPW) for state lands. Compiles and distributes bid packets after appropriate region internal reviews.
  • Inputs data into the Pre-Sales System for the creation of Timber Sale Contracts, Notices of Sale, and other Pre-Sales tracking needs. Gathers information from field staff and compiles and creates browser reviews for documentation and quality assurance. Confirms all paperwork is in order and submits completed sale packets to PSL Division for processing prior to auction.
  • Tracks monthly timber sale timelines and works with Unit Foresters to ensure due dates are met and field staff are on track to meet future deadlines for sale preparation.
  • Assists in grant milestone reporting by developing and maintaining grant tracking spreadsheets for field staff to fill in. Submits reports for field staff once a quality check has been completed and the supervisor approves the milestone reports.
  • Tracks deliverables accomplishments throughout the biennium and prepares quarterly reports for the SLA to review and submit to the divisions.
  • Performs cartography tasks to produce quality exhibit maps for various types of timber sale, public works, direct hire and other contracts.

Qualifications
Required Qualifications: 

  • A Bachelor’s degree with major study in business administration, or closely allied field, or public administration.  
    OR
    A combination of education and/or experience equivalent.
    Note: Technical experience in the development, administration or termination of contracts may be substituted for college-level course work on a year-for-year basis.  
  • Experience working with Microsoft Office applications such as Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, and Power Point.  
  • DNR Core Competencies: 
    • Personal Accountability 
    • Value Others 
    • Compassionate Communication 
    • Inspire Others 
    • Commitment to Excellence 
  • Ability to encourage and facilitate cooperation, pride, trust and group identity, foster commitment and team spirit, and work with others to achieve goals.
  • Ability to adhere to an appropriate (for the setting) and effective set of core values and beliefs during both good and bad times and acts in line with those values 
  •  Ability to meet productivity standards, deadlines and work schedules, makes the best use of available time and resources 
  • The ability to communicate effectively and efficiently via written, oral, or other forms of communications.
  • Knowledge of: contracting laws, state contracting policies, agreements, etc.; business and professional services, practices and trends, sources of supply and cost factors, contract terminology and development. 
  • Excellent written and verbal communication.

Special Requirements and Conditions of Employment:

  • The work setting is primarily in the office with periodic field work (5% field, 95% office). Field activities require working in inclement weather, ability to navigate with a compass and GPS in the forest, driving on forest roads with logging traffic, and hiking in moderate to rugged terrain. The position also requires working as a strong team member as well as individual analysis time.
  • Travel may be required periodically as a function of this position.
  • Employees of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) are required to complete their primary series of COVID-19 vaccines (be fully vaccinated against COVID-19) or be approved for a medical or religious accommodation as a condition of employment. Please note, any offer of employment is contingent and no start date will be approved until you have either verified your vaccine status or have an approved accommodation. “Fully vaccinated” means the following: An employee is fully vaccinated against COVID-19 two weeks after they have received the second dose in a two-dose series of a COVID-19 vaccine (e.g., Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Novavax) or a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine (e.g., Johnson & Johnson (J&J)/Janssen) authorized for emergency use, licensed, or otherwise approved by the FDA or listed for emergency use, or otherwise approved by the World Health Organization. 

Desired Qualifications: 

  • A bachelor’s degree in natural resources, public administration, business administration, business law, commerce, economics, mathematics, statistics or closely allied field
  • Knowledge of environmental regulations with regards to Forest Practices; Habitat Conservation Plans, SEPA
    (State Environmental Policy Act); Endangered Species Act; land management and development; principles and procedures of wildlife, fish and habitat management; soil conservation; lake and stream management; methods of biological data collection, interpretation and presentation; population measurement techniques; silviculture
  •  Ability to view, interpret and evaluate various types of photogrammetric and GIS products and technologies

Questions?  Please contact Kevin Alexander at (509)859-6603, Kevin.Alexander@dnr.wa.gov or e-mail us at DNRrecruiting@dnr.wa.gov

Application Requirements

  • To be considered you must apply online at www.careers.wa.gov. You must complete the entire online application to be considered for the position.
  • Attach a letter of interest describing how your experience and qualifications relate to the position profile and the position required, desired and special requirements.
  • Attach a resume describing your experience and qualifications.
  • Provide three to five professional references – you may attach a document, use the References text field in the online application, or include with resume.
  • Important: Do not attach any documents that include photos or private information (social security number, year of birth, etc.).
  • Complete all supplemental questions.

Additional Information: This recruitment may be extended and may also be used to fill future similar vacancies for up to sixty (60) days.

For more information and to apply: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/washington/jobs/3999828/contracts-assistant-contract-specialist