Salary: $53,100.00 – $71,520.00 Annually
Location: Thurston County – Olympia, WA
Job Type: Full Time – Permanent
Remote Employment: Flexible/Hybrid
Department: Dept. of Natural Resources
Job Number: 2023-4-7066-04771
Closing: 5/7/2023 11:59 PM Pacific
The successful applicant(s) anticipated start date is June 1, 2023.

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has a Contract Specialist 2 position available for a highly collaborative individual interested in business operations and contracts management to help the agency, including the Forest Regulation Division, implement historic recent legislation (such as House Bill 1168 and House Bill 1216) and work to sustain and increase the health and resilience of our forests and the values they support for the well-being of people, communities, wildlife and landscapes today and into the future.

This position is a vital part of fulfilling the agency’s business goal to prioritize and address core business challenges, and implement Lean process improvements, to increase organization capacity and improve service delivery, efficiency, and performance for the trust beneficiaries and public. The Contracts and Procurement team is a critical element in the delivery of agency-wide and Division-specific programmatic objectives through the administration, facilitation, and management of the Division’s contracts and agreements with external partners.  This position works within the agency’s Procurement of Goods and Services unit to perform journey level professional contract administration for specific Divisions, including the Forest Regulation Division, with agency-wide responsibility. This includes developing and providing recommendations related to agency contracting and procurement policy/procedures; preparing, performing analysis and/or providing guidance; and assisting agency staff in complex contracts (including interagency agreements) when obtaining goods/services for the agency.

Duties
Responsibilities:
This positions are responsible day-to-day duties associated with contract administration and compliance with complex contracts when obtaining goods/services for the agency including but not limited to:

• Implementing agency policy;
• Proposing applicable policy/procure changes;
• Recommending and/or developing agency-wide guidance and processes;
• Obtaining approval to deviate from regulations, policy/procedures;
• Ensuring agency-wide invitations for bid (IFB), requests for proposals (RFP), requests for qualifications and quotes (RFQQ), and other related procurement templates are up-to-date with the most current laws, regulations, and policy/procedures;
• Ensuring agency-wide contract templates are up-to-date with the most current laws, regulations, and policy/procedures;
• Developing guidelines for the preparation and administration of Division contracts;
• Prepare, perform analysis, and negotiate complex contracts associated with the procurement of goods/services and provide guidance, feedback and assistance in the preparation, review, negotiation, modification and approval of new and existing procurement of goods contracts/agreements, negotiations, administration, and termination of said contracts/agreements.
• Ensuring contract numbers are appropriately assigned for good/services contracts;
• Ensuring that DNR’s contracts database is complete with the necessary requirements, as it relates to the assigned Division, to ensure proper reporting as outlined in DES policy and associated agency policies/procedures;
• Maintaining a record keeping system of contracts to include funding levels and expenditure tracking to ensure that expenditures meet contract timelines, funding levels, and contract dates;
• Reporting to the assigned Division on each contract, on a regular basis, to include each associated fund source and expenditure status, as needed or as required per funding source;
• Auditing funding levels against expenditures to validate OFM rule and agency rules are followed;
• Assisting in training agency staff on contract administration, monitoring, management and best practices;
• Ensuring signatures on contracts for goods are in compliance with agency delegation order and subsequent delegation orders;
• Performing miscellaneous contract administration and compliance functions;
• Performing miscellaneous accounting, auditing, procurement, and contracting functions;
• Developing and maintaining timelines;
• Reviewing and interpreting of data analysis;
• Analyzing records and reports;
• Participating in trainings and seminars;
• Ensuring records are maintained in accordance with WA State public records requirements;
• Analyzing, developing, maintaining and streamlining business processes and public records; and
• Maintaining effective internal and external relationships.
• Mentoring, training, and engaging with Division staff on best practices in contracts and procurement for business needs.

Qualifications
Required Qualifications: 

• A Bachelor’s degree involving major study in public administration, business administration, business law, commerce, economics, mathematics, statistics or closely allied field AND Two years of experience in negotiating, administering or terminating government contracts, contract property management, contract cost or price analyses, or contract compliance administration.
  OR A combination of education and/or experience equivalent.
  A law degree from an accredited college or university approved by the Washington State Bar Association may be substituted for the experience and education.
• Experience with: Regulations, policies and procedures for preparation of contracts, agreements, etc.; business and professional services, practices and trends, sources
  of supply and cost factors, contract terminology and development.
• Experience with Microsoft Office Suite.
• Ability to deal with representatives of business, the professions and institutions, to agree on terms of contracts; assure compliance with terms of contracts, agreement, etc., and obtain timely delivery of goods or services at the most reasonable prices; coordinate contract negotiation work with efforts of other units in need of services if applicable; advise department offices and sections on contract terms and conditions; and demonstrate positive customer service skills.
• DNR Core Competencies: 
  • Personal Accountability 
  • Value Others 
  • Compassionate Communication 
  • Inspire Others 
  • Commitment to Excellence

Working Conditions:

• Works primarily indoors, but need to work outdoors to review site-specific activities of the agency.
• Visits to DNR facilities (region offices, work centers, nursery, etc.) and lands managed or controlled by the agency.
• 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: 

• Working Knowledge of:
  • RCW 39.26 Procurement of Goods and Services.
  • RCW 39.34 Interlocal Cooperation Act
  • WA State Office of Financial Management (OFM) State Administrative and Accounting Manual (SAAM).
  • WA State Department of Enterprise (DES) procurement and contracting related policies, rules, guidelines, processes, and best practices.
• Strong Understanding of SharePoint

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.
• 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/3989844/contracts-procurement-specialist-forest-regulation-contract-specialist-2