Contract Specialist Jobs in Washington

Summary

King County’s Finance and Business Operations Division, Procurement & Payables section, is seeking a Capital Projects Contract Specialist 2!

Join our team! The Procurement & Payables Section is looking for a forward-thinking, detail-oriented Contract Specialist II to join the Architectural and Engineering team. We are looking for someone who can work both independently and collaboratively, is creative, adaptive, has a sense of humor, and enjoys finding solutions to procurement and business challenges. This position provides expertise in the procurement of architectural, engineering (AE) and professional services and alternative public works contracts for various King County agencies. This position is responsible for managing and mitigating the risks inherent in contracts to protect the County from litigation, criticism, or unanticipated costs due to unclear, ambiguous, and non-compliant contract documents. This is a mid-level professional classification that performs highly complex procurement activities and may direct the work of others.

Scope of Job Duties

• Research, prepare, and advertise RFPs and compile contract documents in accordance with County policies and procedures.
• Determine applicability of federal and state requirements including but not limited to Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit Administration, and Federal Aviation Administration.
• Analyze solicitation details and project requirements and discuss and educate project teams about alternative delivery contracting methods such as GC/CM, design-build, and job order contracting in compliance with state laws.
• Provide strategic advice, innovative solutions, technical expertise, and direction to ensure compliance with applicable policies, rules, and regulations.
• Support procurement’s position with knowledge of best practices, policies, executive orders, King County code, state laws, regulations, ordinances, and contract terms and conditions.
• Collaborate with agency staff to analyze and develop evaluation criteria, scopes of work, and unique terms and conditions, anticipating non-routine procurement issues.
• Facilitate pre-proposal conferences, site tours, proprietary meetings, and debriefs with consultants as a representative of King County.
• Facilitate the proposal evaluation process, including proposal evaluations, consultant interviews, and contract negotiations, ensuring compliance with all laws and policies.
• Provide direction and training for contract specialists and other King County staff in the requirements and regulations concerning the procurement process.
• Represent Procurement & Payables at various training and outreach events.
• Interact with agency staff throughout King County, and work with consultants and contractors to ensure that county business is conducted openly, inclusively, and provides the best value.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Demonstrated understanding and experience with the principles, practices, and terminology typically used to publicly procure alternative public works and/or architectural, engineering, and professional services contracts.
• Experience conducting procurement processes including the preparation of complex RFPs, facilitating evaluations, and coordinating contract negotiations.
• Experience analyzing costs including overhead, profit, labor rates, and other direct costs.
• Experience managing different opinions, facilitating discussion, resolving conflict, and finding resolution.
• Experience improving operations, decreasing turnaround time, meeting deadlines, streamlining work processes, and working cooperatively to provide quality customer service.
• Strong communication, interpersonal, writing, and customer service skills.
• Intermediate level of technology proficiency using MS Office Productivity tools in your daily work.
• Ability to manage your time and adapt to changing priorities, work on multiple priorities and projects simultaneously, meet quick deadlines, and produce timely and quality work products.
• Ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds.

We would love it if you have:

• Associate DBIA or DBIA certification from the Design Build Institute of America.
• Experience with alternative public works delivery methods such as GC/CM, design-build, and/or job order contracting.
• Experience with LEAN processes and principles.
• Experience with SharePoint, MS Teams, and other online collaborative tools.

The Procurement & Payables Section is part of the larger Finance and Business Operations Division portfolio of countywide services. FBOD’s vision “Count on Us” reflects the division’s deep-seated commitment to customer success, equity, employee engagement, resource stewardship, and operational excellence. If these values align with your own, please apply and join FBOD for a rewarding career!

Position Information:

• Work Site Details: The 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 King Street Center, 201 S. Jackson, Seattle, Washington 98104. Please reach out for additional details at the contact below.
• Location Requirement: Employees must reside in Washington state and within a reasonable distance to their King County worksite to respond to workplace reporting requirements.
• Work Schedule: This position is exempt from the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act and therefore is NOT overtime eligible. Employees are paid on a bi-weekly schedule, every other Thursday, comprising a 40-hour workweek; normally 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
• Union Representation: This position is Teamsters 117 represented.

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 in our 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. Employees will need to be available and responsive during scheduled work hours and follow FBOD’s hybrid/remote guidelines that include on-camera participation during virtual video meetings.

The Application/Selection Process: The recruitment for this position is open to all qualified candidates. A completed King County Application is required. Applicants from this recruitment may be used to fill future opportunities in this job classification including Term-Limited Temporary, Special Duty Assignment, Short-Term-Temporary and Career Service vacancies. We highly recommend that you provide a resume. A cover letter addressing how you meet the minimum qualifications and why you are interested in this position is encouraged as well.

The selection process consists of different phases: screening interview, virtual interview, and if successful, pre-hire reference checking. For some positions, additional phases may also include skill testing, writing samples or additional interviews. Candidates will be updated on the status of their application via the email address used to apply.

Each phase is set for a specific day. Different times will be available for those days only. Please reach out to the contact below to confirm dates. Rescheduling interviews may not be possible and may remove you from consideration if unavailable.

Note: Online applications are preferred. However, if you cannot apply online, go to www.kingcounty.gov/jobs for other options.

If you have any questions or concerns while applying, please contact: Michael Castro, Recruiter Email: mcastro@kingcounty.gov

Supplemental Information

Forbes named King County as one of Washington State's best employers.

Together, with leadership and our employees, we're changing the way government delivers service and winning national recognition as a model of excellence. Are you ready to make a difference? Come join the team dedicated to serving one of the nation's best places to live, work and play.

Guided by our "True North" values, we are making King County a welcoming community where every person can thrive. We value diversity, inclusion and belonging in our workplace and workforce. To reach this goal we are committed to workforce equity. Equitable recruiting, support, and retention is how we will obtain the highest quality workforce in our region; a workforce that shares and will help advance our guiding principles - we are one team; we solve problems; we focus on the customer; we drive for results; we are racially just; we respect all people; we lead the way; and we are responsible stewards. We encourage people of all backgrounds and identities to apply, including Native American and people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ+, people living with disabilities, and veterans. King County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer

No person is unlawfully excluded from employment opportunities based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy), age, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or other protected class. Our EEO policy applies to all employment actions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, selection for training, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation.

To Apply

If you are interested in pursuing this position, please follow the application instructions carefully. If you need this announcement in an alternate language or format, would like to request accommodation or assistance in the application or assessment process or if you have questions please contact the recruiter listed on this job announcement.