Contract Specialist II

King County • Chinook Building 401 5th Avenue Seattle, WA

8d • Onsite

About The Position

The Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) is seeking skilled, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic team players to join its centralized Contracts & Procurement (C&P) unit. This unit supports staff in developing and conducting procurements and drafting contracts that are effective, efficient, and equitable. DCHS invests over one billion dollars annually through public procurements and contracting with local human services organizations to provide a robust array of programs aimed at creating equitable opportunities for people to be happy, healthy, and connected to community. This recruitment is for one career service position, with the possibility of filling several more by the end of the year. The Contract Specialist II is a professional classification. The ideal candidates will have experience in government procurements and contract drafting and execution, a proven track record of partnering with staff to solve problems creatively and improve processes, and a commitment to prioritizing equity, race, and social justice in advising staff on procurement and contracting approaches.

Requirements

• Demonstrated understanding and experience with the principles, practices, and terminology typically used to procure contracts funding human services.
• Knowledge of contract administration and federal, state, and county statutes and regulations pertaining to procurement of human service contracts.
• Experience facilitating discussion, resolving conflict, and finding creative solutions to contract and procurement issues.
• Demonstrated ability to provide excellent customer service to interested parties both within and outside the organization.
• Strong communication and training experience, writing, problem-solving, analytical, and investigative research skills.
• Demonstrated ability and comfort in prioritizing workloads, working successfully under pressure with tight timelines, changing priorities, and ambiguous information.
• Ability to work collaboratively with program staff and to interface effectively with County officials and senior management.
• Demonstrated proficiency with MS Office suite.
• Requires a minimum of two years of professional experience in procurement, running solicitation or writing contracts or related work.

Nice To Haves

• Experience using contract lifecycle management software, such as Agiloft, lcertis, Periscope, etc.
• Experience streamlining work processes, improving operations, and decreasing turnaround time in procurement and contracting processes.
• Experience with SharePoint, MS Teams and other collaborative online tools.

Responsibilities

• Support the preparation and implementation of competitive solicitations; coordinate public pre-bid/pre-proposal meetings; open submittals and assure compliance with bid or proposal requirements.
• Work with subject matter experts to edit scopes of work, technical specifications, and other solicitation/contract documents for clarity and consistency, technical specifications, and other solicitation/contracts.
• Review, draft, and advise program staff on all terms and conditions on a variety of contracts implementing human and related services throughout the department.
• Regularly meet with program work units to design appropriate alternative procurement approaches, and ensure process meets all applicable federal, state, and county requirements.
• Assist and provide direction and training for other DCHS program staff in the requirements and regulations concerning procurement and contracting processes.
• Support the maintenance and enhancement of contract templates.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Benefits

• King County serves residents with a relentless sense of urgency, delivering on commitments with transparency and accountability.
• We are action-oriented, creative problem solvers who collaborate across roles, engage directly with communities, and challenge the status quo to achieve meaningful impact.
• As a unified team, we uphold high ethical and stewardship standards, embrace change, stay curious, and continuously improve.
• Across all interactions, we listen first, act quickly, and stay aligned as a team to earn and sustain public trust.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed