Director of Procurement and Contracts

Gulf Coast Protection District•Houston, TX

5d•Onsite

About The Position

The Gulf Coast Protection District (GCPD) is a Texas special-purpose district created by the 87th Texas Legislature in 2021. GCPD serves as the non-federal sponsor for major elements of the Coastal Texas Project and the Sabine Pass to Galveston Bay Coastal Storm Risk Management Project, working in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Texas General Land Office (GLO) to deliver large-scale storm surge protection and coastal restoration across approximately 5,220 square miles in five counties (Harris, Galveston, Chambers, Jefferson, and Orange). As GCPD moves into the construction phase of its projects, the District is building out the internal controls, procurement infrastructure, and contract administration capacity required to manage a growing volume of high-value, high-visibility solicitations and contracts. The Director of Procurement & Contracts leads GCPD's procurement function and is responsible for the integrity, compliance, and administration of the District's solicitation and contracting processes from requisition through contract close-out. This position reports to the Chief Financial Officer and operates independently of Program Management to preserve segregation of duties between the divisions that identify service and construction needs and the division that runs solicitation, evaluation, and award processes — a structure consistent with District policy and standard public-sector internal control practice. The Director will design and implement procurement policies and procedures, manage the full lifecycle of RFPs, RFQs, and competitive solicitations, oversee evaluation committee composition and scoring integrity, and serve as GCPD's primary point of contact for procurement compliance with state and federal requirements, including those tied to GCPD's role as a non-federal sponsor receiving state-appropriated and federal pass-through funds.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in business administration, public administration, finance, or a related field.
Minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in public-sector procurement, contract administration, or a comparable compliance-driven procurement environment.
Demonstrated knowledge of Texas public procurement law (including Local Government Code Chapter 252, Government Code Chapters 2254 and 2269) and federal procurement standards under 2 CFR Part 200.
Experience managing formal, competitive solicitation processes (RFPs, RFQs, competitive sealed bids) from issuance through award.
Strong understanding of internal controls and segregation-of-duties principles in a public or governmental contracting environment.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience preparing materials for governing boards or executive leadership.

Nice To Haves

Experience with a Texas special-purpose district, river authority, flood control district, or comparable governmental entity.
Certification such as Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB), Certified Public Purchasing Officer (CPPO), or Certified Texas Contract Manager (CTCM).
Experience procuring and administering contracts tied to federally funded infrastructure or USACE partnership agreements.
Familiarity with ERP/procurement systems (e.g., NetSuite, OpenGov Procurement) and electronic solicitation platforms such as CivCast.
Experience building or formalizing a procurement function within a newly established or rapidly growing organization.

Responsibilities

Advise the Executive Director, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Program Manager (CPM), and Board on procurement strategy, risk, and best practices as the District scales into construction-phase contracting.
Monitor and interpret applicable state and federal procurement law, including Texas Government Code Chapters 2254 and 2269, and federal procurement standards under 2 CFR Part 200.
Manage the full RFP/RFQ lifecycle: drafting and reviewing solicitation documents, coordinating legal review, managing the CivCast posting platform, and tracking key dates and deadlines.
Determine and document appropriate posting periods, notice requirements, and procurement methods for each solicitation based on contract type, value, and applicable legal framework.
Independently convene, staff, and oversee Evaluation Committees, ensuring committee composition includes members independent of the requesting division and that scoring is conducted consistently and documented in an audit-defensible manner.
Serve as the point of contact for vendor questions, addenda, and clarifications submitted through the District's procurement portal.
Negotiate, draft, and administer Master Service Agreements, task orders, and other District contracts in coordination with the Executive Director, CFO, CPM, and legal counsel.
Track contract performance, deliverables, renewals, and compliance obligations across the District's active contract portfolio.
Manage the change order, corrective action, and termination processes for existing contracts.
Maintain segregation of duties across requisition, solicitation, evaluation, award, and payment functions, and flag control risks to the CFO and Executive Director.
Administer conflict-of-interest and disclosure requirements for procurements, including Form CIQ, Form 1295, and related Texas Government Code Chapter 176 obligations.
Prepare procurement files to be audit-ready at all times, in anticipation of GLO, USACE, State Auditor, or independent financial statement audit review.
Coordinate with the CFO and BAR department on procurement-related aspects of GCPD's NetSuite implementation, ensuring requisition and approval workflows reflect appropriate controls.
Prepare procurement and contract status reports for the Board of Directors, Executive Director, CPM, and CFO.
Coordinate with GLO, USACE, and other project partners on procurement matters as needed.
Respond to public information requests related to procurement records in coordination with the District's PIA process.