Contract Specialist 2

Summary

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

Join our team! The Procurement & Payables Section is looking for a forward-thinking, detailed-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 contracts for various King County agencies. This position is responsible for managing and mitigating the risks inherent in AE and professional services contracts to protect the County from being subject to 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:To be considered for this opportunity, you must at a minimum, demonstrate knowledge, skill and ability to:

• 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, and Federal Aviation Administration.
• Suggest alternative contracting methods such as general contractor construction manager, 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 and debriefs with consultants as a representative of King County.
• Facilitate the proposal evaluation process, including the proposal evaluations and interviews and ensure all laws and policies are carried out.
• 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 trainings and outreach events.

• Demonstrated understanding and experience with the principles, practices, and terminology typically used to publicly procure architectural, engineering, and professional services contracts;
• 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 seamless 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.

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

• Work Site Details: The work associated with this position will primarily be remote with time in office as needed.
• 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 represented by Teamsters 117.

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", 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.