Director of Contracts and Procurement

The Director of Contracts and Procurement leads the Agency's contracting and procurement functions, ensuring contracts are managed efficiently, transparently, and in compliance with applicable laws and funding requirements. This role oversees procurement operations, contract administration, policy development, and process improvements that support Agency goals and responsible stewardship of public resources. Working closely with leadership and program teams, the Director helps build strong contracting systems that support services for children and families.

What You'll Do

• Lead the Agency's procurement, contracting, and contract administration functions.
• Develop and improve contracting policies, procedures, systems, templates, and tools.
• Oversee competitive procurements, contract negotiations, contract execution, and vendor management.
• Partner with leadership, and internal teams to develop effective contracting strategies and support Agency priorities.
• Monitor contract performance, compliance, budgets, and reporting while identifying opportunities to improve processes and reduce risk.
• Ensure compliance with laws, regulations, funding requirements, and audit standards.
• Supervise, mentor, and develop contracts and procurement staff while providing guidance and training across the Agency.

Qualifications
Any combination of training and experience that would provide the required knowledge, skills, and abilities is qualifying. Additional experience and/or education can be substituted to meet typical qualifications. A typical way to obtain the required qualifications would be:

Seven (7) years of increasingly responsible experience in procurement, contracting, or contract administration, public administration, or a closely related field in a public or private organization, including three (3) years in a supervisory, management, or lead capacity, and the equivalent to a bachelor's degree with major coursework in business administration, public administration, finance, accounting, law, contract management, supply chain management or a closely related field. A Master’s degree may substitute for one year of the required experience

Additional relevant work experience may be substituted to meet the college coursework/bachelor's degree standard.

Desirable Qualifications

• Experience in public-sector procurement, contracting, or contract administration
• Experience with grant-funded programs, federally funded contracts, or highly regulated funding environments
• Experience with health, human services, early childhood, education, nonprofit, or community-based service contracts
• Experience implementing or improving procurement, contract management, workflow, reporting, or records management systems
• Experience presenting procurement or contracting matters to executive leadership, boards, commissions, auditors, or governing bodies
• Professional certification such as CPPO, CPPB, NIGP-CPP, CPSM, CPCM, or equivalent is desirable

Additional Requirements
Travel within Alameda County as necessary to carry out job duties and occasional travel outside Alameda County as required. The position may require occasional attendance at evening, off-site, or community meetings and compliance with Agency confidentiality, ethics, conflict-of-interest, and background requirements, as applicable.

Knowledge of:

• Principles, practices and trends of public procurement, contracting, contract administration, vendor performance management, strategic sourcing, and performance-based contracting
• Competitive solicitation methods, procurement planning, sourcing, evaluation processes, award recommendations, procurement documentation, and contract closeout
• Contract development, negotiation, amendments, renewals, risk allocation, insurance, indemnification, deliverables, service levels, and records management
• Applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, funding requirements, Agency policies, public agency ethics standards, transparency requirements, and audit standards governing procurement and contracting
• Grant-funded procurement and contracting requirements, including documentation, allowability, competition, approval, monitoring, and compliance practices
• Internal controls, compliance monitoring, risk management, corrective action, conflict-of-interest prevention, vendor communication protocols, and audit readiness practices
• Strategic sourcing, spend analysis, supplier outreach, inclusive procurement practices, procurement performance metrics, dashboards, and reporting
• Principles of public sector budgeting, funding structures, and fiscal management
• Budgeting, fiscal controls, purchase orders, encumbrances, invoices, payment coordination, and fiscal monitoring related to contracts
• Contract reporting, performance measurement, and data management practices
• Procurement and contract management systems, workflow tools, records repositories, data reporting, and digital document management practices
• Principles of performance-based contracting and outcome measurement
• Principles and practices of supervision, staff development, project management, organizational planning, change management, process improvement, and systems implementation

Ability to:

• Write and speak effectively, including the ability to write complex technical reports and conduct effective presentations and meetings
• Exercise sound independent judgment in complex, sensitive, high-risk, and high-visibility procurement and contracting matters
• Ability to coordinate complex cross-functional processes involving Program, Finance, Data, Technology, Evaluation, and Executive Leadership teams
• Interpret, explain, and apply laws, regulations, policies, funding requirements, procedures, internal controls, and contract terms
• Develop and implement policies, procedures, templates, workflows, internal controls, training materials, and process improvements
• Lead complex solicitations, negotiations, contract reviews, vendor performance processes, dispute resolution efforts, and corrective actions
• Analyze data, identify trends, evaluate risks, measure performance, and recommend practical solutions that balance compliance, transparency, efficiency, equity, cost, and program needs
• Communicate complex procurement and contracting requirements clearly to executive leadership, program staff, vendors, auditors, governing bodies, and other audiences
• Prepare clear reports, recommendations, presentations, policies, procedures, correspondence, and technical documents
• Lead organizational change, technology implementation, workflow improvement, staff development, and cross-functional collaboration
• Supervise, mentor, evaluate, and develop professional, technical, and administrative staff
• Plan, organize, direct and evaluate agencywide procurement and contracting operations
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with executive leadership, Agency staff, legal counsel, Finance, Technology, auditors, vendors, community partners, and others contacted in the course of work

Please note:

• We are currently working a hybrid 2 day per week in-office schedule and employees also come to the office to attend meetings and as requested
• All First 5 employees must live and work in California
• The salary range for this position is $139,000 to $201,000 and as an independent government agency, the posted salary is the set salary range for this position. We cannot offer salaries above this posted range
• We conduct reference and background checks for all potential employees

 About First 5 Alameda County

First 5 Alameda County believes every child in Alameda County should have optimal health, development, and well-being to reach their greatest potential. Through innovative programs and policy advocacy, we help provide children and their families access to resources that support their first five years of development.

Join our mission-driven team that in partnership with the community, supports a county-wide continuous prevention and early intervention system that promotes optimal health and development, narrows disparities, and improves peak years of child development.

First 5 Alameda County Benefits

We offer a comprehensive benefits package with health care options to meet the diverse needs of our employees and their families. These benefits include but are not limited to Medical, Dental, & Vision Coverage, $1,500 credit per year to spend on benefits, Health and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), Employer Paid & Voluntary Life & AD&D Insurance, Long-Term Disability Insurance, Retirement Plans including the ACERA Pension Plan, Commuter Benefits, Employee Assistance Plan and more.

We also offer paid vacation, paid time off and sick time. We have 17 paid holidays including the week between Christmas Day and New Year's Day as paid time off.