CONTRACT SPECIALIST - 10192026-82037

State of Tennessee; Nashville (TN); On-site; USD 49,000 - 74,000; Full time

Job summary

State of Tennessee in Nashville seeks a Contract Specialist to manage procurement and grant contracts within the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services department. The role requires strong policy development, budgeting, contract administration, and cross‑functional coordination.

You’ll develop and review contracts, monitor grant compliance, oversee budgets, and may supervise staff. Proficiency in Word, Excel, Adobe, and Edison is expected, with emphasis on regulatory adherence and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and four years of professional staff administrative work.
• Substitution of Experience for Education: qualifying experience may substitute for the required education on a year-for-year basis, up to four years.
• Substitution of Education for Experience: graduate coursework may substitute for the required experience, up to two years.

Responsibilities

• Independently develops policies and procedures for implementing new or modifying existing administrative services programs and activities.
• Oversees a program function such as fiscal services, budgeting, grants administration, contract management and administration, procurement, property administration, space planning and management, personnel, stores, records management, mail, printing, public information, and general research with independent control over grants and/or contracts of significant complexity and monetary value.
• May supervise staff, write job plans, and conduct performance evaluations. Makes recommendations on staff employment, retention, promotion, demotion, and other human resources actions.
• Serves as a liaison between the agency and officials, administrators, legal, technical, and business professionals, and the general public in order to explain, interpret, and enforce pertinent laws, regulations, policies, and procedures.
• Prepares and reviews operating budgets to determine agency needs. Conducts grant administration and monitoring to ensure compliance with grant requirements.
• Maintains agency records based on established guidelines. Communicates managerial directives to program operations to ensure their enforcement.
• Performs human resources administration in one or more of the following areas: employee relations, EEO, recruitment, employee development, and training. May act as the Administrative Services Officer or the Assistant Administrative Services Officer based on the complexity of the administrative services operation and the size of the agency.
• Conducts research in one or more of the following areas to obtain relevant information: fiscal, economic, non-technical legal, legislative, and publications.

Skills

Active Learning and Listening

Complex Problem Solving

Management of Financial Resources

Management of Material Resources

Management of Personnel Resources

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Microsoft Word

Excel

Adobe

Edison

Job description

State of Tennessee Job Information

Opening Date/Time 10/19/2026 12:00AM Central Time

Job Information

Opening Date/Time 10/19/2026 12:00AM Central Time

Closing Date/Time 11/01/2026 11:59PM Central Time

Salary (Monthly) $4,098.00 - $6,160.00

Salary (Annually) $49,176.00 - $73,920.00

Job Type Full-Time

City, State Location Nashville, TN.

Department Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services

LOCATION OF (1) POSITION(S) TO BE FILLED: DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH & SUBSTANCE ABUSE SERVICES, DAVIDSON County

This position requires a criminal background check. Therefore, you may be required to provide information about your criminal history in order to be considered for this position.

Qualifications

Education and Experience: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree AND experience equivalent to four years of full-time increasingly responsible professional staff administrative work.

Substitution of Experience for Education: Qualifying full-time increasingly responsible sub professional, paraprofessional, or professional experience may be substituted for the required education on a year-for-year basis, to a maximum of four years.

Substitution of Education for Experience: Additional graduate coursework in public administration, business administration, or other acceptable field may be substituted for the required experience, on a year-for-year basis, to a maximum of two years.

OR

Three years of increasingly responsible professional administrative services experience with the State of Tennessee.

Necessary Special Qualifications: None.

Overview

The Contract Specialist in this position works on both procurement and grant contracts. There is a high volume of contracts moving through the team and it is essential that the candidate not only be knowledgeable on contracting methods, but be well organized, mission driven, a team player, and well versed in technology including Microsoft Word, Excel, Adobe, and Edison.

Under general supervision, performs professional staff administrative work of considerable difficulty in support of line operations; and performs related work as required. Incumbents in this class function at the lead level and may supervise subordinate staff. This work involves considerable participation in developing, implementing and evaluating policies and procedures having significant impact on a department as a whole or a segment of the public. This class differs from that of Admin Services Assistant 3 in that incumbents of the latter function at the advanced working level and perform duties with less scope and impact in the areas of policy development, fiscal control, and personal contacts. This class differs from that of Admin Services Assistant 5 in that incumbents of the latter independently perform very complex administrative services duties having broad scope and impact and often independently manage fiscal services and budgetary activities of greater size and complexity.

Responsibilities

• Independently develops policies and procedures for implementing new or modifying existing administrative services programs and activities.
• Oversees a program function such as fiscal services, budgeting, grants administration, contract management and administration, procurement, property administration, space planning and management, personnel, stores, records management, mail, printing, public information, and general research with independent control over grants and/or contracts of significant complexity and monetary value.
• May supervise staff, write job plans, and conduct performance evaluations. Makes recommendations on staff employment, retention, promotion, demotion, and other human resources actions.
• Serves as a liaison between the agency and officials, administrators, legal, technical, and business professionals, and the general public in order to explain, interpret, and enforce pertinent laws, regulations, policies, and procedures.
• Prepares and reviews operating budgets to determine agency needs. Conducts grant administration and monitoring to ensure compliance with grant requirements.
• Maintains agency records based on established guidelines. Communicates managerial directives to program operations to ensure their enforcement.
• Performs human resources administration in one or more of the following areas: employee relations, EEO, recruitment, employee development, and training. May act as the Administrative Services Officer or the Assistant Administrative Services Officer based on the complexity of the administrative services operation and the size of the agency.
• Conducts research in one or more of the following areas to obtain relevant information: fiscal, economic, non-technical legal, legislative, and publications.

Competencies (KSA's)

Competencies

• Values Differences
• Manages Ambiguity
• Interpersonal Savvy
• Instills Trust
• Plans and Aligns

Knowledges

• Administrative and Management
• Economics and Accounting
• Law and Government
• Customer and Personal Service
• Personnel and Human Resources

Skills

• Active Learning and Listening
• Complex Problem Solving
• Management of Financial Resources
• Management of Material Resources
• Management of Personnel Resources

Abilities

• Deductive Reasoning
• Inductive Reasoning
• Problem Sensitivity
• Selective Attention
• Written Comprehension

Tools & Equipment

• Personal Computer
• Telephone
• Copy Machine
• Scanner
• Calculator

TN Driver Standards

State of Tennessee positions that may involve driving responsibilities require candidates to meet the following minimum driver qualifications:

• A valid driver's license
• For the past five years, the candidate's driver record must not have record of the following violations: driving under the influence (DUI), reckless driving, license suspension for moving violations, more than 4 moving violations.

Please include your Driver's License Information under the Licenses and Certifications section of your application.

• Agencies may allow an exception based on other factors.