Lead Contracts Specialist – Bidding & Awards

Washington State Health Care Authority; Tumwater (WA); Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) seeks a Contracts Specialist 3 to lead with a unit supervisor role in Tumwater, WA. You will oversee advertisement, bidding, and award for highway, ferry terminal, and facility contracts statewide, guiding complex procurement and ensuring compliance across laws and rules.

You will supervise Contract Specialists and help implement policies while representing the agency with contractors, industry reps, and the public, promoting competitive,

Qualifications

• Contract Evaluation: Ability to review and evaluate construction contracts, bids, proposals, specifications, estimates, and other contract documents.
• Analytical Judgment: Ability to assess the effects of contract addenda, project changes, competing contracts, and other factors on bid preparation and competition.
• Professional Representation: Ability to represent the department professionally before contractors, industry representatives, agency personnel, legal counsel, government officials, and the public while conducting processes in compliance with laws and regulations.
• Bid Administration: Ability to review bids and proposals, determine responsiveness, review award justifications, reject bids, and respond to bid protests.
• Policy and Procedure Development: Skills in developing, revising, and maintaining manuals, forms, desk procedures, policies, and administrative guidance.
• Regulatory Knowledge: Knowledge of applicable WAC, RCW, and other laws and regulations governing public works contracting and contractor prequalification.
• Regulatory Interpretation: Ability to interpret laws, regulations, policies, and administrative rules and translate them into operational procedures and guidance.
• Contractor Performance: Ability to develop contractor performance evaluation procedures, review performance reports, and recommend corrective action.
• Prequalification: Ability to evaluate contractor prequalification submittals in support of granting or denying proposals.
• Ethics and Objectivity: Strength in ethics and ability to maintain objectivity, confidentiality, consistency, and fairness.
• Confidentiality: Ability to maintain confidentiality and protect sensitive and confidential bid and financial information.
• Continuous Improvement: Ability to identify opportunities to improve efficiency, consistency, and quality within procurement and contract award processes.
• Growth Mindset: Actively demonstrates a commitment to learning and growth.
• Service-Oriented: Takes action to meet the needs of others.

Responsibilities

• Review contractor and project engineer comments and recommend bid opening schedules that support competition and account for addenda, competing contracts, project office feedback, and other factors.
• Review contract addenda to determine impacts and time requirements for bid preparations or the bid opening delays.
• Assists with public bid openings, receiving and publicly opening and reading bids in concert with all applicable laws and rules.
• Review contract proposals and assist with determinations of responsiveness.
• Review all bid that are determined to be non-responsive and assists with bid rejections.
• Assist with bid protests, recommendations of merit, and carrying out appropriate follow up actions.
• Assist with legal reviews through the Attorney General’s Office.
• Recommend awarding contracts to the lowest responsive bidder, and assist with soliciting and reviewing justifications for award when low bid exceeds engineer’s estimates.
• Develop and maintain manuals, forms, desk procedures, policies, and guidance related to contractor prequalification, advertisement, bidding, and award.
• Support legislation and administrative rule and updates related to public works bidding and prequalification of contractors.
• Develop processes for evaluating and tracking contractor performance, review performance reports, and assist with corrective action.
• Review contractor financial information, work histories, applications, references, and other submittals to recommend prequalification levels, work classifications, maximum bidding capacities, and related adjustments.
• Review plans, specifications, and estimates to recommend work classes or combinations of work classes for contractor prequalification.

Skills

Contract Evaluation

Analytical Judgment

Professional Representation

Bid Administration

Policy and Procedure Development

Regulatory Knowledge

Regulatory Interpretation

Contractor Performance

Prequalification

Ethics and Objectivity

Confidentiality

Continuous Improvement

Growth Mindset

Service-Oriented

Tools

Web Content Management

Job description

Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) seeks a Contracts Specialist 3 to lead with a unit supervisor role in Tumwater, WA. You will oversee advertisement, bidding, and award for highway, ferry terminal, and facility contracts statewide, guiding complex procurement and ensuring compliance across laws and rules.

You will supervise Contract Specialists and help implement policies while representing the agency with contractors, industry reps, and the public, promoting competitive,