Contract Specialist I

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is one of the largest, most complex agencies in the state, and has approximately 17,000 employees. It is responsible for ensuring the health, safety, and well‑being of all North Carolinians, providing human service needs for special populations including individuals who are deaf, blind, developmentally disabled, and mentally ill, and helping poor North Carolinians achieve economic independence.

Description of Work

The Contract Specialist I serves as an integral member of the Division’s contracting team and supports the State’s contractual, operational, financial, and procurement interests throughout the procurement and contract lifecycle. This position is responsible for developing, drafting, reviewing, and revising contracts, solicitations, and related procurement documents. The Contract Specialist will promote and safeguard the state’s interests across the distinct phases of the acquisition cycle to ensure best value to the State.

The Contract Specialist will also provide technical assistance, guidance, and facilitation to DSS program staff regarding contract development, competitive solicitation processes, contract administration, performance‑based contracting, and compliance with Federal, State, Department, and Division requirements.

The Contract Specialist will serve as a subject‑matter expert for Purchase of Service (POS) contracts, including Information Technology (IT) and non‑IT contracts, Financial Assistance/Grant (FA) contracts, Memorandum of Agreement/Understanding (MOA/MOUs) amendments, renewals, Request for Proposals (RFPs), Request for Quotes (RFQs), and Request for Applications (RFAs), and related contracting and solicitation activities.

The Division seeks candidates with substantial North Carolina state‑government experience with POS contracting, competitive solicitation, and performance‑based contracting. Candidates should be able to independently perform complex contracting and procurement activities and serve as a primary resource for POS contract and procurements. The Contract Specialist would also provide technical guidance, mentorship, training, and support to the DSS Contracting staff and DSS programs.

Key Responsibilities

• Draft, issue, coordinate, and manage competitive solicitation documents, including RFPs, IFBs, RFQs, and RFAs, as part of the state’s competitive solicitation and evaluation process. • Provide technical assistance and guidance to DSS program staff regarding competitive procurements, solicitation processes and methods, contract development, and performance‑based contracting requirements to ensure compliance with federal, state, department, and division policies and regulations. • Serve as a subject‑matter expert for POS contracts, IT and non‑IT contracts, FA contracts, MOAs/MOUs, amendments, renewals, extensions, RFAs, RFQs, and RFPs. • Review, analyze, revise, and strengthen contract packages to ensure clarity, completeness, accuracy, enforceability, and compliance with applicable regulations. • Analyze contract components—including scope of work, specifications, deliverables, pricing, performance standards, contract budgets, budget narratives, and terms and conditions—to support effective contract administration and accountability. • Draft and assist DSS program staff with the development of contractual documents, including scopes of work, deliverables, amendments, renewals, MOAs/MOUs, and other contract documents. • Provide detailed written and verbal recommendations, revisions, and technical guidance to program staff using tracked changes, comments, meetings, and other communication methods to improve clarity, specificity, measurable outcomes, and overall contract quality. • Ensure contracts contain measurable deliverables, defined performance standards, reporting requirements, timelines, and sufficient detail to support contract administration and accountability. • Guide and support program staff through contract and grant processes by providing technical assistance, training, mentorship, and developing standardized best practices. • Assist program staff in developing comprehensive scopes of work that clearly define contractor/grantee responsibilities, required services, timelines, deliverables, reporting requirements, performance metrics, and expected outcomes. • Review deliverables and performance measures to ensure services can be monitored, measured, validated, and enforced during contract administration. • Identify gaps, ambiguities, inconsistencies, conflicting requirements, and operational risks within scopes of work and contract documents and provide recommendations for correction. • Review contract budgets and budget narratives for alignment with the scope of work, deliverables, funding requirements, and allowable costs. • Assist program staff in drafting, reviewing, and revising amendments, renewals, funding modifications, and changes to contract deliverables or scope. • Ensure POS and FA contracts comply with applicable Federal regulations, NC General Statutes, NC Administrative Code, DHHS requirements, DSS policies, and funding source requirements. • Provide guidance regarding appropriate procurement methods, contract structure, amendment requirements, waiver of competition justifications, and sole‑source justifications related to POS and FA contracts. • Assist in resolving procurement and contracting issues related to contract performance, deliverables, timelines, scope interpretation, and compliance concerns. • Lead or assist in the planning, development, drafting, review, issuance, evaluation support, and finalization of acquisition documents and award recommendations. • Develop and revise solicitation components—including scopes of work, technical specifications, deliverables, performance standards, mandatory requirements, evaluation criteria, pricing structures, and reporting requirements—to ensure clarity, thoroughness, and defensibility. • Conduct detailed reviews and analyses of contracting and solicitation documents to identify missing requirements, vague language, conflicting provisions, operational risks, or insufficient detail. • Provide substantive revisions and recommendations using track changes and comments to improve clarity and enforceability. • Assist DSS program staff in developing contract/solicitation timelines, evaluation criteria, scoring methodologies, vendor questions and answers, and procurement‑related documentation. • Support or participate in evaluation committees, providing guidance regarding contracting requirements and competitive solicitation procedures, evaluation requirements, documentation standards, and compliance considerations. • Assist with contract and solicitation‑related negotiations, Best and Final Offers (BAFO), contract finalization activities, and documentation required for public record requests. • Ensure contracting activities comply with Federal regulations, NC statutes, administrative codes, state procurement policies, and agency procedures. • Prepare, organize, and maintain procurement and contract records documenting compliance and contract performance; track and maintain contract timelines throughout each phase of the contracting lifecycle; and ensure accurate data entry into appropriate systems. • Maintain knowledge of Open Window, NC ePRO, eVendor Portal, NCFS, eProcurement systems, Excel, SmartSheets, SharePoint, OneDrive, and procurement and contracting techniques.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities / Management Preferences

• Experience developing, drafting, reviewing, revising scopes of work, specifications, and requirements for POS contracts, including IT contracts, amendments, and competitive solicitations (RFPs, RFQs, and RFAs) with complex programmatic and operational requirements for North Carolina state government. • Knowledge and experience in determining contract needs and recommending appropriate procurement methods, contract structures, solicitation approaches, and contract actions based on program, operations, business, and regulatory requirements. • Ability to provide technical guidance and recommendations to program staff regarding contract development, competitive solicitations, performance‑based contracting, and procurement and contracting processes. • Ability to identify and resolve deficiencies, ambiguities, inconsistencies, or performance risks in scopes of work, deliverables, requirements, solicitation documents, and POS contracts. • Understanding of NC procurement statutes, administrative rules, state procurement policies, and agency contracting procedures for contracts and competitive solicitations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience with contract and solicitation drafting, review, processes, procedures, and facilitation in a State or local government environment.
• Experience developing and revising scopes of work, deliverables, specifications, and performance measures.
• Demonstrated ability to understand and interpret complex Federal, State, Departmental, and solicitation/ procurement requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to understand and resolve complex problems and to read, interpret, and make recommendations based on complex contracts and solicitations.
• Considerable knowledge of procurement and purchasing procedures and regulations of the State of North Carolina.
• A proven ability to independently facilitate solicitations, procurements, contracts, amendments, and renewals from initiation through award.
• Working knowledge of contracts and demonstration of excellent technical writing abilities with developing scope of work, requirements, and specifications for solicitation documents.

Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $52,592 - $92,036Recruitment Range: $52,592 - $81,946The State of North Carolina offers comprehensive benefits. Employees can participate in health insurance options, standard and supplemental retirement plans, and the NCFlex program. Employees also receive paid vacation, sick, and community service leave, and paid parental leave is available to eligible employees.

Minimum Education and Experience

Minimum Education: Bachelor’s degree in business or a related area from an appropriately accredited institution and two years of progressive procurement or contract administration experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Necessary Special Requirement: Completion of the North Carolina Contract Management Certification Program within one year of hire into the position.

EEO Statement

The State of North Carolina is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and is dedicated to providing employees with a work environment free from all forms of unlawful employment discrimination, harassment, or retaliation. The state provides reasonable accommodation to employees and applicants with disabilities; known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions; and for religious beliefs, observances, and practices.