Contract Liaison (bilingual Spanish)

Overview

Multnomah County voters chose to invest in high-quality, culturally responsive, inclusive, joyous early learning opportunities for all 3 and 4 year-old children. This investment will transform and impact educational experiences for young children and their families and we want you to help make it a success! Apply today to join the budget and contracts team with Preschool for All. As the Bilingual Spanish Contract Liaison (Program Specialist job profile) for the Preschool & Early Learning Division (PEL) in the Department of County Human Services (DCHS), you will be part of a team that actively champions racial justice and equity within highly visible early childhood programs and systems at Multnomah County and in the community. You will be a collaborative member of PEL’s budgets and contracts team and will actively engage with the PEL program team and DCHS Business Services to aid in the development and administration of a portfolio of contracts and the corresponding budgets to ensure they align with County requirements and the initiative’s goal of providing free, high quality, culturally affirming preschool for families that currently have the least access.

Responsibilities

• Act as a liaison between PEL program development staff and DCHS accounts payable and contracts unit to coordinate and process new contracts, contract amendments, change notifications, budget approvals, and invoices.
• Develop and accurately maintain budget and invoice tracking systems using complex formulas in spreadsheets.
• Prepare operational and/or technical reports related to contract budget, spending, and invoicing for use in contract monitoring.
• Provide training and consultation to program development staff related to timeline and process for setting up contracts, contract renewals, budget review and approvals.
• Act as a representative of the program with contracted service providers, programs, vendors, County staff, community organizations and the public to accomplish position objectives.
• Advance the Division’s racial equity work through positive relationships with funded partners, including listening deeply to concerns and suggesting process improvements that reduce barriers for culturally specific organizations and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color owned businesses.
• Collaborate with program subject matter experts to ensure consistent and accurate information is provided to stakeholders.
• Collaborate with the PELD program matter experts and DCHS Business Services to approve budgets for contracted agencies.

Knowledge & Experience

• Knowledge of principles and practices of the development, management and evaluation of contracts.
• Knowledge and experience of basic accounting principles with a strong ability to manage consistent, transparent, and accurate data and information.
• Experience providing technical and non-technical subject matter expertise as a consultant to multiple stakeholders with differing priorities, concerns, and levels of experience with contracting.
• Experience monitoring, reviewing and preparing technical reports related to expenditures, invoices and payment authorizations to ensure fiscal compliance.
• Knowledge and experience with developing basic to intermediate spreadsheet formulas and queries.
• Knowledge and experience with cost reimbursement budgets for contractual services.
• Ability to manage extensive invoicing and payment data sets and tracking systems with a high level of precision and accuracy.
• Ability to effectively coordinate with multiple stakeholders in order to meet competing timelines and project objectives.
• Ability to easily adapt to changing priorities and to demonstrate close attention to details.
• Knowledge and understanding of the issues surrounding equity, inclusion, implicit bias, institutional racism, and other forms of systemic oppression.
• Knowledge and understanding of cultures, customs and social experiences of historically excluded communities experiencing barriers to opportunity, and which communities are most disproportionately impacted.

Qualifications

• Ability to promote a culture of respect, inclusiveness, and appreciation of diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and values.
• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field of study, or equivalent education and/or practical experience.
• Two years of experience working in human services and/or public sector contract administration.
• Must pass a criminal background check.
• Fluent in Spanish for both written and verbal communication.
• Advanced understanding of culture, customs and norms of Latinx communities.
• Knowledge of principles, accounting methods and fiscal compliance related to reviewing and approving cost reimbursement budgets and complex invoices with multiple expenditure types associated with public sector contracts.
• Knowledge and ability to build and maintain pivot tables and formulas for spreadsheet calculations, queries, data lookup and data importing.
• Ability to identify and address personal biases.
• Advanced knowledge and skill in advancing racial equity.
• Transferable skills gained through education, work experience (including military) or life experiences that are relevant for this position.

Benefits

Multnomah County offers a generous benefits package. For more information, visit: https://multco.us/benefits/new-employee-benefits

Pay

Pay Range: $40.27 - $49.52 Hourly

Schedule

Monday - Friday, 40 hours per week