Contract Specialist

About the role

The Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) protects and promotes the safety and well‑being of children and families through child welfare, juvenile justice services, and community supports. The Office of Information Technology (OIT) provides high‑quality, reliable, and sustainable technology services to ACS, its vendor partners, and other City agencies. The DCIO unit within OIT oversees capital, expense, and personnel budgets, maintains technology infrastructure and staff, and works closely with Finance, the Chief Contracting Officer, Administrative Services, OMB, OTI, MOCS, DCAS, and the Comptroller’s Office. This role involves heavy interaction with local and national IT vendor communities and inter‑governmental agencies, requires efficient handling of extensive research needs, and demands a detail‑oriented, process‑driven approach to contract management.

Responsibilities

• Manage the full lifecycle of IT contracts including procurement, execution, amendments, renewals, and closeouts.
• Develop and oversee RFI, RFQ, and RFP processes, ensuring transparency and compliance with city procurement rules (PPB).
• Prepare proposal packages for prospective vendors and evaluate responses.
• Analyze bids and proposals to ensure specifications of binding agreements comply with ACS policies.
• Ensure signed contracts are communicated to all relevant parties for contract visibility and awareness.
• Collaborate with ACCO, Finance, Legal, and OMB to facilitate contract approvals and funding allocation.
• Maintain contractual records and documentation such as contractual changes, vendor information sheets, and project documentation.
• Oversee and execute contract close‑outs, extensions, and renewals.
• Monitor, analyze, and report on expenditures, variances, and trends in IT contracts and inter‑agency agreements.
• Monitor contract performance, funding, and payments on assigned contracts.
• Serve as the primary liaison between OIT and vendors, service providers, OTI, MOCS, Comptroller, etc.
• Work closely with the Business Law Unit (BLU) to negotiate terms and service‑level agreements (SLAs).
• Lead cross‑functional meetings with OIT, Finance, ACCO, and Legal to align contract management with strategic IT priorities.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
• Handle extensive research needs and provide recommendations to impacted program areas.
• Engage heavily with local and national IT vendor communities and inter‑governmental agencies.

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications:

• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college in computer science, engineering, human computer interaction, interactive media, digital and graphics design, data visualization, communication or a related field, and four years of satisfactory full‑time experience related to the area(s) required by the position and a specialization in a relevant technology, process, methodology and/or domain; or
• An associate degree from an accredited college in computer science, engineering, human computer interaction, interactive media, digital and graphics design, data visualization, communication or a related field, and six years of satisfactory full‑time experience related to the area(s) required by the position and a specialization in a relevant technology, process, methodology and/or domain; or
• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college, and eight years of satisfactory full‑time experience related to the area(s) required by the position and a specialization in a relevant technology, process, methodology and/or domain; or
• Education and/or experience equivalent to any of the above.

Additionally, Section 424‑A of the New York Social Services Law requires an authorized agency to inquire whether a candidate for employment with child‑caring responsibilities has been the subject of a child abuse and maltreatment report.

Skills

Technical and Procurement Skills: Strong knowledge of NYC procurement policies, including PASSPort, FMS, and PPB Rules; experience managing capital and expense contracts for IT projects; proficiency in Microsoft Excel, contract management software, and financial tracking tools; ability to analyze complex contractual and financial data and provide strategic recommendations.

Soft Skills: Excellent negotiation, vendor management, and problem‑solving skills; strong ability to communicate with multiple stakeholders including city agencies, vendors, and internal leadership; exceptional attention to detail and ability to track multiple procurements simultaneously.

Additional competencies: ability to efficiently handle extensive research needs, detail‑oriented, and adept at managing a highly process‑driven workload.

Benefits

• Eligibility for