Director of Contracts and Payments

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) seeks an experienced finance leader to serve as our new Director of Contracts and Payments. The Director of Contracts and Payments is responsible for fiscal planning and management, procurement and purchasing, contracts, monitoring, and payments for the Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Sciences (BIDLS). This exciting new role within the BIDLS Administration and Finance Division will ensure appropriate and efficient systems, lead quality improvements, collaborate with program and procurement staff to implement workflows between procurement and contracting, and ensure contracting is done promptly and appropriately. The Director of Contracts and Payments will develop and implement the infrastructure and systems needed to support strategic planning objectives. This role is responsible for oversight of cross-functional teams that procure goods and services. 

Duties and Responsibilities (these duties are a general summary and not all inclusive):

• Manage policies and procedures for BIDLS A&F function related to contracting, procurement, purchasing, and payments to ensure they are clear, understood, and implemented and that limited resources are maximized (including ch.149). Integrate racial equity into all policies and procedures, including procurement of goods and services from all qualified vendors. Provide support to the A&F team and program staff in resolving complex issues covering multiple functions. Ensure that A&F Deliverables are met and tracked. The incumbent will also provide guidance and support the development of monitoring processes for all of BIDLS contracting; forecast utilization of state, federal grant, trust and retained revenue dollars to support programs and services; oversee unit rate and cost reimbursement payment processes; oversee execution of facility contracts under Chapter 149; and analyze and present reports in an accurate and timely manner.  
• Lead utilization analysis for mid-year adjustments to direct service contracts and supports the unit director in responding to budget exercises, fiscal assignments, and reporting requirements. Procurement includes implementing processes to ensure the timely and accurate posting of requests for response, requests for quotes and notices of intent through the supervision of staff.
• Direct BIDLS procurement, purchasing, and contracting staff and assure that assignment of duties is consistent with knowledge and training; evaluate progress toward stated goals. Ensure all staff members have the appropriate training to utilize COMMBUYS, PTS, the Commonwealth Information Warehouse, MMARS, Microsoft Excel, and any other application necessary to fulfill their role effectively and efficiently.
• Represent BIDLS and the A&F Team on project-specific work groups, task forces, and/or committees.
• Provide a bridge to ensure that communication remains open and transparent between the BIDLS Administration & Finance supervisors and their teams within the A&F Unit, Purchase of Service, Accounting offices and other DPH bureaus, and offices that work collaboratively with BIDLS programs. The incumbent provides a link between the programmatic goals and fiscal support required to reach those goals while ensuring collaboration and cooperation between the bureau and other stakeholders. The incumbent translates financial concepts and to effectively collaborate with programmatic staff and other colleagues who do not necessarily have finance backgrounds.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Knowledge of the principles and practices of financial management, including financial analysis and financial information recording and processing.
• Famili