• Family Access: Families have equitable access to quality and affordable early education and care in the communities in which they live, learn, and work.
• Program Stability: Early education and care programs are operationally stable and financially sustainable.
• Program Quality: Early education and care programs support children's health and safety and provide high quality environments that are culturally responsive, inclusive, and support children's learning and development in partnership with families.
• Workforce Supports: A diverse field of educators, leaders, and program staff is competitively compensated and supported by clear professional pathways that promote quality, retention, and advancement.
• Agency Infrastructure: EEC has sufficient internal capacity, organizational structures, and diverse perspectives and expertise to carry out its mission and strategic objectives

EEC is the lead agency for all early education and care services and funding in the Commonwealth, charged with administering the Federal Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) funds provided to Massachusetts. This block grant provides child care subsidies to more than 50,000 low-income families to help ensure they can work and stay employed, while ensuring that children are getting the high-quality early education needed to prepare them for success in school and in life.

The Procurement Manager works within the Administration and Finance unit, under the direction of the Director of Procurement and Grants. They collaborate closely with EEC contract managers to develop contracts that align with EEC's strategic objectives. This role involves leading strategic sourcing teams throughout the sourcing process, including research and proposal development, evaluation, analysis, contract negotiations, execution, and vendor management. Additionally, the Procurement Manager supervises a team of procurement specialists, providing daily guidance and support.

The Procurement Manager oversees all essential components of EEC's strategic sourcing framework. This includes working with Unit Directors to implement strategic plans for agency procurements, leading the development and execution of market strategies to ensure optimal value, managing vendor and stakeholder relationships, and monitoring vendor performance through the establishment, tracking, and analysis of key performance metrics and risk assessment.

The Procurement Manager is tasked with monitoring vendor performance, including overseeing contract performance based on programmatic goals and objectives to ensure contractor deliverables meet agency needs. They establish, track, and analyze vendor performance metrics, and develop and implement corrective actions for underperforming contractors. Additionally, the Procurement Manager assesses risk, gathers intelligence on market trends and technical specifications, and is responsible for presenting regular reports to senior management and other audiences, ensuring the information is accurate, understandable, and readily available.

Lastly, the Procurement Manager is instrumental in training and advising unit staff in all elements of strategic sourcing. This includes developing and delivering comprehensive training programs that cover the entire procurement process, from initial needs assessment and market analysis to supplier selection, contract negotiation, and performance monitoring. The Procurement Manager ensures that staff understand best practices, compliance requirements, and effective strategies for managing supplier relationships and mitigating risks.

Key Responsibilities:

Oversight of Agency Procurement Activity & Staff

• Oversee all aspects of procurement and contract management to ensure all procurement activities are efficient, compliant, and aligned with organizational goals.
• Oversee the Procurement Unit staff to ensure that EEC's operational requirements are met, which include delegating tasks and responsibilities and evaluating employee performance.
• Ensure compliance with state finance laws, procurement law and regulations and internal policies and procedures.
• Oversee direct reports work in ensuring agency departmental contract vendors are in compliance with Supplier Diversity Office's (SDO) Supplier Diversity Program (SDP) and Small Business Purchasing Program (SBPP) reporting requirements.
• Provide risk management in all procurement and contracting activities by identifying, assessing, and mitigating potential risks that could negatively impact the procurement process or the performance of contracts.

Purchasing & Contract Management

• Oversee generation of expenditure projections and other analyses to inform fiscal planning and allocation of federal and state funding; Collaborate with Budget Director and Fiscal team to ensure sufficient current and future funding for all encumbrance activity.
• Oversee all aspects of agency procurement development and implementation inclusive of researching optimal models for service delivery and cost effectiveness; support in refining procurement narratives and application templates, facilitate Bidders' Conferences; and support oversight of proposal reviews and related documentation.
• Develop, monitor, and recommend contractor key performance indicators (KPIs) and contractor scorecards. This process is based on contractor performance and in alignment with applicable agency procurement policies to ensure that all procurement activities meet operational standards and strategic objectives.

Training and Development

• Perform a gap assessment by identifying the current skills and knowledge levels of staff responsible for procurement activity and pinpoint areas that need improvement.
• Develop a comprehensive training curriculum that covers all aspects of procurement, including strategic sourcing, contract management, vendor relations, and compliance to ensure employees are well-equipped to handle procurement activities efficiently and in compliance with regulations.

Become an Expert on Agency-Wide Enterprise Systems

• Utilize the Massachusetts Management Accounting and Reporting System (MMARS), the Commonwealth Information Warehouse (CIW), OSD's Procurement Management System (COMMBUYS), EEC Finance, and other applications and enterprise-wide systems to support the Procurement Unit's operational needs.

Other duties as assigned

Preferred Qualifications:

• Demonstrated expertise in procurement processes, including strategic sourcing, contract management, and vendor relations, with a strong emphasis on compliance with state and federal regulations
• Ability to think strategically about contractual relationships that incentivize performance and minimize risk to the agency
• Thorough understanding of the laws, rules, regulations, policies and procedures, governing public procurement and compliance
• Experience in purchasing enterprise software preferred
• Demonstrated knowledge of MMARS, COMMBUYS/CLM, practical experience in procurement and management and ability to analyze business and/or technical problems and conceptualize solutions
• Experience in facilitating meetings and collaborating with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community on a range of complex and technical issues
• Results-oriented professional with a demonstrated ability to take initiative and work independently
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and excel at multi-tasking without sacrificing attention to detail
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office 365 tools, including Teams, Outlook, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint, as well as databases, applications, and other organizational and presentation software and programs
• Knowledge of the organization of state government

Travel may be required for this position.

The Education Secretariat is currently working under a hybrid work model.

Questions regarding this position or the application process should be directed to Dawn.E.DeRoche@mass.gov.

Qualifications

MINIMUM ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Applicants must have at least (A) five (5) years of full-time or, equivalent part-time, professional, professional internship, administrative, supervisory, or managerial experience in financial management work (i.e. budgeting, accounting, auditing, management analysis, program evaluation, financial reporting of program results) or (B) any equivalent combination of the required experience and substitutions below

Substitutions:

I. A certificate in a relevant or related field may be substituted for one (1) year of the required experience.

II. A Bachelor's degree in a related field may be substituted for two (2) years of the required experience.

III. A Graduate degree in a related field may be substituted for three (3) years of the required experience.

IV. A Doctorate degree in a related field may be substituted for the four (4) years of the required experience.

Comprehensive Benefits

When you embark on a career with the Commonwealth, you are offered an outstanding suite of employee benefits that add to the overall value of your compensation package. We take pride in providing a work experience that supports you, your loved ones, and your future.

Want the specifics? Explore our Employee Benefits and Rewards!

An Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer. Females, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

The Commonwealth is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, national origin, veteran status, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. Research suggests that qualified women, Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color (BIPOC) may self-select out of opportunities if they don't meet 100% of the job requirements. We encourage individuals who believe they have the skills necessary to thrive to apply for this role.