Director, Legal and Contract Services

Description

Please Note: This position will remain Open until Filled and the hiring manager may make a hiring decision at any time. The first review of applications will occur the week of December 16, 2024. The starting salary offer will be determined based on the successful candidates’ qualifications within the starting salary range of $140,004 - $174,984 annually. Please note that there is career salary growth beyond this starting range for the successful candidate.

Hybrid: Our physical office is in Olympia, WA. We offer flexible work schedules and locations. This is a hybrid position and does allow for some telework. However, time in our Olympia office is expected often for meetings, team support and agency events.

What is the Office of Financial Management?

The Office of Financial Management (OFM) serves as the backbone of Washington state government. Our vision at OFM is to work together for the equitable future of all Washingtonians. Our mission is to make our state a better place by connecting people, budgets, policies, data, and systems for state agencies and the Legislature.

We’re also committed to creating an environment that fosters our core values – Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, Integrity, Innovation, Collaboration and Operational Excellence. All staff are expected to embed these values in their team and work. Join us to play a key role in enhancing how state government serves its citizens, making a meaningful difference and taking public service to another level.

We are seeking a transformational leader and subject-matter expert to shape the future of our Legal and Contract Services division. This division plays a vital role in supporting initiatives that impact OFM, the Governor’s Office, and the entire state of Washington. The leader must bring sound legal expertise and guidance to the table, operate with utmost integrity, collaborate on solutions, foster trust through consultation, inspire high-performing teams to operate with the highest standards of legal compliance and ethical practice. This role is for someone who thrives on finding creative solutions when faced with complex barriers, believes in customer service as throughline, and has experience leading teams through uncertainty.

As the Director of Legal and Contract Services, you will need to:

• Lead with service: Collaborative problem-solving, proactively tackle barriers, and inspire a high-performing team to embrace customer-focused solutions.
• Serve with expertise: Possess deep knowledge of state government systems, legislative processes, courts, and enterprise-wide operations, and apply this expertise to align legal and contracting functions with the best interests of the state.
• Lead the transformation of agency contracting: Reimagine contracting processes to enhance efficiency, safeguard equity, and ensure compliance with laws, regulations, and policies.
• Enthusiastically foster a values-driven culture: Model and embed OFM’s values—Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging—into your team’s work, cultivating trust, transparency, and accountability at every level.
• Champion the on-going development of your team, creating a growth focused team mindset.

Duties

What your day-to-day will entail:

Legal/Legislative Counsel

• Develop and produce budget bills, including drafting and reviewing provisos, answering and advising on legal questions about provisos, budget submittals, amendments, and writing the collective bargaining sections of the budget bills.
• Provide legal advice on legislative budget proposals, interpret budget provisions, and coordinate with legal counsel on issues that arise during and between legislative sessions.
• Work with policy and budget advisors on drafting legislation and coordinating drafting bill amendments.
• Conduct legal reviews of draft and enacted bills and testify as needed.
• Partner with State HR Labor Relations on issues related to collective bargaining, legal coordination with budget, and statutory issues. Prepare a summary of economic terms of all collective bargaining agreements and provide counsel on issues related to financial feasibility determinations.
• Coordinate briefings and serve as a liaison with the Attorney General’s Office for issues related to settlements.

• Lead and support the Legal and Contracts Services Division (15 FTEs) and program areas, including records management, public disclosure, procurements, risk management, and rulemaking.
• Supervise and evaluate employee performance, create plans, allocate resources across sections, review the work of staff on key assignments, adjust budget and administrative resources to maintain and respond to staffing needs.
• Promote and coordinate development of division strategy and direction. Plan and implement strategic division activities. Encourage efficiencies and improve quality through collaboration across division sections.
• Serve as the Executive Sponsor for the Supplier Diversity Program. Support the management of at least 1,000 contracts annually with the goal of increasing the supplier diversity spend.
• Serve as the Ethics Officer, managing the ethics training program and providing consultation, conduct investigations when necessary.
• Oversee the Personal Financial Affairs Statement (F-1) filing requirements for the agency and serving as a liaison to the Public Disclosure Commission (PDC).

Qualifications

What we need you to bring:

As a trusted advisor, you’ll be leading a wide variety of diverse programs, so it is critical to have robust knowledge of state government, the legislature, and legal procedures. You’ll also be responsible for ensuring the agencies’ activities are conducted in compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and policies while proactively identifying and mitigating legal risks. This will require a solid foundation in ethics, public records, labor relations, legislative development, contract management, budgets, and laws. You’ll advise leaders on legal and strategic risks and propose business-oriented solutions.

Required Qualifications:

• Juris Doctor degree from an accredited law school.
• Active member in good standing with the Washington State Bar.
• Five years of experience providing legal advice in a governmental setting, particularly in the areas of public finance, legislation, budget drafting, contracting, and administrative law.
• Experience in managing litigation, including coordinating with outside counsel (such as the Attorney General's office) and handling legal holds.
• Demonstrated professional experience leading a team responsible for legal or contracts work.

The most successful candidate would also possess the following knowledge, skills, and abilities:

• Create a culture of inclusion and belonging in the workplace. Commit to championing and living these values as an inspiring example for others.
• Eye for detail, a creative mind, and excellent communication, writing, and analytical skills
• Advanced knowledge of public finance and budgetary law, particularly in drafting and interpreting provisos and collective bargaining agreements.
• Ability to draft precise and legally sound bills, amendments, and legislative language.
• Familiarity with state ethics laws, and conflict-of-interest policies.
• An ability to anticipate legal challenges, foresee potential conflicts or issues arising from budget decisions or legislation, and propose strategic solutions to mitigate risks.
• Focus on results and desired outcomes. Take personal responsibility for the quality and timeliness of work and achieve results with little oversight.
• Be current on global, national, local trends and changes as well as political climate, determining how they may inform and influence your organizational programs and services.
• Help others understand, evaluate, and expand their own data to improve their programs and practices while accomplishing goals.
• Co-create and support policies, programs, practices, and procedures that increase the power, voice, and influence of the most impacted and marginalized employees and clients.
• Demonstrate flexibility, adaptation, and cross-cultural communication skills when interacting with others.
• Make timely, informed decisions that consider the facts, goals, constraints, and risks using sound judgement.

Desired Qualifications:

• Advanced experience in state budgeting or fiscal law.
• Experience providing legal counsel to executive-level state officials, including governors or agency heads.
• Knowledge of state public records, open meetings, ethics, contracting/procurement laws, and rules.

We are invested in finding the best candidate for the job, and that candidate may be one from a less traditional background. Don’t let doubts stop you from applying for this position. If you have transferable experience, please tell us about it or contact us with questions about the required qualifications and how your experience relates to them.

Supplemental Information

Supplemental Information:

What we offer:

At OFM, we foster a culture of integrity, innovation, inclusion, and belonging. We value both learned and lived experiences, believing that diversity makes us stronger. To support your health and well-being, we offer a variety of benefit programs for our employees.

Please visit our Recruitment Page for a full list of benefits available to employees. Here’s a quick glance at some of the unique benefits that OFM offers:

• A culture that values and strives to advance diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging
• Tuition reimbursement
• Medical, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance
• 12 paid holidays, 14 paid vacation days (minimum), and 12 days of sick leave per year
• State retirement programs

Application Process: Once you’ve decided to apply for a state government job, you’ll complete an online application to showcase your qualifications. Keep in mind that once you submit the application, a real person is going to read it. We do not use AI or other technology that screens your application. Please be sure to provide clear and detailed information about your work history so your qualifications can be accurately assessed. We will contact the top candidates directly to schedule interviews. If you need reasonable accommodation in applying, please call 7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6384.

When completing your application, we encourage you to attach all of the following:

• Cover letter: describing your qualifications for this specific position
• Resume: that details your applicable experience and education.
• References: at least three professional references and their contact information.

Questions: For questions about this recruitment or to request a reasonable accommodation in the application process, please email us at TalentAcquisition@ofm.wa.gov.

The Office of Financial Management is an equal opportunity employer. We strive to create a working environment that includes and respects cultural, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation and gender identity diversity. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, persons of disability, persons over 40 years of age, and disabled and Vietnam-era veterans are encouraged to apply.

This position is exempt from civil service rules.

For more information, please see WAC 357-19-195.