State Department Recruiting for Deputy Director for Procurement

The California Department of Technology is recruiting for a deputy director of statewide technology procurement (Career Executive Assignment).   

“The deputy director is responsible for setting statewide policy for all reportable IT project and telecommunication procurements to ensure that the state’s investments in technology are cost effective, coordinated and achieve California’s strategic objectives,” the job posting states. “The deputy director is also responsible for working with other areas of CDT to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and overall success of the state’s IT procurement process.”

The list of responsibilities for this executive role is stout:

• Oversee the planning, execution and negotiation of high-visibility and high-dollar-value technology procurements.
• Build a robust vendor pool, increase the speed of contract execution, identify potential partners that have a strong track record of delivery and craft modern agreements focused on the deployment of meaningful technology.
• Interpret and implement existing policy, as well as develop new statewide policy as the need arises as a result of changes in the business climate and statewide strategies.
• Lead procurement improvements to the state’s Project Approval Lifecycle (PAL) process to improve the speed and effectiveness of technology delivery.  
• Evolve CDT and statewide strategies to ensure stability and continued improvement of systems and services and meet business strategies, and apply the new, more iterative methods and best practices to IT project- and telecom-related procurements.
• Establish statewide policies on post-project vendor assessment.
• Ensure that procurements are fair, competitive and compliant with state policy — and that the state has the right policy, standards and procedures to conduct IT project and telecom procurements. 

The duty statement for the position lists the desirable qualifications and skills for the role: creativity and innovation, teamwork, continuous improvement, and communication. In addition, candidates should have a deep understanding of the procurement process, be able to work horizontally and vertically within and outside of the department, and be experienced in managing vendors, contracts and performance evaluation.

The application requirements include a statement of qualifications, in which candidates are asked to detail their “policy influence experience,” specifically how they’ve developed, implemented and gained buy-in for policy relating to IT and procurement in the public or private sector. They’re also asked to discuss their experience with business optimization and reforms, as well as their technical leadership background.

The deputy director position has a monthly salary range of $11,505 to $13,063, and the application deadline is May 26.