Contracts and Payments Administrator (SPSA Option 2 Fiscal)

Position Overview

The Division of Early Childhood (DEC) is seeking to hire a dynamic, organized, and detailed-oriented employee.  DEC is one of six divisions within the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS).  DEC serves to strengthen and centralize Child Care, Early Intervention, Home Visiting, and Migrant and Seasonal Head Start within IDHS.  The DEC vision is for Illinois’ pregnant persons, young children, and families to have the supports they need to achieve their full potential.  The DEC mission is to enhance equitable access to Child Care, Home Visiting, and Early Intervention programs and services that support whole child development.  DEC is committed to the following guiding values: Whole Child Focus, Quality Service Delivery, Equity, Relentless Pursuit of Mission, Respect and Dignity, and Stability and Sustainability.

Job Responsibilities

1. Serves as the Administrator of the Bureau of Contracts and Payments for the Division of Early Childhood. 

2. Plans, develops, implements, and manages the bureau’s compliance with state and federal mandates.

3. Serves as full-line supervisor.

4. Represents the Division’s Director and/or Associate Director of Operations at meetings, conferences, and/or retreats to maintain effective relations with members and executive management of other departments, external entities, members of jurisdictions, and other DHS staff.

5. Performs other duties as required or assigned, which are reasonably within the scope of the duties enumerated above.

Minimum Qualifications

1. Requires knowledge, skill, and mental development equivalent to completion of four (4) years of college with coursework in business, fiscal, or accounting.

2. Requires four (4) years of progressively responsible administrative fiscal or accounting experience in a public or private business organization.

Preferred Qualifications (in priority order)

1. Four (4) years of experience with and thorough knowledge of grantmaking, contract, and payment functions of state and/or federal mandates (e.g., GATA policies and procedures) for a public or private organization.

2. Four (4) years of professional experience in communicating (orally and in writing) in a clear, concise, and grammatically correct manner for executive management, using Business Objects, Microsoft Office Suite, graphs, and/or charts. 

3. Four (4) years of professional experience analyzing complex statistical and other data elements to review corresponding reports to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of operations.  

4. Four (4) years of professional experience in supervising and managing personnel, assigning work, providing guidance to subordinate staff, providing counseling, implementing various levels of discipline (following a collective bargaining agreement), training staff, and/or approving time off.  

5. Four (4) years of professional experience in developing, processing, executing, amending, or administering contracts, grant agreements, and/or other binding agreements for funding disbursal and the policies that accompany them.

6. Two (2) years of experience in developing, implementing, and evaluating new and revised methods, procedures, and performance standards. 

7. Two (2) years of experience in exercising independent judgment in developing, implementing, and interpreting contracts, grant agreements, and/or payment policies and procedures to promote internal and external communications with stakeholders.  

Conditions of Employment

1. Requires ability to travel with overnight stays.

2. Requires advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, including SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive. 

*The conditions of employment listed here are incorporated and related to any of the job duties as listed in the job description.