Sr. Program Manager, Vendor Diversity

Salary: $36.72 - $41.11 Hourly
Location : Houston, TX
Job Type: Regular Full-time
Job Number: 14503
Department: Department of Economic Equity & Opportunity
Opening Date: 02/12/2025
Closing Date: 3/12/2025 11:59 PM Central
Max Number of Applicants: 100

Position Description
Department of Economic Equity & Opportunity Mission:

To connect, value, and empower people, businesses, and communities.
Vision:

An inclusive, accessible, prosperous, and resilient Harris County economy.
What you will do at the Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity:

The Program Manager is a member of the Inclusive Procurements division at the Harris County Department of Economic Equity & Opportunity. As part of the Inclusive Procurements team, the Vendor Diversity Program ensures County contracts fairly benefit and include women, minorities, and other disadvantaged businesses.
The Program Manager is responsible for reviewing upcoming solicitations to optimize inclusive procurement practices and supervising the operational compliance of contractors and subcontractors under the Minority & Women-Owned Business Enterprise and Disadvantage Business Enterprise programs.
Duties and Responsibilities:

• Assists in developing, implementing, coordinating, monitoring, and evaluating new or revised strategies, policies, and procedures to increase participation of minorities, women, and other disadvantaged businesses in the County procurement and compliance process.
• Portfolio Management: Manages a portfolio of M/W/DBE projects for the division. Including: Reviewing upcoming projects to define and manage vendor (prime and subcontractor) participation requirements and procedures, tracking, reporting, and benchmarking best practices in advance strategies such as breaking down large contracts, Good Faith Effort program/reporting, outreach, compliance, and others identified as the Vendor Diversity programs develop.
• Maintain collaborative partnerships with procurement teams and county-wide operational staff to build relationships with the advocates for current and prospective diverse vendors. Including being a key participant in internal M/W/DBE working groups and providing training/technical assistance to peers inside the County.
• Build relationships with and maintain collaborative partnerships with external stakeholders, procurement teams and county-wide operational staff to advocate for current and prospective diverse vendors. Will be a key participant in internal M/W/DBE working groups and provide training/technical assistance to peers inside the County.
• Develop and manage networks, interact, and liaise with the business community and with other governmental M/WBE and DBE programs to continuously promote business opportunities with the County and educate them on the purchasing process. Includes extensive community outreach to businesses, especially in hard-to-reach communities with additional barriers.
• Directly manage assigned team members, including training, assigning, and directing work, and providing ongoing coaching/performance feedback.

Other Duties:

• This Job Description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this position. At its discretion, management may assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.

Harris County is an Equal Opportunity Employer
https://hrrm.harriscountytx.gov/Pages/EqualEmploymentOpportunityPlan.aspx
If you need special services or accommodations, please call (713) 274-5445 or email ADACoordinator@bmd.hctx.net.
This position is subject to a criminal history check. Only relevant convictions will be considered and, even when considered, may not automatically disqualify the candidate.
Requirements
Education & Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Public Administration, Business Administration, Accounting, Law, or related field
• Three (3) years of progressive experience in contract compliance, auditing, accounting, paralegal, or procurement experience or related field required

OR

• Associates degree in Public Administration, Business Administration, Accounting, Law or related field
• Five (5) years of progressive experience in contract compliance, auditing, accounting, paralegal, or procurement experience or related field required

WITH:

• One (1) year of experience in supplier diversity programs.

Licensure:

• Must have a valid Texas Driver's License (upon hire)

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Excellent verbal and written communication and research skills.
• Ability to interpret, enforce and develop tools on the rules, regulations, and legal interpretations related to MWBE & DBE programs.
• Ability to understand the objectives of a strategic plan and manage self and team members to accomplish those objectives.
• Experience exercising discretion and confidentiality with sensitive information.
• Self-starter with the ability to work independently with limited, relative autonomy, and general review.
• Demonstrated time and project management skills, including the ability to meet multiple deadlines by maintaining a high level of organization and detail-orientation and adjusting to changing circumstances.
• Ability to identify problem areas and develop solutions/corrective measures, for ad-hoc situations and continual program improvement.
• Requires strong knowledge and proficiency using various types of office-related software to include Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, Share Point, project management software, and other standard office equipment and software.
• Ability to utilize effective leadership, collaboration, facilitation, and negotiation techniques.
• Able to interact effectively with a diverse group of employees as part of planning, motivating, and coordinating the work of staff.
• Read/comprehend legal contracts and regulatory materials, write/summarize complex compliance matters and create/adapt forms and other program materials, including reports.

NOTE: Qualifying education, experience, knowledge and skills must be documented on your job application. You may attach a resume to the application as supporting documentation but ONLY information stated on the application will be used for consideration. "See Resume" will not be accepted for qualifications.
Preferences

• Three (3) years of management/supervisory experience in the areas above is preferred.
• Experience writing and delivering complex reports to leadership highly desired.
• Program and/or project management experience highly desired.
• Professional experience with Peoplesoft, Monday.com, or other project management software tools.
• Stakeholder management including engagement across internal departments, third-party consultants, the business community, and related business associations, labor unions, and other community stakeholders.

General Information
Position Type and Typical Hours of Work:

• Full-time; Monday - Friday, 8 am - 5 pm.
• The typical workday is eight-hour days Monday through Friday, but also subject to early morning, evening, weekend, emergency, and holiday work when required. This position involves coordination with contractors, project managers, and various departments.
• Visits to indoor and outdoor work locations.

Work Environment:

• Work is generally performed indoors in a professional office environment with acceptable lighting, temperature, air conditions, and noise levels; as well as a percentage of time spent outdoors with exposure to heat, humidity, rain, wind, and storm conditions.
• Site Visits: Extensive use of a vehicle and mobile device.
• May be exposed to fluids, compounds, or chemicals used in office environments and outdoor work areas.
• This role is eligible for remote work from withing the greater Harris County region in compliance with the Harris County Telework Policy. This eligibility may be removed at any time due to policy changes, work demands or unsatisfactory productivity.

Physical Demands:

• Sitting for extended periods with frequent standing and walking and occasional ascending /descending stairs.
• Visits to indoor and outdoor work locations.
• Ability to wear provides Personal Protective Equipment when onsite visits in the field.
• Occasional exertion of up to 20 pounds of force and/or a negligible amount of constant force to move objects.

Reporting Relationships:

• Reports To Position: Assistant Director, M/WBE
• Supervises Positions: Project Monitors (3-5 FTEs)

Employment may be contingent on passing a drug screen and meeting other standards.

Due to a high volume of applications positions may close prior to the advertised closing date or at the discretion of the Hiring Department.
BENEFITS

Harris County offers a competitive benefits program, including comprehensive group health and related benefits plan as well as defined benefit retirement plan.
The following list of benefits is offered only to employees in regular (full-time) positions:

• Medical Coverage
• Dental Coverage
• Vision Coverage
• Wellness Plan
• Life Insurance
• Long-term disability
• Employee Assistance Program
• Ten (10) days of vacation each year for the first five (5) years of service
  • Accrual rates increase based on years of service
• Eleven (11) County-observed holidays and one (1) floating holiday
• Professional development opportunities
• Dependent Care Reimbursement Plan
• Healthcare Reimbursement Account
• 457 Deferred Compensation Plan

The following benefits are also available to regular (full-time) employment and may be available to part-time employees:

• Retirement Pension (TCDRS)
• Flexible schedule (varies by department)
• Transportation Assistance (Metro RideSponsor Program)

In accordance with the Harris County Personnel Regulations, Group Health and related benefits are subject to amendment or discontinuance at any time. Commissioners Court reserves the right to make benefit modifications on the County's behalf as needed.
For plan details, visit the Harris County benefits website:
01

Which of the following best describes your highest level of education completed as it relates to this position?Qualifying information must be documented in the Education section of your application.

• High School or GED diploma
• Associate Degree
• Bachelor's Degree
• Master's Degree or higher
• None of the above

02

If you selected a college degree in response to the previous question, which of the following best describes your major?

• Public Administration
• Business Administration
• Accounting
• Law
• Other Related Field
• Unrelated Field
• N/A; No Degree

03

Please describe your educational background including level of education completed, area of study and completed major and minor programs.
04

Which of the following best describes your verifiable experience in contract compliance, auditing, accounting, paralegal, or procurement experience or related field?(To be considered, qualifying experience must be documented in your application's employment history)

• Less than three (3) years
• Three (3) years but less than four (4) years
• Four (4) years but less than five (5) years
• Five (5) years or more
• I do not have this experience

05

Please provide details about your verifiable progressive experience in contract compliance, auditing, accounting, paralegal, or procurement experience or related field.Do not use "Please see Resume" or "See Resume"(To be considered, qualifying experience must be documented in your application's employment history)Please include your (a) role(s), (b) types of organizations, (c) scope of duties and responsibilitiesIf you do not have this experience, please type "None" in the space provided.
06

Which of the following best describes your verifiable experience in supplier diversity programs?(To be considered, qualifying experience must be documented in your application's employment history)

• Less than one (1) year
• One (1) year but less than two (2) years
• Two (2) years but less than three (3) years
• Three (3) years or more
• I do not have this experience

07

Which of the following best describes your verifiable management/supervisory level experience?(To be considered, qualifying experience must be documented in your application's employment history)

• Less than one (1) year
• One (1) year but less than two (2) years
• Two (2) years but less than three (3) years
• Three (3) years or more
• I do not have this experience

08

Which of the following best describes your verifiable program or project management experience?(To be considered, qualifying experience must be documented in your application's employment history)

• Less than one (1) year
• One (1) year but less than two (2) years
• Two (2) years but less than three (3) years
• Three (3) years or more
• I do not have this experience

09

Please provide details about your experience writing and delivering complex reports to leadership, if applicable. If not applicable, write N/A.
10

Please provide details about your experience with stakeholder management which may include engagement across internal departments, third-party consultants, the business community, and related business associations, labor unions, and/or other community stakeholders, if applicable. If not applicable, write N/A.
11

Which of the following describes your level of proficiency using a personal computer and common office software such as MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook). Please select your level of proficiency based on the following descriptions:Advanced:A person with this level of skills is able to produce very large, complex formal documents that require a table of contents, footnotes, endnotes, bookmarks, and other special elements; a wide range of graphic effects, and use advanced techniques for analyzing and manipulating data. Has full mastery of Macro commands and skills to tie the objects together into a cohesive system by using Macros and Visual Basic for Applications code. Makes interactive presentations by using hyperlinks and action buttons.Intermediate:A person with this level of skills is able to customize toolbars, import and insert graphs, embed Excel data, and elaborate reports. Understands the concepts of databases and is able to work with charts and to use the list management capabilities of Excel. Able to use complex query techniques, create efficient forms and reports, and create Macros to automate these forms. Makes interactive presentations by using hyperlinks and action buttons.Basic:A person with this level of skills is able to use basic formatting, editing, printing functions, and understands the document page setup. Has the ability to enter and correct data, modify a workbook, format a worksheet, and use printing functions. Understands the different database concepts and structures and is familiar with data validation and is able to create a simple presentation in PowerPoint, run it, and print it.Entry Level:A person with this level of skills has the ability to open, create, save and modify documents in Word, send and receive email in Outlook and create spreadsheets in Excel. Format documents for printing, comfortable using the printer menu to preview documents. Has ability to change the font, the ma)

• Advanced
• Intermediate
• Basic
• Entry Level
• Not proficient

12

This role requires a Valid Driver's License (Texas upon hire)Do you have a Valid Driver's License?

• Yes, I have a Valid Texas Driver's License
• Yes, I have a Valid Driver's License but understand I must obtain a Valid Texas Driver's License prior to start date
• No, I'm not interested

Required Question