Supplier Diversity Coordinator

The Supplier Diversity Coordinator is responsible for supporting the development of Washington County's supplier diversity policies and practices and developing and implementing supports to carry out the Countywide supplier diversity portfolio. This position reports to the Equity Policy Manager and is housed in the Office of Equity, Inclusion & Community Engagement. The Supplier Diversity Coordinator works closely with Procurement and staff from departments across the County.

The Supplier Diversity Coordinator role is both internally and externally facing. The majority of the portfolio is internal County-facing work, focused on collaboratively identifying and addressing structural barriers and opportunities to advance supplier diversity and procurement equity across the County. This work includes facilitating stakeholders, identifying and researching issues and opportunities, supporting the development and implementation of Countywide policies and practices, and implementing capacity building supports such as technical assistance and training for departments and staff. This position is also responsible for enhancing Washington County's efforts to support locally owned, minority-owned, women-owned and emerging, small businesses and culturally specific non-profit organizations by promoting mutually beneficial business and partnering opportunities.

Our Ideal candidate will be aware of the breadth and diversity of supplier diversity work and how to collaboratively lead organization-wide work. Additionally, ideal candidates, will be familiar with supplier diversity work in the public sector and managing relationships with county programs, local suppliers, businesses, culturally specific non-profit organizations, community leaders, and Washington County and regional organizations and businesses.

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they can perform every job description task. We are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job and that candidate may come from a variety of backgrounds and lived experiences. If you're interested in applying, we encourage you to think broadly about your background and skill set for the role, even if you believe you do not meet all of the hiring criteria described above.

Duties may include:

1. Serves as the primary contact for the Washington County Supplier Diversity Program for County departments, businesses, and culturally specific nonprofit business support organizations.
2. Works with OEICE leadership to partner with stakeholders to identify issues and barriers to support the development of strategies, priorities, policies, and practices, and to develop and implement capacity building supports.
3. Tracks and benchmarks industry and governmental best practices in supplier diversity work and advances implementation of appropriate practices into the County's supplier diversity and inclusion work.
4. Researches, analyzes, and reviews Washington County business practices to identify specific barriers to advancing supplier diversity.
5. Facilitates and conducts comparative analyses of Washington County supplier and diversity policies and practices with those of other public agencies and jurisdictions to identify areas of potential opportunity and improvement.
6. Provides capacity building technical assistance and training to County departments.
7. Communicates Washington County supplier diversity policies and practices and works with community groups to provide outreach and education on opportunities to work with County departments.
8. Drives increased engagement amongst County departments and diverse suppliers by convening and promoting meetings, presentations, and events and by facilitating memberships and sponsorships as budget allows.
9. Supports engagement with qualified, prospective minority, women and emerging small business suppliers, and, where possible, facilitates connections with the Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity (COBID) for certification, as well as introductory discussions with colleagues.
10. Reports on supplier diversity data as needed and generates annual supplier diversity reports for the County.
11. Engages with the procurement team to develop solicitation review supports and tools to ensure equity review criteria is appropriately embedded and evaluated.
12. Represents the County at supplier development activities with local and national diverse supplier councils; and, where possible, attends relevant conferences, groups, and trade shows.
13. Contributes to creating and maintaining a positive and collaborative work culture. Practices proactive communication and demonstrates adaptability. Supports organizational values of workplace equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's Degree in business or public administration, procurement, communications, sustainability, supplier diversity, or related fields; AND three (3) years of professional experience involving diverse community outreach and engagement, business management, analysis, planning, organizing, and/or evaluating programs within a public agency. OR
• Associate's Degree in business or public administration, procurement, communications, sustainability, supplier diversity, or related fields; AND five (5) years of professional experience involving diverse community outreach and engagement, business management, analysis, planning, organizing, and/or evaluating programs within a public agency. OR
• Seven (7) years of professional experience involving diverse community outreach and engagement, business management, analysis, planning, organizing, and/or evaluating programs within a public agency.

• Must have the ability to arrange for timely transportation in order to attend required appointments and meetings at off-site locations.

Please Note: A resume and answers to the supplemental questions are required to be considered for this position.

Selection Process

1. MQ Review: HR will screen applications for minimum qualifications after the posting closes.
2. SME Review: Applications for candidates that meet minimum qualifications will be forwarded for an in-depth review of supplemental question responses.
3. Panel Interview(s): Our goal is to schedule panel interviews with candidates that pass the HR review as soon as possible.

• Veterans' Preference: If you are a veteran and would like to request veterans' preference points for this recruitment, please review instructions using this link: Veterans' Preference Points
• Accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act: A reasonable accommodation is available to anyone whose specific disability prevents them from completing this application or participating in the selection process for this recruitment. To obtain confidential assistance, please contact Human Resources at 503-846-8606 or careers@washingtoncountyor.gov at least 48 hours before the step(s) of the selection process for which you feel you need an accommodation.