Director - Office of Contracting and Procurement
ABOUT THE SHEFFIELD ADMINISTRATION
Detroit is entering a historic new chapter under Mayor-Elect Mary Sheffield, the city’s first woman to serve as Mayor. Elected with a decisive mandate, Mayor-Elect Sheffield brings a steady, community-rooted approach to governing—one focused on listening to residents, healing long-standing divides, and delivering meaningful improvements in daily life across every neighborhood. She will take office on January 1, 2026, with a commitment to building a city that lifts every family and expands opportunity for all.
As she forms her administration, Mayor-Elect Sheffield is assembling a talented, diverse team of leaders who bring deep expertise, lived experience, and the courage to put forward bold, innovative ideas that move Detroit forward. Her team will drive a City government grounded in collaboration, equity, transparency, and results. The Sheffield Administration seeks mission-driven individuals who are ready to serve, ready to build, and ready to help shape Detroit’s future.
ABOUT THE OFFICE
The Office of Contracting and Procurement ensures that the City of Detroit acquires goods and services in a way that is fair, transparent, efficient, and aligned with the City’s economic-equity goals. The office manages citywide purchasing, vendor engagement, contract compliance, competitive bidding, small-business support, and procurement policy development. Under the Sheffield Administration, the office plays a central role in strengthening opportunities for Detroit-based businesses, increasing transparency in public spending, improving procurement timelines, and ensuring that taxpayer dollars circulate back into neighborhoods and the local workforce.
ABOUT THE ROLE
The Director of Contracting and Procurement serves as Detroit’s chief procurement executive and oversees all purchasing and contracting activities across city departments. The Director provides strategic leadership for procurement modernization, implements reforms that expand access for small and Detroit-based businesses, and ensures compliance with city, state, and federal requirements. This role requires a leader with deep experience in public procurement, strong operational management skills, and a commitment to economic justice and equitable contracting.
The Director will drive efforts to increase local participation in city contracts, strengthen vendor accountability, and support Detroit’s neighborhood-based and minority-owned businesses through improved procurement processes, outreach, and technical assistance. The Director advises the Mayor and executive leadership on procurement strategy and ensures that contracting practices reflect the administration’s values of transparency, fairness, and community benefit.
This role will drive the administration’s priorities, including:
Strengthening procurement systems to ensure Detroit-based, minority-owned, and small businesses have equitable access to city contracts.
Reducing unnecessary barriers to entry, simplifying bidding processes, and expanding technical assistance to local vendors.
Improving procurement timelines, workflows, approval processes, and contract-management systems to support efficient and accountable operations.
Establishing transparent reporting tools to track spending, vendor performance, local participation, and contract outcomes.
Enhancing compliance with ethical standards, competitive-bidding laws, conflict-of-interest rules, and public-spending mandates.
Coordinating with workforce, economic-development, neighborhood, and civil-rights teams to maximize community benefits and local hiring within contracts.
Supporting reforms that increase transparency in procurement decisions and build trust with residents, businesses, and community stakeholders.
This description outlines the general nature and key responsibilities of the role and is not intended to be exhaustive; duties, responsibilities, and activities may be modified at the discretion of the Mayor.
Core responsibilities include:
Oversee all citywide purchasing, contracting, and vendor-management functions, ensuring operational efficiency, fairness, and legal compliance.
Develop and implement procurement policies and reforms that expand opportunities for Detroit-based, minority-owned, and small businesses.
Lead outreach and engagement with local vendors, industry partners, neighborhood businesses, and community-based organizations to broaden participation in procurement processes.
Streamline bidding, evaluation, and award processes to reduce delays, improve transparency, and strengthen accountability.
Manage contract negotiations, competitive solicitations, RFP development, contract approvals, and vendor performance evaluations.
Collaborate with city departments to assess procurement needs, plan for major purchases, and ensure alignment between departmental goals and citywide procurement strategy.
Implement data-tracking systems, dashboards, and reporting tools to measure spend, track local-business participation, and improve decision making.
Ensure compliance with procurement regulations, ethical standards, federal grant requirements, and public-contracting laws.
Support staff development, training, and capacity-building to modernize Detroit’s procurement workforce and promote best practices.
Represent the City in public forums, business events, vendor meetings, and regional collaborations related to procurement and economic inclusion.
Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree in public administration, business, supply-chain management, finance, or a related field; advanced degree preferred.
Significant leadership experience in public-sector procurement, contracting, supply chain, or large-scale government purchasing.
Strong understanding of public-procurement law, competitive-bidding rules, grant compliance, contract structures, and vendor-management practices.
Demonstrated success implementing procurement reforms, improving operational efficiency, or reducing systemic barriers in contracting processes.
Experience working with small businesses, minority-owned businesses, or community-based economic-development organizations.
Proven ability to manage large budgets, oversee procurement teams, and coordinate contracting across multiple departments or agencies.
Exceptional communication, negotiation, and relationship-building skills with vendors, stakeholders, department leaders, and elected officials.
Commitment to fairness, transparency, ethical governance, and promoting economic opportunity for Detroit residents and businesses.
Experience working in Detroit or another major urban environment strongly preferred.
Rate of Pay: $135,679 - $193,006 annually, commensurate with qualifications and experience.
Benefits: Our goal is to attract and retain a highly skilled workforce by providing generous healthcare and other benefits to eligible employees. Learn more about benefits for City of Detroit employees.
Equal Opportunity in Employment: The Sheffield Administration is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. Even if you do not meet all of the requirements listed above, we encourage you to apply if you believe you have the skills, experience, and expertise necessary to thrive in this role. The City of Detroit is an equal opportunity employer, and we encourage candidates of all backgrounds—including those historically underrepresented in municipal government—to apply.