Arnita Watson, MSA, GCPM

Experience

• 

  Georgia Department of Community Health

  Jul 1991 - Oct 2017

  Directs the department's office of procurement, purchasing and grant programs. Manages the $12 billion responsible for health care purchasing, planning and regulation, and improving the health outcomes of Georgians. Oversees the development and implementation of sourcing initiatives and processes for purchasing categories such as goods, services, technology/telecommunications, utilities, etc. Develops and executes strategic procurement strategy and objectives for category management, strategic sourcing and supplier development. Develops and revises Department enterprise policies and procedures in accordance with the Georgia Procurement Manual guidelines. Ensures that procurement professionals are educated and compliant with State Purchasing regulations. Establishes and maintains strong relationships with department management, State Purchasing and key vendors. Show less Act as Interim Director to manage the department's procurement program. Oversees the development and implementation of sourcing initiatives and processes for purchasing categories such as goods, services, technology/telecommunications, utilities, etc. Develops and executes strategic procurement strategy and objectives for category management, strategic sourcing and supplier development. Establishes and maintains strong relationships with department management, State Purchasing and key vendors. Show less Serves as supervisor over multiple and/or special categories for the development of Request for Proposals (RFPs), Request for Quotes (RFQs) and other solicitation documents based on specified sourcing strategies within the Office of Procurement Services totaling over $4 billion. Oversees strategic sourcing teams in the development of financial and technical evaluation criteria for complex solicitations. Develops negotiation strategies based on vendor response and market analysis to identify possible outcomes. Develops and maintain effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders. Show less Supervised staff to ensure the quality of work performed and provides training and development opportunities as appropriate. Performed periodic internal audits of actual performance to targeted areas, identify and report areas of non-compliance of the units within the Operations Division. Developed and produced tools for assessing performance for review of the findings of audits and the need for corrective action as well as policies and procedures. Conducted field audits of targeted areas by the Operations division. Developed, implemented and monitored the compliance strategies for the Operations division. Developed innovative approaches addressing problems and improvement in State programs and processes. Developed policies and procedures for unit Directors as requested by the Operations division. Served as lead sourcing manager for Public Health and DCH including soliciting RFPs, RFQs and Sole Sources/Brands to ensure compliance with procurement regulations, policies and procedures. Show less

  • Director of Procurement and Grant Administration

    Oct 2014 - Oct 2017

  • Interim Director of Procurement and APO

    Oct 2014 - Oct 2014

  • Category Manager

    Apr 2014 - Sept 2014

  • Grants and Health Information Technology (HIT) Procurement Manager

    Sept 2009 - Apr 2014

  • Quality Assurance Manager

    Mar 2008 - Sept 2009

  • Contracts and Compliance Manager

    Nov 2004 - Mar 2008

  • Senior Contract Specialist

    Jul 1997 - Oct 2004

  • Contract Specialist

    Jul 1991 - Jun 1998
• 

  Clayton County Public Schools

  Nov 2017 - now

  Coordinating Supervisor - Purchasing

  Oversees the development and implementation of sourcing initiatives and processes for various purchasing categories. Analyzes the District's current and forecasted purchases to identify fiscal year budget spend for District contracts that estimates to over $350M. Maintains, train and facilitates Munis® ERP project solutions in the District. Develops and executes strategic procurement strategies and objectives for the purchasing staff. Serves as liaison between the suppliers and the District staff to ensure compliance with contract terms and conditions. Develops monthly Board Reports for the purchases made over $50K for dissemination to the Superintendent and Board approval. Develops and administers operational procedures governing the procurement functions and serves as the primary contact for new prospective solicitations to determine the method of solicitation and assignment of projects for the District. Show less