Contract Specialist & Workflow Optimization

YOLANDA HUGHES

Contract Specialist • Administrative Strategist • Workflow Architect Harrison, NJ (*******@*******.***) LinkedIn Phone: 917-***-****

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

Detailoriented Contract Specialist with a strong background in publicsector contracting, workflow optimization, and executivelevel administrative support. Known for producing clear, accurate, and actionable contract documentation that enhances decisionmaking across departments. Adept at mapping complex processes, maintaining compliance trackers, and coordinating with Legal, Risk Management, Procurement, and Operations to ensure contract packages meet agency standards. Recognized for initiative, precision, and the ability to streamline systems while supporting leadership in a highvisibility division.

CORE COMPETENCIES

Contract Lifecycle Management

Workflow Mapping & Process Optimization

Vendor & Contract Analysis

Compliance Tracking (COIs, Expirations, Renewals)

Executive Reporting & Abstract Preparation

Public Sector Procurement Support

CrossDepartment Collaboration

Documentation & Template Development

Administrative Operations & Calendar Management

Stakeholder Communication

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Contract Specialist (Contractor)

Port Authority of New York & New Jersey — Contract Services Division November 2025 – Present

Key Responsibilities

Manage the full lifecycle of contracts, including renewals, expirations, extensions, amendments, and special provisions.

Prepare executiveready contract abstracts, vendor comparison summaries, and category analyses to support leadership decisions.

Maintain compliance trackers for COIs, insurance requirements, expiration dates, and documentation status.

Map and document the division’s endtoend contract workflow, clarifying multidepartmental roles and improving process transparency.

Coordinate with Legal, Risk Management, Procurement, and Operations to ensure contract packages meet agency standards.

Review contract language for accuracy, completeness, and alignment with agency policies, identifying risks and inconsistencies.

Support division leadership with reporting, workflow improvements, and successionfocused documentation.

Key Achievements

Designed a comprehensive contract lifecycle map now used as a foundational training and workflow tool.

Created visually intuitive vendor abstracts that improved clarity and accelerated leadership review.

Developed compliance trackers that reduced missed deadlines and improved crossdepartment visibility.

Recognized for producing polished, executivelevel summaries that simplify complex contract data.

Identified as a future successor for division leadership through consistent accuracy, initiative, and strategic thinking.

Sr. Executive Assistant to Senior Partners / Office Manager

Chartis Group New York (Hybrid) December 2024 – October 2025

Key Responsibilities

Strategic partner to the CSO and operational lead for the New York office.

Own all aspects of executive support, including high-volume inbox and calendar management, complex and ever-changing travel coordination, and cross-functional team alignment.

Trusted to delegate on behalf of leadership, interface with senior stakeholders, and maintain momentum across shifting priorities.

Manage office budgeting, contracting, vendor relations, and space optimization to support a hybrid workforce. Known for precision, emotional intelligence, and a values-driven approach that elevates executive impact and team cohesion.

Serve as both Executive Assistant to the CSO and Office Manager for the New York headquarters, overseeing all facets of office operations, vendor relations, and team support.

Manage office budgeting, contracting, and vendor negotiations to ensure cost-effective, high-quality service delivery across a hybrid work environment.

Maintain a pristine, professional workspace by implementing systems for cleanliness, supply management, and tech readiness—supporting both executive visibility and team morale.

Anticipate strategic inflection points and proactively align executive priorities with long-term organizational goals, enabling high-leverage decision-making.

Cultivate trust and cohesion across cross-functional teams through emotionally intelligent communication and inclusive planning.

Spearheading operational streamlining initiatives that continues to reduce scheduling conflicts by 40% and improved executive bandwidth.

Lead culture-building efforts, including wellness rituals, milestone celebrations, and team recognition strategies that reinforce morale and retention.

Executive Assistant to Chief Medical Officer, COO, CoS Dec 2021 – January 2025

Humana/CenterWell/Conviva (Fully Remote)

Key Responsibilities:

Calendar and Prioritization Management

Served as right hand to the CMO, supporting enterprise-wide marketing initiatives and partnering closely with the senior leadership team.

Managed a team of six Executive Assistants across the department, providing mentorship, oversight, and operational alignment.

Owned complex calendar, inbox, and travel orchestration for the CMO and senior team—navigating shifting priorities with precision and discretion.

Collaborated directly with the CFO to manage departmental budgets, ensuring compliance, accuracy, and strategic spend.

Acted as a liaison between executive leadership and cross-functional teams, driving clarity, accountability, and momentum.

Led planning and logistics for high-stakes meetings, offsites, and board-level presentations.

Known for balancing assertiveness with warmth, anticipating needs, and elevating team cohesion through values-driven leadership.

Introduced the utilization of AI tools to review calendar meetings, extract actionable insights and ensure the executives are informed and prepared using various communication tools such as Zoom, Google Suite, Teams, text messages and direct messaging.

Maintain confidential records and documents, safeguarding sensitive information.

Proactively identify areas for improvement and implement solutions to streamline operations as suggestions or brainstorms with executives.

Team lead weekly administrative meetings that included coaching with training sessional of the newest technologies or platforms available for use, new or updated procedure.

Sr. Executive Assistant to Chief Pharmacist Apr 2020 - Dec 2021

SUNY Downstate Medical Center Pharmacy Department (Hybrid)

Key Responsibilities:

•Serve as the primary administrative support for the Pharmacy Department, ensuring smooth operations and efficient communication between the hospital and department Leadership.

•Directly supervise and coordinate with the Director and Associate Directors of the Pharmacy Department, both in-person and remotely.

•Provide comprehensive administrative support to all programs, directors, and pharmacy technicians, ensuring seamless workflows.

•Managed clean room labs for admissions, scheduling, safety sterilization

•Ordered, tracked and maintained formulary medications, cocktails, imports and export deliveries.

•Manage and coordinate onboarding and off-boarding processes for over 30 pharmacy students and intern employees.

•Oversee daily and monthly calendars, managing schedules and appointments for the Department Head and three Associate Directors.

•Schedule and coordinate internal and external meetings, events, trainings, and seminars for the entire pharmaceutical staff.

•Ensure timely submission of documents for major projects, coordinating with the offices of VPs and the President of SUNY Downstate Medical Center.

•Created and maintained financial reports, bookkeeping, budgets and expenses.

•Independently compose various letters, memoranda, instructions, and other documents based on brief notes or verbal instructions.

•Data entry and consolidation of CRM systems and platforms to promote efficient reporting and tables for use for patients internal to hospital and external to pharmacy store.

•Perform additional administrative duties as assigned, ensuring efficient departmental operations.

Sr. Executive Assistant to CEO Mar 2013 - Sep 2020

New York Hotel Trade Council

Key Responsibilities:

•Served as right hand to the CEO, managing high-volume communications, calendar, travel, and board coordination across a 38-member Trustee body.

•Acted as liaison between the CEO’s office, senior leadership, and the Union President’s office—facilitating day-to-day operations and high-level communications.

•Provided backstop support to two senior administrators, ensuring continuity and precision across executive workflows.

•Oversaw operations for four union-owned health centers across NYC boroughs, managing administrators, policy compliance, and HIPAA standards.

•Partnered directly with the CFO to manage departmental budgets, contracts, and year-end reporting—ensuring fiscal accuracy and regulatory compliance.

•Led vendor vetting and contracting in collaboration with the Chief External Affairs Officer, ensuring all providers were licensed, insured, and aligned with union standards.

•Supported construction and launch of a new health center, contributing to bid review, budget planning, and cross-functional coordination.

•Communicated on behalf of the CEO with internal teams, union leadership, and external stakeholders—ensuring clarity, discretion, and alignment.

•Coordinated executive board and trustee meetings, ad-hoc reporting, and daily metrics tracking across health centers.

•Managed direct executive-level complaints, triaged resolutions, and maintained tracking systems to identify trends and drive accountability.

•Partnered closely with HR to manage onboarding, payroll, bonus timelines, and salary reviews—ensuring alignment with union expectations and industry standards; maintained CRM systems and supported policy enforcement, compliance tracking, and sensitive personnel communications.

•Continued personal support for retired CEO through COVID transition until September 2022.

EDUCATION

University of Phoenix BA, Human Resources Management/Marketing September 2011

TECHNICAL SKILLS

Microsoft Office Suite

Power BI

Microsoft Fabric & OneLake

SharePoint

Project Management Tools (Notion, Trello, etc.)

CREATIVE & DIGITAL MEDIA EXPERIENCE

Founder & Creative Director — PaperDollz Media 2013 – Present

•Develop and execute social media campaigns across Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube to promote books, stage productions, short films, and community-centered storytelling projects.

•Built and managed the digital brand for the selfpublished book Shugar, including content strategy, audience engagement, and promotional partnerships.

•Produced and marketed a short film adaptation of Shugar, overseeing script development, casting, filming, editing, and multi-platform promotion.

•Led social media strategy for the stage productions #BlackGirlMonologues and #ThankGodForGirlfriends, including local media outreach, event marketing, and audience growth.

•Currently manage social media content and digital storytelling for the podcast Beloved, shaping tone, visuals, and engagement strategy.

•Provide social media consulting for authors and creatives, including campaign development for SJ Reese’s book series.

•Skilled in creating reels, trailers, captions, storytelling threads, promotional graphics, and community engagement content.

ADDITIONAL SKILLS

Strategic Planning & Proactive Problem-Solving

Align executive priorities with short- and long-term objectives, leveraging market insights and stakeholder dynamics to anticipate challenges and drive momentum. Known for proactive foresight and high-leverage decision support.

Communication & Optimization

Facilitate clear, high-impact communication across internal teams and external partners to ensure alignment, transparency, and timely execution. Reduce stakeholder response times through streamlined workflows and intentional messaging.

️ Time Management & Prioritization

Maximize executive productivity through precision scheduling and task orchestration. Increase output by via proactive calendar ownership and strategic prioritization. Integrate AI tools to optimize workflows and enhance team-wide efficiency.

Certifications

•CEAP – Certified Executive Assistant Professional

•AI Executive Support Trainer & Consultant – Specializing in AI-integrated workflows and team enablement

•AI Development Admin – Operational fluency in AI tools, systems integration, and executive-facing automation

•Contract Specialist Analyst

•Procurement/Audit and Compliance Specialist

PRODUCTION

•Adobe Creative

•ADP

•AppleAI Virtual Meet

•AppleWorkplaceSuite

•Ariba

•Asana

•Ashby

•Calendly

•Canva

•CapCut

•Captions

•Concur

•CoPilot

•Creative AI

•ExpediaCorporate Office Mgmt

•Google Suite

•GoogleMeets

•HRPlanner

•Hypic

•Meta AI

•Microsoft 365

•Microsoft Suites Desktop & Cloud

•Motion Leap

•OneDay

•Oracle

•PeopleSoft

•Project Management Pro

•Robin

•Salesforce

•ShareSpace

•Travel Coordination

•WeWork

•WorkDay

•Zoom

MicroAI WebEx CRM EPIC

WebConnex Cisco HER EPR

EmPeek SalesForce BoardPlanner Notes

Bears Haiilo OneLake Fabric

CorpBoard Microsoft Office Suites

Available to work fully REMOTE

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