Contract Administrator Family
Career series with 6 positions across 3 levels
New Jersey classifies Contract Administrator as a 3-level family, 6 titles in all, built for step-by-step advancement.
Entry is typically through Contract Administrator 1, advancing through the ladder toward Contract Administrator 3. Pay across the family spans $69,668 to $141,386, around the 70th percentile of all civil service job families by top pay. State payroll records show 237 people across the family's titles, most concentrated at Children and Families.
Contract Administrator is a common next step after Associate Hospital Administrator and Network Administrator.
Specializations
Positions in This Family
- CONTRACT ADMINISTRATOR 3 (51250) $95,955 - $141,386/year
- CONTRACT ADMINISTRATOR 2 (51252) $83,582 - $122,832/year
- CONTRACT ADMINISTRATOR 2 (51253) $87,507 - $128,719/year
- CONTRACT ADMINISTRATOR 1 (51254) $69,668 - $101,951/year
- CONTRACT ADMINISTRATOR 1 CORRECTIONS (51254D) $69,668 - $101,951/year
- CONTRACT ADMINISTRATOR 1 (51255) $72,896 - $106,798/year
What the Contract Administrator family covers
Contract Administrator covers 6 title codes arranged into 3 levels of responsibility. The family straddles jurisdictions: 3 both state and local and 3 state, so parts of it are hired by state departments and parts by local civil service employers.
Financial titles are unusually legible compared with the rest of the plan, because the duties track a professional body of practice rather than an agency's internal structure. That makes the ladders predictable, the qualification language consistent, and movement between departments straightforward. It also makes them one of the better-documented corners of the state payroll, since almost every department employs some of them, so the headcount and salary figures for these families rest on large samples rather than a handful of positions.
The ladder, ordered by pay
The Contract Administrator rungs, listed from the best paid down. Here the numbering happens to agree with the pay order, which is not guaranteed elsewhere in New Jersey's plan.
- Contract Administrator 3 — $95,955 to $141,386 (a master's degree and 3 years of experience)
- Contract Administrator 2 — $87,507 to $128,719 (a master's degree and 2 years of experience)
- Contract Administrator 2 — $83,582 to $122,832 (a master's degree and 2 years of experience)
- Contract Administrator 1 — $72,896 to $106,798 (a master's degree and 1 year of experience)
- Contract Administrator 1 Corrections — $69,668 to $101,951 (a master's degree and 1 year of experience)
- Contract Administrator 1 — $69,668 to $101,951 (a master's degree and 1 year of experience)
The distance from the bottom of Contract Administrator 1 to the top of Contract Administrator 3 is $71,718, an increase of about 103% over the entry minimum.
What each title does
Reading the definitions side by side is the quickest way to see what changes as you move through the family.
- Contract Administrator 3: Under direction of a supervisory official oversees, reviews, and administers various state contracts and/or grants, and provides the technical expertise required…
- Contract Administrator 2: Under the general supervision of a supervisory official, administers and exercises review and/or approval authority over various contracts and/or grants…
- Contract Administrator 1: Under the limited supervision of a supervisory official, participates in the review and administration of various contracts and/or grants; provides technical…
- Contract Administrator 1 Corrections: Under direction of a Contract Administrator 1 or other supervisory officer in the Department of Corrections, initiates the development of contracts…
Requirements across the family
Across the 6 titles we have parsed, the education requirements read as a master's degree on 6 of them. Stated experience runs from 1 year at the lowest rung to 3 at the highest, which is the main thing separating one level from the next.
On how the jobs are filled: 6 are competitive, filled from an eligible list after an open competitive or promotional examination.
Who actually employs these titles
237 people appear on the state payroll under 4 of these titles, at 16 agencies. Children and Families alone accounts for about 23% of them.
- Children and Families — 55 employees
- Community Affairs — 28 employees
- Human Services — 27 employees
- Health and Senior Services — 26 employees
- Transportation — 25 employees
- Labor — 24 employees
Those are the 6 largest of 16 agencies employing this family.
Median actual pay varies across the family, from $72,069 for Contract Administrator 1 up to $123,437 for Contract Administrator 3. Those are medians of what people are really paid, not schedule minimums and maximums.
State payroll only, deduplicated by payroll title; local employers file separately, so a family with local codes looks smaller here than it is. How this is counted.
How the pay is set
Titles in this family are paid on the A-P-R-S salary schedule. See every step in that schedule. Bargaining is handled by CWA. Union contracts and rights are collected here.
Where these jobs exist
Because the family mixes jurisdictions, the answer to "who hires this" depends on the specific code. State codes run through the Civil Service Commission's announcement and eligible list process; local codes are hired by the counties, municipalities and authorities that adopted civil service under Title 11A. Check an employer's status before assuming a title is available where you live.
Related titles elsewhere in the plan
Other classifications built on the same terms as Contract Administrator. Worth checking if this family has no current opening.
- Contract Compliance Representative ($60,876 to $88,743, state jurisdiction)
- Chief Contract Administration Section ($71,879 to $100,638, state jurisdiction) — in the Chief family
- Technical Assistant Contract Administration ($53,282 to $77,371, both state and local jurisdiction)
- Field Representative Construction Contract Compliance ($58,222 to $84,763, state jurisdiction)
- Supervisor Office of Contract Compliance/Civil Rights ($91,628 to $134,900, state jurisdiction) — in the Supervisor family
- Contract Procurement and Control Specialist, Hazardous Waste ($100,498 to $148,187, state jurisdiction)
Common questions about Contract Administrator jobs
How many separate Contract Administrator classifications does New Jersey have?
The Contract Administrator family holds 6 title codes arranged across 3 levels. Each code is a separate classification with its own published specification, requirements and salary treatment.
How much is a Contract Administrator paid?
Published salary data for this family runs from $69,668 at the bottom of Contract Administrator 1 to $141,386 at the top of Contract Administrator 3. Those are schedule figures. Where the title appears on the state payroll, actual median pay is listed on the page above.
Is there a civil service test for Contract Administrator?
Yes for most of the family. 6 of the 6 titles are in the competitive division, which means appointment comes from an eligible list built by an open competitive or promotional examination.
What are the requirements to become a Contract Administrator?
The most common education requirement in this family is a master's degree, named on 6 of the 6 titles. Stated experience ranges from 1 to 3 years depending on the rung. Read the individual specification for the exact wording, including any experience substitution.
Which agencies employ Contract Administrator staff?
State payroll records show 237 people in this family across 16 agencies, with Children and Families the largest at 55. Local government employers are not covered by that extract.