Purchasing Agent

at  City of Allen TX

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration or closely related field and five (5) years public purchasing experience.

Knowledge of:

• City rules, regulations, policies, and procedures.
• State of Texas laws pertaining to government procurement.
• Types of supplies, materials, and equipment commonly used by municipalities.
• Governmental purchasing principles and practices.
• Supervisory methods and techniques
• Alternative purchasing methods, techniques and training for construction and cooperative procurement best practices.
• Modern office practices, procedures, and equipment.

SKILL IN:

• Establishing and maintaining working relationships with professional and support staff, vendors, the public, and City employees.
• Assessing and prioritizing multiple tasks, projects and demands.
• Providing outstanding customer service and conflict resolution.
• Identifying opportunities to improve customer service and satisfaction.
• Operating a personal computer utilizing a variety of business software.
• Reading and understanding City, State and Federal rules and regulations.
• Creating, preparing, writing, and proofing reports, documents, and correspondence.
• Working effectively in a high-pressure environment with changing priorities.
• Effectively communicating in both oral and written format.

Special Requirements:

• Must possess a valid Texas Class C driver’s license.
• Certified Purchasing Manager, Certified Public Purchasing Officer, or Certified Professional Public Buyer preferred.

The following duties ARE NOT intended to serve as a comprehensive list of all duties performed by all employees in this classification, only a representative summary of the primary duties and responsibilities. Incumbent(s) may not be required to perform all duties listed and may be required to perform additional, position-specific duties.

• Evaluates City purchases to ensure compliance with regulations by overseeing, guiding, organizing and reviewing procurement activities.
• Collaborate with City departments to develop specifications and determine the appropriate procurement methods for complex and high-volume purchases and services.
• Oversee contracts, agreements, leases, contract amendments, and renewals by preparing, negotiating, coordinating, reviewing and ensuring compliance of these documents for both routine and complex projects.
• Conduct pre-bid meetings and bid openings as needed. Collaborate with departments to develop specifications, issue bid addendums, and explain specifications, insurance requirements, and bidding requirements to vendors and meeting attendees.
• Supports and facilitates project planning, budgeting, scheduling, monitoring, and reporting activities for all projects assigned; develops methods to monitor the progress of the projects and provides corrective actions for non-compliance, if necessary.
• Assists staff in coordinating any change requests related to the working project plans to meet pre-determined deadlines.
• Collaborates with user departments to create detailed project summaries and plans, identifying necessary staff, specific goals, work steps, tasks and budgeting requirements for each project.
• Reviews reports to recommend contracting opportunities and analyze budget estimates related to contract award expenditures.
• Provides customer service support for purchasing concerns by communicating with internal and external customers, addressing and resolving complaints and inquiries, gathering and analyzing product and service data, and sharing relevant information with City departments.