Procurement Specialist II

Under the general supervision of the Procurement Manager the Procurement Specialist II performs a variety of technical budgetary and procurement functions in support of utility operations including electric water sewer and infrastructure systems. This includes procurement of specialized equipment materials and services and coordination of purchasing required to maintain reliable public utility FUNCTIONS: Performs some or all of the following and additional duties as and conducts meetings with utility contractors engineering consultants equipment manufacturers field operations and supervisors and project managers to develop procurement strategies for utility requisitions to determine the best procurement method for technical equipment (transformers pumps meters switchgear piping SCADA-related components) construction services and maintenance contracts. Develops and reviews utility-specific technical specifications in partnership with engineering staff to ensure accuracy and compliance. Prepares and writes competitive solicitations in partnership with engineering and field operations staff to ensure accuracy and compliance. Prepares and writes competitive solicitations for utility capital improvements system upgrades and regulatory compliance services ensuring alignment with industry standards and safety the necessity of a pre-solicitation conference; coordinates and conducts pre-solicitation conference; arranges and conducts formal public bid openings. Determines when utility price agreements or long-term contracts are advantageous to support inventory stability specialized vendor access and emergency response readiness. Assists in issuance of purchase orders and contracts for materials and services used in daily utility operations outage response and capital infrastructure information and creates tabulation reports on all bids and proposals received; applies evaluation criteria and cost/price analysis methods to determine the lowest responsive bidder; oversees issuing of purchase orders or price agreements to successful written documentation justification and recommendation for the procurement of services/commodities from selected vendors for presentation to City as liaison with governmental agencies suppliers and all departments; schedules and conducts meetings with contractors and department personnel; administers and assures compliance of all requirements as stated on purchase orders/price agreements including terms and conditions performance and delivery correspondence letters and legal documents. Build relationships with vendors; negotiates and resolves claims disputes conflicts and protests from vendors and department users involving utility construction projects technical failures delivery delays or performance issues; research and compiles documentation for legal suits or petitions filed against the City regarding with researching and responding to Freedom of Information (aka Sunshine) Requests from the public for information related to prior bids and communications within the city and with suppliers and contractors with the and reports evidence of improper or unethical bidding practices by vendors; identifies potential breach of contract by vendors. Assists in establishing purchasing goals; makes recommendations to improve purchasing operation and implement purchasing policies and relays policy and procedure revision to City department personnel. Organizes and administers disposal or salvage of utility-related equipment including transformers meters cabling or other operational QUALIFICATIONSEducation and Experience:Graduation from college with a bachelors degree in accounting Public Administration Business Administration or related field;Experience in procurement within utilities public works engineering or infrastructure environment (2) year of progressively responsible experience performing above and related duties;ORAn equivalent combination of education and experience that provides the required knowledge skills and abilities to perform the essential functions of the Qualifications: May be required to be or become a Certified Professional Public Buyer. Must complete required NIMS level training within first six months of hire. Knowledge Skills and Abilities:Knowledge of:Principles and practices of purchasing and the laws and regulations governing public procurement; principles and practices of governmental trends and factors; commodities services and product writing and and contract law; basic accounting and budgetary principles and operational practices including electric distribution water treatment wastewater systems and infrastructure of regulatory requirements applicable to utilities (EPA state environmental rules safety standards engineering codes etc.)Skill in:Organizing work setting priorities meeting critical deadlines and following up assignments with a minimum of a computer to accurately and rapidly enter and retrieve data and information. Researching compiling and summarizing a variety of informational and statistical data and proposals for technical equipment and identifying lifecycle cost savings relevant to utility to:Demonstrate using tact discretion initiative and independent judgment within established guidelines to meet departmental and Citywide goals and concepts such as fractions percentages ratios and proportions to practical situations; solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization reports correspondence procedure manuals; speak effectively before and analyze cost reduction methods pertaining to analyze and interpret professional periodicals and journals technical procedures and government engineering plans technical specifications schematics and utility industry emergency procurement during outages system failures weather events or urgent Environment: While performing the essential functions of this job the employee is frequently required to sit use hands to finger handle or feel talk or hear and lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. The incumbents working conditions are typically moderately occasionally visit utility facilities substations water plants or field sites to verify procurement needs and confirm testingBackground checkIn addition to the application testing and/or examinations may be required for further is open until Employment Opportunity Statement The City of Independence is an Equal Opportunity Employer and it is our policy to provide equal opportunity to all people without regard to race color religion national origin ancestry marital status veteran status age disability pregnancy genetic information citizenship status sex sexual orientation gender identity or any other legally protected category. The City of Independence is a background screening drug-free City of Independence provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation in order to apply for a job please submit your request to Disclaimer: The above statements describe the general nature level and type of work performed by the incumbent(s) assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities demands and skills required of personnel so classified. Job descriptions are not intended to and do not imply or create any employment compensation or contract rights to any person or persons. Management reserves the right in coordination with the governing union (if applicable) to add delete or modify any and/or all provisions of this description at any time as needed without notice. This job description supersedes earlier OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER BILINGUAL SKILLS PREFERRED