Purchasing Agent

City of Bentonville•Bentonville, AR

1d•$60,112 - $66,123•Onsite

About The Position

This position manages all activities involved with procuring goods and services, (raw materials, equipment, tools, parts, professional services, and all other purchased items) for the City of Bentonville. This position actively manages contracts and purchases for compliance with Federal, State, and local law. The position requires critical thinking, effective communication, time management, self-motivation, strong organizational skills, and professionalism.

Requirements

Graduation from an accredited college or university with a degree in business administration, purchasing management, procurement or a related field and 5+ years of experience in the related field.; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations.
Ability to effectively present information and to respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, and the general public.
Ability to read, analyze, and understand common scientific and technical journals, financial reports, and legal documents.
Ability to respond to complex or difficult inquiries or complaints from customers, regulatory agencies, or members of the legal community.
Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.
Ability to prepare and interpret bar graphs.
Ability to apply concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios, and proportions to practical situations.
Ability to solve complex problems and deal with a variety of known variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.
Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form.
Computer training in Microsoft Office.
Intermediate: Database, Spreadsheet, Word Processing/Typing.
Intermediate: 10-key, Accounting, Contact Management, Presentation/PowerPoint, Spreadsheet/Excel.
Ability to initiate problem solving independently without supervisor guidance or direction.

Nice To Haves

Certified Public Procurement Officer (CPPO) or other Purchasing certification preferred.
Preference for familiarity with MUNIS.

Responsibilities

Plans, organizes, and manages the activities of the Purchasing Department to provide a procurement process for approximately $200,000,000.00 worth of goods and services, including $106,000,000.00 of utility power/water/sanitation payments, throughout the year ensuring that purchases meet City Ordinances, State laws, Federal laws, and best practices. This duty is performed daily.
Regularly communicates and coordinates with City Departments regarding bids, projects, contract compliance, policy compliance, and all other purchasing activities. This duty is performed daily.
Communicates with vendors regarding purchasing through the City, which includes marketing offerings such as Vendor Introduction Meetings, expos, and other avenues of attracting vendors to do business with the City. This duty is performed weekly.
Reviews requisitions of all expenditures for compliance with the City Purchasing Policy and approves those over dollar amount specified by policy. This duty is performed daily.
Maintains current knowledge of new laws, best practices, and other items related to all aspects of job duties. Responsible for maintaining and updating the Purchasing Policy according to changes necessary due to process improvements or amendments and changes in applicable laws; including directing City departments about purchasing compliance and the best way to utilize quotes, bids, and cooperative contracts. This duty is performed annually.
Prepare bid documents and distributes to vendors; managing the complete procurement process, which includes, but is not limited to public notification (advertisement), responses to questions, hosting public pre-bid meetings, amendments to documents and/or timelines, hosting public bid openings, full bid evaluation and any necessary steps (including acceptance and/or rejection of bids, allowable corrections, and all other necessary processes). This duty is performed weekly.
Manages City’s IDIQ contracts to ensure compliance with monetary thresholds approved by City Council This duty is performed weekly.
Administers the City auction process and advises departments regarding the legal disposal of surplus goods. This duty is performed monthly.
Manages software implementation for any Purchasing Department related software and assists in the implementation of software for related activities, such as implementations that may be managed by the Finance Department. This is performed on an as needed basis.
Responsible for performing all Purchasing related year end close procedures in the financial software. This is performed on an annual basis.
Reviews City Council agenda items for purchasing related documentation. This duty is performed bi-weekly.
Manages and oversees the City’s online ordering memberships, and vendor portals. This includes identification, evaluation, and implementation of memberships or accounts that would improve City-wide efficiency in purchasing. This duty is performed monthly.
Supervises 1-3 Purchasing Specialists in the Purchasing Department.