Senior Buyer

Under direction of the Procurement Manager, the Senior Buyer is responsible for preparing, administering and coordinating purchasing activities that include, but are not limited to, commodity, general supplies and services, maintenance, information technology, and professional services. Serve as primary contact and collaborate with internal North Texas Municipal Water District Departments to develop and write bid proposal packages for competitive requests for bids, requests for qualifications/proposals for professional services. Work involves preparing solicitation and contract documents in a timely manner, managing the solicitation process, facilitating contract execution, and administer contracts including ensuring compliance with contract provisions, pricing, and writing change orders and delivery orders. Provide support for agreements, including the contract close out at the end of term. Serve as an internal resource to interpret and comply with District policies and applicable laws.

1. Conducts day-to-day buying activities for assigned departments; provide advice, guidance and support on procurement plans.
2. Collaborate with internal departments to support their development of scopes of work, and create competitive bid packages, requests for qualifications/proposals for professional services; consult with requestors to clarify need and intended use of requested items/services.
3. In coordination with the Procurement Manager, determine appropriate method of procurement, analyzes, and monitors procurement contracts in accordance with established terms and conditions.
4. Evaluate requisitions for funding availability, accuracy and specific need; review scopes of work or services, researches market availability or appropriate substitutions of requested items, recommends pricing methodology.
5. Solicits bids by coordinating the bid and award process with user departments.
6. Conduct pre-bid, bid openings; document and evaluate vendor responses and prepares and distributes bid tabulations.
7. Review submittals, manage the evaluation process to support recommended vendor, analyze proposals and evaluate pricing, works with evaluation committee to recommend selected vendor to management; document the solicitation and evaluation process, statistics and conclusions.
8. Evaluates and analyzes bid responses and in conjunction with user department, formulates recommendation for bid award.
9. Identify/source prospective bidders/proposers; oversees distribution of bid/proposal documents; writes and issues addenda.
10. Prepare contracts, change orders, and related documentation, obtains required concurrence/approval signatures.
11. Maintains contract and insurance files.
12. Maintains bid and contract status reports in a timely basis.
13. Ensure compliance with government, commercial and business aspects of work (i.e. wage rates, bond and insurance requirements); in conjunction with internal department requirements, ensures adequacy of insurance coverage and continued coverage throughout the contract performance period.
14. Perform other related duties as required.

1. Knowledge of the basic principles, practices and procedures of public contract administra­tion and procurement, laws and contract funding procedures and requirements.
2. Knowledge of industry resources for determining labor, material and equipment costs and the techniques for applying the information.
3. Ability to communicate effectively and clearly, both orally and in writing and in general and technical terms, with a wide variety of professional and technical personnel.
4. Ability to interpret and use oral and written instructions in the analysis of contractor proposals and writing of change orders.
5. Ability to work independently or in a team environment based on the task or situation.
6. Ability to prepare clear and concise documents, contract clauses and changes, and correspondence.
7. Effective time manager in planning, prioritizing, and execution of contractual deadlines.
8. Attention to detail in understanding and identifying contractual and operational risk.
9. Inspires trust, confidence, dependability, and team building when communicating with internal and external customers.
10. Team player, collaborator, and able to act as the liaison between all parties.
11. Computer skills in MS Office Software.

1. Bachelor's degree in business, public administration, or other related field.
2. Three (3) years of experience in public procurement or verifiable experience equivalent to five (5) years in a position with duties closely related to those of a Senior Buyer.
3. A Professional Purchasing Certification (CPPB or CPPO), Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM) or equivalent is preferred. Must obtain certification within three (3) years of appointment.
4. Work related experience resulting in acceptable proficiency levels in the above Minimum Requirements may be an acceptable substitution for the specified education and experience requirements.
5. Possession of a valid Class C driver's license.