General Summary: Purchases material, services, supplies, equipment, construction, construction related services, and professional service required by the County. Creates and maintains bid and proposal specifications. Maintains contact with vendors, County departments and offices regarding procurement needs. Provides assistance to County Department and offices in the acquisition of their procurement needs. Acts as liaison between vendors and County department and offices. Assists the Director of Purchasing in achieving department objectives and goals. Acts as Director of Purchasing in the absence of the Director.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS, DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Prepare bid and RFP documents (i.e. bid advertisements, general terms and conditions, and addenda) for the procurement process.
Create, review and modify specifications collaboratively with departments and offices for goods and services.
Strategically source vendors for bids, RFPs and quotations for goods and services, and maintain a current bidder list.
Obtain price quotations from vendors and analyzes seller's specifications and terms to the County's for deviations.
Process requisitions and creates purchase orders in the New World System, and ensures goods and services are provided in a timely manner.
Receive and tabulate sealed bids and request for proposals.
Conduct pre-bid meetings and public bid openings.
Analyze bids and proposals for the lowest responsive and responsible vendor, and ensures that the vendors adhere to the County's bid and RFP terms.
Prepare and/or review contract agreements, certificates of insurance, bonds, purchase orders, change orders, addenda and all related bid documents.
Interface with vendors to achieve conflict resolution. Investigates claims where vendors fail to provide services or materials as specified and recommends action (i.e. penalty).
Assure that department records are maintained and that purchases are followed up or expedited when required. Department records include price histories to provide information on price variances.
Maintain up to date records on the State of Illinois contracts, and compare department and office requests to the state's contracts.
Provide training of new users of the financial system requisition, purchasing and related modules.
Perform other duties assigned by the Director of Purchasing.
Regularly meets with Director of Purchasing to review assignments in progress.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES REQUIRED:

Thorough working knowledge of purchasing procedures as established under Illinois statutes and regulations;
Considerable knowledge of the quantity and quality of the supplies and services required by a governmental agency;
Working knowledge of common business, industrial, and trade practices for regularly purchased items;
Working knowledge of supply sources;
Ability to effectively communicate, both orally and in writing, with users, suppliers, and the County Board;
Ability to organize work efficiently so as to foster productivity;
Ability to apply appropriate procedures and regulations to purchasing activities;
Proficient in the use of a personal computer including the use of Microsoft Outlook, Work, Excel, and Power Point, along with financial system software.

TRAINING, EDUCATION AND WORK EXPERIENCE:

Bachelor's degree or higher in Business Administration, Materials Management, Purchasing, or related field and six years of progressively responsible professional purchasing experience, preferably including experience as a supervisor; or an equivalent combination of training and experience that proves the required knowledge and abilities.
Preferred candidates will have certification as a Certified Professional Public Buyer or Certified Public Procurement Officer by the NIGP Certification Commission or as a Certified Purchasing Manager by the Institute for Supply Management, Inc.

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