Purchasing Agent - City of Birmingham
Purchasing Agent - City of Birmingham
TARGET CLOSE DATE: 04/28/2025
PAY GRADE: Grade 32
TYPE: Full time
JOB SUMMARY:
The City of Birmingham is seeking a Purchasing Agent to oversee the procurement operations ensuring all departments have timely access to the necessary products and services to maintain operational efficiency. They supervise procurement staff by assigning tasks, monitoring performance, providing training and development opportunities, delivering performance feedback, and making hiring and promotion recommendations. Their responsibilities include drafting detailed product and service specifications, preparing bid proposals, soliciting and evaluating vendor bids, negotiating contract terms and pricing, and issuing purchase orders. They establish and maintain vendor relationships to ensure competitive pricing, quality assurance, and compliance with contractual obligations. Additionally, they work closely with department heads to assess procurement needs, streamline purchasing processes, and resolve supply chain issues. Purchasing Agents also assist in managing the department’s financial operations by developing and monitoring budgets, tracking expenditures, and identifying cost-saving opportunities without compromising quality or service delivery. They ensure all procurement activities adhere to federal, state, and local purchasing regulations, policies, and ethical standards.
COMPENSATION & BENEFITS:
The City of Birmingham provides competitive pay and comprehensive benefit packages to include medical and dental insurance, employer-sponsored retirement (pension), generous paid holidays, sick and vacation leave, and more. The pay range for this job is presented below:
City of Birmingham: $80,226 - $124,467
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
The following are job-related qualifications that are required for employment consideration for this position:
* Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Accounting, Finance, Purchasing/Procurement or a closely related field of study.
* Experience in purchasing, procurement, and/or acquisition to include sourcing of materials and supplies, contract administration, negotiation, vendor management, inventory management, and implementation of cost-saving strategies.
* Experience supervising professional and clerical personnel (e.g., approving leave, counseling employees and taking disciplinary action, and conducting performance appraisals).
* Experience creating specifications and bid proposals, awarding bids and creating purchase orders.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
The following are job-related qualifications deemed desirable by the City of Birmingham. These qualifications may be considered by the city when reviewing applications and inviting candidates to participate in subsequent steps in the selection process.
* Certified Procurement Professional (CPP).
* Certified Professional Purchasing Manager (CPPM).
* Master's degree or higher in business administration, accounting or finance.
* Experience identifying diverse vendors and supply chains for procurement networks.
* Experience capturing data and conducting data analysis to produce reports summarizing departmental activities.
TYPICAL JOB DUTIES:
* Assists in directing the daily operations of the organization’s procurement activities by ensuring goods and services are procured and maximizing value from procurement activities through strategic sourcing and supplier management following established agreements, state and federal laws, and policies and procedures to support business success.
* Acts as a liaison by collaborating with other internal and external stakeholders and vendors, such as finance, legal, operations, and inventory management, to ensure alignment of procurement activities with overall business objectives and operational requirements.
* Establishes and maintains departmental policies, procedures and guidelines related to procurement activity (e.g., vendor selection, contract negotiation, purchasing processes) by reviewing and researching state and federal legislation, regulations, and guidelines to ensure compliance when creating and updating new policies and guidelines, evaluating services, and establishing procedures.
* Procures and/or manages inventory (i.e., supplies and equipment) to ensure the products and services are available to meet the operational needs of each department.
* Assists in the development and implementation of the organization’s procurement strategies by analyzing market trends, assessing supply chain risks, and identifying opportunities for cost savings, efficiency improvements, and innovation to maintain alignment with the organization’s overall objectives.
* Supervises staff by assigning and distributing work, directing staff in their job duties, monitoring progress of work, providing feedback and/or training.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS:
Job is primarily sedentary involving sitting for long periods of time, but may involve occasional walking or standing for brief periods.
WORK ENVIRONMENT:
Work is conducted almost exclusively indoors in an office setting. Work involves use of standard office equipment, such as computer, phone, copier, etc.
EEO STATEMENT:
The Personnel Board of Jefferson County provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment with the Personnel Board of Jefferson County, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training. Each Merit System member city/agency operates its own equal employment opportunity policies available on the individual city/agency website.
ACCOMMODATION:
To request an accommodation in the application or hiring process due to your own ongoing medical condition or disability, please contact our Accommodations Coordinator at accommodationrequest@pbjcal.org or phone at 205-279-3500 (select option 1) Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central Time. The accommodation process is reserved solely for job seekers with disabilities requesting accessibility assistance or accommodation in the job application process.
NOTE:
This job posting may close before, or be extended beyond, the listed Target Close Date based on the employment needs of the Merit System. More detail regarding this job is available by clicking Apply.
DISCLAIMER:
This job posting is not meant to be an all-inclusive list of the job duties, responsibilities, or skills and abilities required to do the job and may be changed at the discretion of the Personnel Board at any time.
#J-18808-Ljbffr