Purchasing Officer

Role Responsibilities

Are you a procurement professional looking for your next opportunity in the public service? Do you wish you could spread your enthusiasm for contract details and well-crafted procurement documents?

If the answer is yes, we want you to consider a career in Corporate Purchasing!

We are looking for Purchasing Officers to lead supplies procurements for all Government of Alberta (GoA) departments. These positions report to a Procurement Manager in the Corporate Purchasing unit.

As a Purchasing Officer, you will:

• Conduct open and fair procurements that comply with trade agreements, government legislation and purchasing policies.
• Work closely with client departments, developing clear and concise solicitation documents.
• Respond to enquiries from vendors and clients regarding the tendering process.
• Use the Supply Chain Management functions of the GoA’s Enterprise Resource Planning system (1GX).
• Evaluate vendor responses and prepare recommendations for contract awards.
• Proactively resolve contract issues with vendors.
• Provide direction, assistance, and consultative expertise to departments enabling them to define their requirements for tendering purposes and to purchase goods and services in accordance with the Direct Purchase Regulation (Regulation) and associated Administrative Practices (Practices) in support of enhancing customer satisfaction.
  
  

In order to be successful in this role, you must:

• Be a great communicator, who is organized and attentive to details.
• Be motivated to work independently to solve problems.
• Be comfortable balancing diverse, sometimes conflicting client needs.
• Look for ways to be a positive influence, even without positional authority.
• Be able to develop user expertise in a complex Enterprise Resource Planning IT system (1GX).
  
  

Please click on this link to view the job description for the position.

APS Competencies

Competencies are behaviors that are essential to reach our goals in serving Albertans. We encourage you to have an in depth understanding of the competencies that are required for this opportunity and to be prepared to demonstrate them during the recruitment process.

This link will assist you with understanding competencies:
https://www.alberta.ca/system/files/custom_downloaded_images/psc-alberta-public-service-competency-model.pdf.

Qualifications

The minimum recruitment standards for Purchasing Officer at Program Services 3 (PS3) classification are:

• Bachelor’s degree (4-year program) in areas including Economics, Business Administration, Supply Chain Management or any other related field PLUS 2 years of related experience in procurement.
  
  

Equivalencies to these recruitment standards are:

• Two Year diploma with a minimum four years of related experience.
• One year certificate with a minimum of five years of related experience.
• No formal education with six years of related experience.
  
  

In addition, as a Purchasing Officer, you must: 

• Have experience developing specifications for inclusion in RFx documents.
• Are familiar with the unique aspects of procurement in the public sector, including trade agreements and requirements for open, competitive tendering.
  
  

Your cover letter and resume will be used to assess your qualifications, including your written communication skills and your attention to detail.

To be considered for this competition, your application must include a cover letter and resume.

Ensure your cover letter meets all of the following criteria:

• Includes a professional salutation.
• Identifies the relevant job opportunity.
• Is concise, without spelling/grammatical errors.
• Provides specific information about the number of years of experience you have in procurement, and how many of those years involved working with clients to develop solicitation documents.
• Clearly explains why you are interested in public sector procurement.
  
  

Ensure your resume meets all of the following criteria:

• Includes starting and ending month & year of each role.
• Is concise, without spelling/grammatical errors.
• Clear, consistent layout that demonstrates your attention to detail.
• Provides information about each role, using bullet points to clarify its relevance to the requirements of this job.

Applications without a cover letter and resume that meet all of these criteria will not be considered.

The following will be considered asset:

• Professional purchasing certification (e.g. SCMP or similar).
• Experience using Ariba supply chain management software (or similar).
• Experience navigating GoA’s 1GX technology system.
• Knowledge of government policies, organizational structures and decision-making machinery.
  
  

Minimum recruitment standards outline the minimum education and experience required for appointment to a job classification. 

Refer to https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-public-service-minimum-recruitment-standards.

Notes

Review all sections of this job ad and ensure your cover letter and resume meet the listed criteria. Applications without a cover letter and resume that meet the criteria will not be considered.

Our office is located at Oxbridge Place in downtown Edmonton (9820 106 Street). There is no remote or hybrid work arrangement available.

Hours of Work are Monday to Friday, 8:15 am to 4:30 pm, with one hour lunch break. Flexible work schedules may be available on a case-by-case basis, subject to government policy and operational viability.

Please note that final candidates will be required to undergo a security screening.

Any costs associated with obtaining the required documents/checks as noted or interview travel expenses, will be the responsibility of the candidate. Out-of-province applicants can obtain the required documents/checks from the province they currently reside in.

Links and information on what the GoA has to offer to prospective employees.

• Working for the Alberta Public Service - https://www.alberta.ca/advantages- working-for-alberta-public-service.aspx.
• Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) - https://www.pspp.ca.
• Alberta Public Service Benefit Information - https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-public-service-benefits.
• Professional learning and development - https://www.alberta.ca/professional-development-support-directive.
• Research Alberta Public Service Careers tool – https://researchapscareers.alberta.ca.
• Positive workplace culture and work-life balance.