BUYER III

SUMMARY
Under general supervision, the Buyer III executes a diverse range of functions within the public procurement lifecycle. This role is primarily responsible for the preparation, negotiation, and administration of municipal leases, service agreements, and formal contracts for the City of Amarillo Purchasing Department. This role also actively prepares, manages, and awards bid for various goods/services. The incumbent supports the Senior Buyer in performing foundational professional purchasing duties, ensuring all acquisitions aligning with departmental standards and statutory requirements. Key responsibilities include managing the competitive bidding process, evaluating vendor performance, providing technical training to end-users, and executing strategic assignments as directed by the Purchasing Agent.
 

Key Responsibilities

• Procurement Support: Facilitates the formal bid process and assists in the acquisition of goods and services utilizing various procurement methods, i.e. bids, purchase orders, and/or cooperative purchasing.
• Contract Management: Drafts, reviews, and administers legally binding leases and agreements to protect the City’s interests.
• Vendor Relations: Conducts objective vendor evaluations and maintains professional partnerships to ensure service quality.
• Operational Training: Serves as a resource for internal departments by providing training on procurement software, policies, and best practices.
• Compliance: Ensures all purchasing activities adhere to local, state, and federal regulations.
• Change Orders: Oversees and administers requested change orders for purchases.

Degree of Supervision
General Supervision: The employee operates with a degree of independence, performing routine assignments based on established procedures. Work is periodically reviewed for technical accuracy, compliance with policy, and achievement of desired results. Only unusual cases or significant deviations from standard practice are referred to a supervisor for a final decision.

Essential Responsibilities

• Proactive Renewals: Manages a portfolio of 100+ agreements, initiating the solicitation process 90 to 120 days prior to expiration to ensure a new contract is active at least 30 days before the current term ends.
• Solicitation Development: Facilitates pre-bid and pre-specification meetings; reviews comprehensive specifications, and special terms and conditions.
• Documentation & Compliance: Prepares all formal bid documents and ensures all procurement activities meet statutory and legal mandates.
• Bid Management: Executes the competitive bidding process, including vendor selection and providing data-driven insights to support award recommendations.
• Post-Award Administration: Coordinates the formal approval of awards and issues purchase orders, contracts, or letters of intent based on the authorized expenditure level.
• Change Management: Processes all requests for contract amendments, renewals, change orders, and price escalations for final approval by the Purchasing Agent.
• Financial Tracking: Establishes and monitors work orders to track contract expenditure, ensuring spending remains within budgetary and contractual limits.
• Collaborates with and executes specialized purchasing activities as delegated by the Purchasing Agent, Assistant Purchasing Agent, or Senior Buyer.
• Assists with routine requisitions and purchase orders for the purchase of non-bid goods/services.
   

Minimum Requirements

• Municipal Procurement Excellence: Proven track record executing competitive bidding processes (RFPs, RFQs, and ITBs) and managing vendor performance to support municipal operations.
• Regulatory Knowledge: Strong foundational understanding of City Purchasing policies as well as local and state government codes.
• Project & Deadline Management: Expertly manages a diverse portfolio of projects within a high-volume environment. Committed to meeting strict operational deadlines, including the flexibility to support peak procurement cycles and high-priority bid closings.
• Operational Agility: Maintains high accuracy and productivity while navigating frequent task-switching and multi-channel inquiries (digital, telephonic, and in-person) from internal and external stakeholders.
• Administrative & Technical Proficiency: Skilled in drafting contracts, agreements, and technical reports; experienced in maintaining complex filing systems and fostering collaborative relationships with City staff and the public.
• Education/Experience: Minimum of two years of college-level purchasing training and/or three (3) years of professional purchasing experience preferred.
• Licensing: Must possess a current Texas driver’s license with the ability to operate a motor vehicle.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Digital Literacy: High proficiency in the Microsoft 365 Suite, specifically leveraging Excel for data tracking, Word for contract drafting, and Outlook for professional communication and calendar management.
• Information Management: Skilled in document digitization and electronic filing; responsible for converting physical records into high-quality digital assets for integration into Document Management Systems (DMS).
• Systems & Software: Ability to quickly adapt to specialized procurement software and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.
• Office Technology: Operation of multi-function peripheral (MFP) devices—including high-volume scanning, digital distribution, and secure printing—along with standard business tools for financial calculations and multi-line communication systems.

ADA Profile
Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position. While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is required to exert up to 100 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 50 pounds of force frequently, and/or up to 20 pounds of force constantly to move objects. The employee is also required to balance, crouch, feel, finger, handle, pull, push, reach, speak, stand, stoop, talk, see, and walk. Also requires the ability to make rational decisions and preform repetitive motions.

Work Environment
Adaptive Mobility: Position requires a balance of sedentary work and physical activity; must be able to remain in a stationary position for extended periods of analytical work while maintaining the mobility to traverse office facilities and attend on-site meetings.

Physical Exertion:

Ability to occasionally lift, carry, and position office supplies or procurement records weighing up to 25 lbs.
Ergonomic Stamina: Constantly operates a computer and other office productivity machinery, requiring manual dexterity and sustained visual attention to detail.

The City of Amarillo is an Equal Opportunity employer and encourages applications from eligible and qualified persons regardless of race, color, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, age, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, familial status, disability, genetic information or protected veteran status, in compliance with applicable federal, state and local law.

The City of Amarillo provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities on a case by case basis. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process, please contact the Human Resources Office at 806-378-4294.