The Finance Department is seeking qualified and experienced candidates to apply for the position of Senior Buyer. Currently, there is one vacancy available.
This role is a key member of the Finance team and is responsible for providing professional purchasing leadership across all city departments. The Senior Buyer plays a vital role in ensuring efficient, transparent, and strategic procurement practices that support city operations.
The ideal candidate will demonstrate and promote the city’s core values: accountability, collaboration, trust, innovation, and service excellence.
Summary of Duties: Under general supervision and within general legal and procedural guidelines, purchases a variety of materials, supplies, equipment, and services for use by all City departments; develops sources of supplies; prepares requests for proposal for complex, large-scale and/or difficult to obtain items.
Distinguishing Characteristics: This is the senior level in this technical purchasing series, performing the most complex and technical purchasing and expediting activities.
Supervision Received and Exercised:Receives general direction from the Department Director or designee. Exercises direct and indirect supervision over lower-level technical and supporting personnel.
- Confers with City department personnel and vendors to process complex purchasing transactions in compliance with established laws, ordinances, policies and ethical principles
- Purchases products and services to maximize savings by determining appropriate methods of procurement, i.e. bid or negotiation, volume purchase, based on available competition and/or complexity of services, and Purchasing Policy
- Develops specifications, terms and conditions; solicits competitive bids and proposals; evaluates and analyzes bids and proposals; awards bids within established guidelines
- Identifies and selects suppliers and monitors performance of suppliers
- Expedites and coordinates deliveries and conducts follow-up procedures when necessary
- Reviews all departmental requests for equipment included in the Annual Operating Budget and six-year Capital Improvement Program
- Pursues cooperative agreements with State of California and other government agencies to obtain cost savings for the City and where appropriate, make these agreements available for use by each City department
- Reviews and approves purchase orders and change order requests; assists departments to resolve purchase order and contract differences or quality problems with suppliers when necessary
- Provides professional procurement consultation, assistance and training to City staff at all organizational levels
- Prepares detailed and complex written purchasing related reports and makes recommendations to management and City Council
- Prepares and manages the purchasing division’s budget
- Participates in the development of Citywide purchasing policies and procedures; recommends and implements policies and procedures
- Keeps informed of new products and market trends
- Supervises the preparation of surplus or obsolete items for City sale, auction or disposition as needed.
- Supervises, schedules, trains and evaluates supporting staff; recommends the selection, promotion, and discipline of Division employees
- Promote and maintain safety in the workplace
- Perform other duties as assigned
Knowledge of:
- Public purchasing methods and procedures, particularly in the area of services, sources of supplies, market and economic trends and conditions that affect procurement
- Industry standards and practices for delivering products and services
- Contract development and administration
- Competitive bidding and legal requirements
- Federal, State and municipal purchasing laws and procedures
- Storekeeping and warehouse methods and practice including inventory control procedures
- Principles of supervision, training and performance evaluations
- Computer and automated purchasing systems
Ability to:
- Apply good judgment and make sound purchasing decisions. Interpret laws, policies, procedures and regulations
- Identify potential sources and evaluate their financial stability and performance capabilities
- Establish and maintain effective working relationships with suppliers and City officials and staff at all levels
- Follow complex written or verbal instructions and procedures
- Communicate clearly and concisely, orally and in writing
- Maintain records, logs and databases. Make mathematical calculations, use computer word-processing, spreadsheet and purchasing software to prepare reports and maintain purchasing records, transactions and data
- Work with frequent interruptions
- Supervise, train, and evaluate technical and clerical staff members
- Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of the work.
- Instruct others in work procedures and provide lead direction in specified areas
- Promote the mission, values and standards of an effective public organization, particularly in the area of customer service
Education and Experience:
Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in business, public administration, marketing or related field; and two (2) years of journey-level purchasing experience involving competitive bidding and the development of contracts, service agreements, leases, or other purchasing documents or
Associate’s degree or completed 60 semester units at an accredited college or university in business administration or related field; and four (4) years of journey-level purchasing experience involving competitive bidding and the development of contracts, service agreements, leases, or other purchasing documents or
High school diploma/G.E.D. and six (6) years of journey-level purchasing experience involving competitive bidding and the development of contracts, service agreements, leases, or other purchasing documents.
(The selected applicant will be required to present official proof of education upon the background process.)
Physical Demands and Working Conditions: Physical, mental and emotional stamina to perform the duties and responsibilities of the position; manual dexterity sufficient to write, use telephone, computers, business machines and related equipment; vision sufficient to read printed materials, visual display terminals, fine print on product labels; hearing sufficient to conduct in person and telephone conversations; speaking ability in an understandable voice with sufficient volume to be heard in a normal conversational distance, on the telephone and in addressing groups; physical agility to push/pull, squat, twist, turn, bend, stoop and reach overhead; physical mobility sufficient to move about the work environment, physical strength to lift up to 40 lbs.; physical stamina sufficient to sit for prolonged periods of time; mental acuity to collect and interpret data, evaluate, reason, define problems, establish facts, draw valid conclusions, make valid judgments and decisions. Business office working environment subject to sitting at a desk or standing at a counter for long periods of time, bending, crouching, or kneeling at files, pushing/pulling of file drawers and supplies, reaching in all directions and prolonged periods of time working at a computer terminal.
Employee must complete SB 1343 Sexual Harassment Prevention Training within six months of appointment and every two years thereafter.
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed and are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills which may be required.
Our values in action:A- Accountability - Own the outcome: We individually follow through on commitments, make data-informed decisions, and proactively step in to get things done.
C- Collaboration - Better together: We unite ideas, resources and efforts with internal and external partners to deliver exceptional services.
T- Trust - Earned through action: We foster strong lasting community partnerships with integrity, transparency, and consistent results.
IN- Innovation - Seek, create, explore: We embrace bold ideas and new technology that improve public service, efficiency and effectiveness.
Service Excellence- Anticipate, respond, and deliver: We commit to provide high quality effective service to all.
For questions, please contact Sylvia Enriquez, Human Resources Manager, at (831) 758-7259 or sylvia.enriquez@salinas.gov
