Senior Buyer - (Contracts Manager) Harris Health Medical (Hybrid Office / Remote)

Salary: $66,289.00 - $107,328.00 Annually
Location : Houston, TX
Job Type: Regular Full-time
Job Number: 14706
Department: Purchasing Department
Opening Date: 03/18/2025
Closing Date: 4/18/2025 11:59 PM Central
Max Number of Applicants: 250

Position Description
About Harris County Purchasing Department:

Accountability, Ethics, Impartiality, Professionalism, Service, Transparency

The Purchasing Department is created for the purpose of providing a "checks and balances" system for expenditure of public funds. The Purchasing Department strives to maintain consistent and open communication with the vendor community and the various supported County departments and agencies.

Every effort is made to operate in an efficient and economical manner consistent with existing laws and sound business practices.
What you will do at Harris County Purchasing Department:

Under limited supervision and guidance, the Senior Buyer purchases goods and services using the competitive bid/proposal/ qualifications procedure for assigned commodities for procurements over $50,000 and coordinates the preparation and execution of agreements. The Senior Buyer generates specifications, evaluates bids/RFP/RFQ responses, and prepares award recommendations. The Senior Buyer is knowledgeable of all rules and regulations governing each purchasing process utilized by Harris County.

Essential Functions and Duties:

• Prepares specifications describing product/service requirements with limited supervision.
• Manages assigned projects through the appropriate procurement process and processes purchase orders and addenda for assigned projects.
• Evaluates bid/RFP/RFQ responses and participates in the evaluation committee process.
• Prepares clear and concise award recommendation letters for Commissioners Court or other governing body for Purchasing Agent signature.
• Coordinates and expedites preparation and execution of agreements with the County Attorney, department, and vendors.
• Assists Buyers with procedural questions.
• Advises end users of procurement options available, product availability and marketplace changes relating to their requirements.
• Liaisons between departments and vendors which includes monitoring contracts, collaborating with departments and vendors to resolve performance issues, maintaining updated vendor files that includes documentation of supplier performance, and conducting department or vendor site visits as needed.

Harris County is an Equal Opportunity Employer
https://hrrm.harriscountytx.gov/Pages/EqualEmploymentOpportunityPlan.aspx
If you need special services or accommodations, please call (713) 274-5445 or email

This position is subject to a criminal history check. Only relevant convictions will be considered and, even when considered, may not automatically disqualify the candidate

Requirements
Education & Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in directly related field from an accredited college or university
• Three (3) years of related procurement/purchasing experience

OR:

• Seven (7) years of related procurement/purchasing experience

Knowledge Skills, and Abilities:

• Thorough knowledge of all rules and regulations governing each informal and formal purchasing processes utilized by Harris County.
• Ability to manage complex projects with limited supervision.
• Excellent planning, time-management, and organization skills
• Ability to manage and prioritize work to meet deadlines.
• Ability to self-motivate and take initiative.
• Results-driven and detail-oriented.
• Excellent communication skills verbal and written; strong, active listening skills.
• Excellent interaction skills: ability to interact assertively and effectively with a wide variety of people and personalities.
• Negotiation skills to communicate effectively with clients and suppliers
• Ability to work in a team environment to solve problems/issues.
• Ability to adapt and be flexible to respond to changing work situations and environments.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Word, Excel, and Outlook

NOTE: Qualifying education, experience, knowledge, and skills must be documented on your job application. You may attach a resume to the application as supporting documentation but ONLY information stated on the application will be used for consideration. "See Resume" will not be accepted for qualifications.

Preferences
Experience:

• Three (3)+ years extensive purchasing experience in government procurement (preferred)

Licensure:

• Certified Public Procurement Officer (CPPO),
  NIGP - CPP Certification (preferred)
• Certified Professional Contracts Professional (CPCM) (preferred)

General Information
Position Type, Hours and Salary:

• Regular | Full-Time
• Monday - Friday from 8 am to 5 pm | 40 hours per week
• Flexible work schedule (Hybrid Office / Remote)

Location:

• Harris Health Office Building - 4800 Fournace Place, W516 - 5th Floor, Bellaire, TX 77401

Reporting Relationships:

• Reports To Position: Assistant Purchasing Agent
  Works With: Professional/supervisory levels of other departments and vendor community
  Supervises Positions: Professional and support staff as required

Physical Demands and Environmental Exposure:

• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions:
  • This position is based in an office environment, where the use of standard office equipment such as computers, phones, scanners, and filing cabinets is routine.
  • The physical demands associated with this job are minimal, with occasional lifting and moving of objects weighing up to 10 pounds.
  • The role is predominantly sedentary, involving mainly sitting with occasional standing and walking.

Employment may be contingent on passing a drug screen and meeting other standards.

Due to a high volume of applications positions may close prior to the advertised closing date or at the discretion of the Hiring Department.
BENEFITS

Harris County offers a competitive benefits program, including comprehensive group health and related benefits plan as well as defined benefit retirement plan.
The following list of benefits is offered only to employees in regular (full-time) positions:

• Medical Coverage
• Dental Coverage
• Vision Coverage
• Wellness Plan
• Life Insurance
• Long-term disability
• Employee Assistance Program
• Ten (10) days of vacation each year for the first five (5) years of service
  • Accrual rates increase based on years of service
• Eleven (11) County-observed holidays and one (1) floating holiday
• Professional development opportunities
• Dependent Care Reimbursement Plan
• Healthcare Reimbursement Account
• 457 Deferred Compensation Plan

The following benefits are also available to regular (full-time) employment and may be available to part-time employees:

• Retirement Pension (TCDRS)
• Flexible schedule (varies by department)
• Transportation Assistance (Metro RideSponsor Program)

In accordance with the Harris County Personnel Regulations, Group Health and related benefits are subject to amendment or discontinuance at any time. Commissioners Court reserves the right to make benefit modifications on the County's behalf as needed.
For plan details, visit the Harris County benefits website:
01

Which of the following best describes your highest level of education completed as it relates to this position?

• High School or GED diploma
• Associate Degree
• Bachelor's Degree
• Master's Degree or higher
• None of the above

02

Which of the following professional licensure/certification do you currently hold?(Select all that apply.)

• Certified Public Procurement Officer (CPPO)
• NIGP - CPP Certification
• Certified Professional Contracts Professional (CPCM)
• Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM)
• Other professional procurement certification/designation
• None of the above

03

Which of the following best describes your verifiable related procurement/purchasing progressive experience?(To be considered, qualifying experience must be documented in your application's employment history)

• Less than three (3) years
• Three (3) years or more but less than four (4) years
• Four (4) years or more but less than five (5) years
• Five (5) years or more but less than six (6) years
• Six (6) years or more but less than seven (7) years
• Seven (7) years or more
• I do not have this experience

04

Please provide details about your related procurement/purchasing progressive experience.*** Do not use "See Resume", as we do not use resumes to assess qualifications.***(To be considered, qualifying experience must be documented in your application's employment history)Include your (a) role(s), (b) types of organizations, (c) scope of duties and responsibilities.If you do not have this experience, please type "None" in the space provided.
05

Which of the following best describes your verifiable purchasing experience in government procurement?(To be considered, qualifying experience must be documented in your application's employment history)

• Less than three (3) years
• Three (3) years or more but less than four (4) years
• Four (4) years or more but less than five (5) years
• Five (5) years or more but less than six (6) years
• Six (6) years or more
• I do not have this experience

06

Please provide details about your verifiable purchasing experience in government procurement.*** Do not use "See Resume", as we do not use resumes to assess qualifications.***(To be considered, qualifying experience must be documented in your application's employment history)Include your (a) role(s), (b) types of organizations, (c) scope of duties and responsibilities.If you do not have this experience, please type "None" in the space provided.
07

Which of the following describes your level of proficiency using a personal computer and common office software such as MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook). Please select your level of proficiency based on the following descriptions:Advanced:A person with this level of skills is able to produce very large, complex formal documents that require a table of contents, footnotes, endnotes, bookmarks, and other special elements; a wide range of graphic effects, and use advanced techniques for analyzing and manipulating data. Has full mastery of Macro commands and skills to tie the objects together into a cohesive system by using Macros and Visual Basic for Applications code. Makes interactive presentations by using hyperlinks and action buttons.Intermediate:A person with this level of skills is able to customize toolbars, import and insert graphs, embed Excel data, and elaborate reports. Understands the concepts of databases and is able to work with charts and to use the list management capabilities of Excel. Able to use complex query techniques, create efficient forms and reports, and create Macros to automate these forms. Makes interactive presentations by using hyperlinks and action buttons.Basic:A person with this level of skills is able to use basic formatting, editing, printing functions, and understands the document page setup. Has the ability to enter and correct data, modify a workbook, format a worksheet, and use printing functions. Understands the different database concepts and structures and is familiar with data validation and is able to create a simple presentation in PowerPoint, run it, and print it.Entry Level:A person with this level of skills has the ability to open, create, save and modify documents in Word, send and receive email in Outlook and create spreadsheets in Excel. Format documents for printing, comfortable using the printer menu to preview documents. Has ability to change the font, the margins, insert or delete pages and use the built-in spellchecker and grammar check.

• Advanced
• Intermediate
• Basic
• Entry Level
• Not proficient

Required Question