Procurement Officer - Services And Technology

Procurement Officer

Contracting and Procurement is seeking a Procurement Officer to join the Services & Technology Procurement Team responsible for leading the acquisition of services at departmental and citywide levels. This position reports to the Services & Technology Procurement Manager and has primary responsibility for providing procurement and contracting expertise, consultation, and oversight of all activities related to the acquisition of services and technology solutions for the City of Charlotte. This position is responsible for performing all aspects of complex formal procurement and contracting activities related to the acquisition of services and technology for the City of Charlotte. This includes supporting daily operations, working on the continuous improvement of processes, coordinating with the City Attorney's Office on contract and negotiation issues, and ensuring compliance requirements.

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provides strategic consultation to facilitate procurement and contracting decisions, as well as project planning and management services, requirements, specifications, and scope development for all related projects
• Lead large and complex service and technology procurement projects
• Work with operating and financial staff responsible for collecting spend data to determine need and potential economies of scale
• Review of specifications and scopes to determine effectiveness for competitive solicitation
• Development of contracts in collaboration with Legal
• Aggregation of solicitations where possible on a department wide basis
• Review of and implementation of opportunities to utilize citywide contracts and cooperative agreements that meet needs with full local, state, and federal compliance
• Ensures compliance with the City's Charlotte Business INClusion program
• Assists with Requests for Council Action (RCA) agenda process and serves as procurement subject matter expert at RCA review meetings for the services and technology procurements conducted
• Performs review and approval functions within enterprise-wide resource management systems
• Provides consultation to procurement staff and Departmental operating partners to support effective strategies in the acquisition of services
• Deals with escalated issues related to procurement protests/appeals
• Assists with policy and compliance application and monitoring
• Works collaboratively with the City Attorney's Office, the City Clerk's Office, Internal Audit, Risk Management, and Finance to ensure that all procurement activities are performed in an appropriate, legal, and accurate manner with risk properly mitigated and funding issues minimized
• Perform other related job duties as assigned

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Requires in-depth knowledge and hands-on experience with the solicitation and procurement of services and/or technology, including project management, solicitation and contract drafting, negotiation, execution, contract administration, and grant requirements.
• Ability to effectively prioritize and manage more complex or highly technical procurements, including citywide or cross-departmental projects.
• Ability to lead and facilitate special project teams and effectively manage competing priorities.
• Requires working knowledge of local, state, federal, and cooperative procurement exemptions and contracting methodologies.
• Highly motivated, seasoned professional able to function with minimal supervision and across multiple procurement disciplines, in partnership with all levels of the organization.
• Knowledge of best practices for services and technology procurements and contract administration.
• Experience negotiating business, legal, and pricing terms.
• Advanced knowledge of MS Office applications and ERP systems.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree and five to seven years of related procurement and contracting experience.
• Previous purchasing experience with a government entity and/or professional services and technology specific purchasing experience are highly desired.
• Candidates with strong understanding and experience with contract development, negotiation, and management.
• Professional certification(s) (i.e. C.C.M., CLGPO, C.P.M, CPPO, CPPB, and CLGPO) is strongly desired.

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor's Degree and three years of experience or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience that provides the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the essential job duties.

The City's Background Check Policy requires background checks to be conducted on final internal or external candidate(s) applying for any position with the City of Charlotte. The type of information that will be collected as part of a background check includes, but is not limited to: reference checks, social security verification, education verification, criminal conviction record check, and, if applicable, a credit history check, sex offender registry and motor vehicle records check. Background checks must be in compliance with all federal and state statutes, such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The checks must be consistent with the guidelines set forth by these laws requiring organizations to obtain a candidate's written authorization before obtaining a criminal background report, motor vehicle records check or credit report; and to properly store and dispose of information derived from such reports. Final candidates must pass a pre-employment drug-screening test and physical examination. During the selection process, candidates may be asked to take a skills test, and/or participate in other assessments.

The City of Charlotte is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, national origin, marital status, age, disability, sexual orientation, political affiliation or on the basis of actual or perceived gender as expressed through dress, appearance, or behavior. Our culture is to serve the community honorably.

How to Apply:

Apply online.

Federal law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. Please tell us if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job.

You are welcome to visit the City of Charlotte Human Resources Department lobby, where self-service application kiosks are available. They are located in our office at 700 East 4th Street, Suite 200, Charlotte, NC 28202. We are open Monday through Friday, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (EST), excluding official City holidays. For questions about your application or the hiring process, please email Careers@ci.charlotte.nc.us.

The City of Charlotte is committed to making our services and programs accessible to all. Upon request, auxiliary aids, written materials in alternate formats, language access, and other reasonable accommodations or modifications will be provided. To make a request, please fill out the Innovation & Technology ADA request form or call 704.336.4120.

The City of Charlotte provides a comprehensive benefits package to eligible employees. Click here to learn more about the City of Charlotte's benefits.

The City of Charlotte is a drug and alcohol-free workplace.