Construction Purchasing Agent Jobs in Florida (NOW HIRING)

The City of Lake Worth Beach invites qualified individuals to apply for the position of Purchasing Agent – Federal Grants. 

This is a Full-Time, Non-Exempt Non-Bargaining position based on a 40-hour work week with an hourly range of $32.34 - $43.53. The individual in this position will work in the City Hall Building located at 7 North Dixie Highway, Lake Worth Beach, FL 33460. 

 In addition, this position offers:

• Vacation and Sick Leave Accruals
• 13 Paid Holidays
• 3 Floating Holidays
• City of Lake Worth Beach Medical Benefits that include Life Insurance, Dental and Vision coverage
• Retirement Plan

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office has selected the City of Lake Worth Beach for investment via the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) program to enhance grid flexibility, install more than 60 reclosers and other sectionalizing devices to autonomously rebalance the electrical system, improve resiliency in preparation to integrate battery energy storage (BES) for new fiber optics connections, install advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), and deploy a meter data management (MDM) system.

JOB SUMMARY: 

Reporting to the Assistant Finance Director – Purchasing, the Purchasing Agent – Federal Grants serves as the central hub for purchasing and procurement activities related to the Department of Energy Topic Area 2: Smart Grid Grants project grant award. The Procurement Specialist will oversee the purchasing and reporting activities for the City of Lake Worth Beach GRIP grant award.
 

This role plays a critical part in securing, administering, and monitoring purchasing and contracting related to the Grid Resilience Infrastructure Partners (GRIP) grant, providing data necessary for the Federal Accountability and Reporting Compliance (FARC) reporting, as required by the Department of Energy, and maintaining the city's GRIP grant procurement checklist.

All candidates must be United States citizens. 

• This position requires Monday through Friday in person presence in the office. Remote work is not permitted for this position.

Positions covered under this GRIP Grant will expire / terminate in accordance with the grant’s timeline: this position will expire on the same date that the grant expires. 

Employee will be required to work in two different offices during the work week (City’s Finance Department and Electric Utilities). 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

Essential functions, as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act, may include the following tasks, knowledge, skills, and other characteristics. This list is illustrative only and is not a comprehensive listing of all functions and tasks performed by incumbents of this class. Specific duties and responsibilities may vary depending on department or program needs without changing the general nature and scope of the job or level of responsibility. Employees may also perform related work as required.

• Ensures adherence to City policies, standards, procedures, and other relevant governmental regulations, including compliance with Federal Acquisition Regulation, 2 C.F.R. Part 200 (Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards.) 
• Processes purchase requisitions and issues Purchase Orders; verifies available funding via the approved budget, and utilizes procurement process in compliance with Federal, State and City procurement regulations.
• Develops and researches specifications, reviews specifications for clarity, compliance with Grid Resilience Infrastructure Partners (GRIP) grant.
• Develops and processes invitation for bids, request for proposals, requests for qualifications, quotations and compliance checklists; 
• Solicits, receives, and analyzes competitive bids, request for proposals, request for qualifications and quotations; 
• Develops council recommendation letters for award and monitors vendor performance and assists the departments in contract management. 
• Develops and drafts various contract documents, in conjunction with departments, management and the legal department, for the acquisition of goods and services and construction projects; 
• Conducts bid openings, pre-bids and other meetings in accordance with the Sunshine law; 
• Act as chairperson for procurement selection committees and assist Department in contract negotiations; 
• Researches a variety of sources, documents, etc. to ensure adequacy of specification in terms of clarity, precision, and related criteria. 
• Meets and confers with department representatives regarding the preparation for bid packages, bid analysis, evaluation, and award; 
• Track modifications, performance monitoring, and GRIP grant procurement requirements.
• Leads reporting for all procurement and purchasing activities as required by the GRIP Grant.
• Manage communication with procurement and grant officials on behalf of the City in regards to procurement activities.
• Maintain accurate procurement records, grant documentation, and ensure compliance with federal reporting requirements.
• Ensure all purchasing activities follow GRIP grant guidelines, including regulatory and technical compliance.
• Works in coordination with Warehouse to assist in tracking of all inventory in accordance with the guidelines provided by the Federal grant.
• Assists assigned departments with purchasing activities and performs purchasing activities as needed; 
• Seeks new methods and practices to improve operational efficiency and effectiveness; 
• Issue purchase orders or contracts as applicable after award approval; 
• Keeps abreast of changes in policies, regulations and directives to determine effect on overall operations; 
• Provide training and develop solutions to contractual problems; 
• Develop plans for the accomplishment of assigned functions to meet priorities, deadlines and implementation of goals established by management.
• The examples of essential functions as listed in this classification specification are not necessarily descriptive of any one position in the class. The omission of an essential function of work does not preclude management from assigning duties not listed herein if such functions are a logical assignment to the position.

SUPERVISION: This role has no supervisory responsibilities.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

• Able to exercise discretion and judgment in performing the procurement function; 
• Knowledge of business methods, markets, and purchasing practices; 
• Advanced knowledge of the federal, state and local laws relating to public purchasing;
• Advanced knowledge of Federal Acquisition Regulation, 2 C.F.R. Part 200 (Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards)
• Ability to write clear and concise specifications. 
• Knowledge of various grades and qualities of a variety of materials, supplies and equipment;
• Knowledge of standard office procedures, practices and equipment; ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with City officials, vendors, and the general public; 
• Ability to express ideas clearly and concisely both orally and in written form; 
• Ability to handle multiple tasks and prioritize workload; 
• Thorough knowledge and ability to use Microsoft Word, Excel & Outlook and ability to learn and effectively utilize the City financial software (SunGard).

QUALIFICATIONS: 

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

Graduation from an accredited college or university with major course work in business administration, contract management, purchasing or related field and a minimum of five (5) years of experience in the procurement of materials, equipment, supplies, contract development and administration preferably in government organizations. A minimum of three (3) years of experience as a procurement professional working in Federal government or municipality with direct involvement in procurement handing federal government grants is required. 

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS: 

• Current State of Florida driver’s license.
• NIGP CPPB Certification or NIGP designation of Public Procurement Associate (or higher designation) is required or must be obtained within 12 months of employment. 

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

Tasks may involve extended periods of time at a keyboard or workstation and extended periods of time standing and/or walking.

SENSORY REQUIREMENTS:

Some tasks require manual dexterity, in addition to visual and hearing acuity. Some tasks may involve identifying and distinguishing colors. Some tasks require the ability to perceive and discriminate visual cues or signals. Some tasks require the ability to communicate orally and in writing.

All full-time employees are considered critical in response to emergency situations and may be deemed essential as needed depending on the situation.

Employees in this position will be required to complete the FEMA Incident Command System (ICS) Certification Levels 100, 200, 700 and 800 within the first six months of employment. Certain positions may be required to attain additional ICS training as needed.

The job description does not constitute an employment agreement between the City of Lake Worth Beach and the employee and is subject to change by the employer as the needs of the employer and requirements of the job change.

The City of Lake Worth Beach is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In compliance with United States Equal Employment Opportunity guidelines and the Americans with Disabilities Act, this organization provides reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities and encourages both prospective and current employees to discuss potential accommodations with the employer.

Applicants for positions with the City of Lake Worth Beach should know and be aware of the following: 

Applicants for employment who become candidates for available employment positions should note employment is contingent upon satisfactory completion of all reference checks and pre-employment physical satisfaction. Upon request, information on the nature and scope of an inquiry will be provided under FS 119.

Furthermore, some of the job classifications within the City of Lake Worth Beach workforce are covered by Collective Bargaining Agreements with a union. Consistent with Chapter 447 of the Florida Statutes, a bargaining unit employee has the right to join or not join the union. However, the Union is not obligated to represent a non-member.