The City of Lethbridge Purchasing Department (www.lethbridge.ca), has an exciting career-building opportunity for a Corporate Buyer to join our team of professionals in a permanent capacity. This position works closely with all City Departments in procuring and contracting a variety of goods and services; and brings solutions that add value to both the City’s inventory management capabilities, as well as for business units.

The Opportunity:

Responsibilities:

• Advising internal clients on the City’s purchasing policies and procedures

• Utilizing various procurement tools and guiding the competitive bid process

• Purchasing goods/services at the most favourable price consistent with quality, quantity and specifications requirements

• Communicating with clients/vendors on evaluation process, delivery and billing issues

• Ensuring the Corporation receives best value

• Overseeing planning and execution of all strategic sourcing strategies including RFP support, evaluation criteria development and internal business unit and external supplier communication.

• Researching broader trends, patterns, and recurrences for business partners to understand unique and repetitive procurement needs.

• Delivering sustainable value, mitigating risk, and obtaining cost efficiencies for the City, through a thorough understanding of and early engagement with business area partners, to determine requirements, identify demand opportunities, and develop and execute strategies accordingly.

• Identifying and prioritizing inventoried and non-stock goods and supply chain services, and aligning resources required to meet each business unit’s unique procurement needs.

• Developing and implementing overall strategies including strategic sourcing, contract negotiations, demand management, process improvement, and total cost of ownership models, where appropriate.

• Leading the contract scope development, evaluation, negotiation, management, and close-out to monitor performance, compliance, and progress; including all relevant communications and documentation.

• Act as the primary interface with the supplier to plan for successful contract delivery outcomes.

• Ensure compliance with all applicable Trade Agreements in Procurement and Supply Chain activities. 

Your professional skillset and experience:

• Adherence to a high standard of integrity, ethical behaviour, and respect in the workplace towards all stakeholders.

• A post-secondary degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain, Economics, Commerce, Finance, or a related discipline, complemented by:

  • Supply Chain Management Professional (SCMP) or equivalent, is preferable

  • A minimum of five (5) years diversified procurement or supply chain management experience in a centralized procurement environment, performing competitive procurement

• Specialized knowledge and experience in procurement, including public sector purchasing trade agreements, partnerships, and regulations.

  • Hands-on understanding of contract formats and contract law.

  • Additional training in financial management; public administration; government relations; project management; and/or change management would be an asset.

  • Knowledge in project management tools, operations, facility or fleet maintenance, or financial management will also be an asset.

• Successful strategic thinking skills with a results-oriented mindset and agility to successfully navigate change.

• Experience working with modern ERP’s.

• Proven planning and organizational skills to make timely decisions and manage delivery, combined with the ability to prioritize workloads and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

• Strong conflict resolution and negotiation skills for solving complex and sensitive issues.

• Advanced verbal communication and relationship skills, to successfully interact with a diverse group of executives, colleagues, staff, and suppliers.

• Effective written communication and presentation skills, including report writing.

WAGE:  $40.24 per hour

HOURS OF WORK: 75 hours bi-weekly; Monday to Friday