Purchasing Technician

Purchasing Technician

Join a talented team dedicated to providing essential services to our local community.

The City of Santa Rosa is committed to building a workforce reflective of our community and establishing a lasting culture of equity and belonging within our organization. Our collective talents and expertise contribute to high-quality public services that support a vibrant, resilient, and inclusive City for our community and visitors. We celebrate a diverse workforce and welcome all qualified candidates to apply.

The Benefits of City Employment

• A competitive total compensation package!
• Flexible schedule (9/80) available with management approval
• 12 paid holidays annually, plus 1 to 3 'floating holidays' per year, depending on start date and years of service
• $500 annually for wellness
• The City is a Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) Employer

In addition to offering a rewarding work environment, opportunity for career growth, and an excellent salary, the City of Santa Rosa provides a generous suite of benefits, including retirement through CalPERS, a competitive leave accrual package, your choice between health plans, and top of the line employer paid (free to you) vision and dental coverage.

The Position

The Purchasing & Stores Division of the Finance Department is seeking qualified applicants to apply for the position of Purchasing Technician. This is a journey level technical position responsible for performing technical purchasing related work involving customer support for all departments in the City. The work involves conducting research and making recommendations, independently performing government solicitation processes for purchasing assigned items for all departments, and performing a variety of complex technical purchasing and administrative functions.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate will have at least two (2) years of professional experience providing complex clerical or high level administrative or project implementation support, with at least one (1) year of directly related purchasing experience. Ideal candidates will also have experience creating and modifying Excel spreadsheets, utilizing databases for data entry, research and reports, and independently managing multiple, ongoing projects and tasks with competing deadlines. He or she will be skilled at explaining policies and procedures, and possess proven customer service and communication skills with both internal clients and the public. Coursework or training in public purchasing, business, marketing, or data analysis is highly desirable.

Current City Employees

City of Santa Rosa employees who are interested in transfer or promotional opportunities are encouraged to apply.

Selection Procedure

Applicants possessing the MOST DESIRABLE qualifications will be invited to continue in a selection process that may consist of an application screening/scoring, an oral board interview, and/or another activity selected by the Human Resources Department. An eligible list will be established as a result of this selection process which may be used to fill future vacancies.

Examples of Duties and Responsibilities

Essential Duties:

• Prepare and process assigned purchase requisitions
• Maintain current knowledge of trends and developments regarding governmental purchasing procedures, regulatory changes, and new technologies
• Provide analysis for pathway to procure items necessary for inventory replenishment
• Checks and reviews marketing sources and vendors to ensure most cost effective and competitive pricing for the purchase of commodities
• Accurately creates and maintains electronic and paper files and related documentation
• Bid and manage City blanket purchase orders
• Identify and contact prospective vendors to obtain price quotes and availability data
• Coordinate purchasing details with vendor, including but not limited to pricing revisions, order cancelations, discontinued items, acceptable substitutes, delivery date revisions, and invoice discrepancies
• Assist Buyers with workload by properly procuring assigned items
• Review purchase requisitions and field requisitions for accuracy, completeness and conformance with City policies
• Generate reorder report and required requisitions
• Compose memos and documentation in order to recommend or make award to most qualified vendor
• Provide analysis and combine or split orders to ensure efficiency and economy
• Generate and file departmental related reports or documents relating to the Department's purchasing function
• Track petty cash disbursements to employees and prepare pay requests
• Organize fiscal and calendar year-end inventory procedures
• Research and develop sources of supply for assigned commodities
• Prepare requests for payments against blanket purchase orders or contracts and for freight bills
• Gather data for, compose, and type various reports, business letters and memos
• Point of contact for public records request responses submitted to Purchasing
• Provide back up to Finance administration team in regard to Purchasing Division functions, including but not limited to procurement card administration, insurance documentation, routing and monitoring documents both internally and externally

Additional Duties:

• Perform general office support and reception duties for Purchasing Division
• Review, research, and provide best value sourcing in order to maximize supply levels and reorder history for items in the City warehouse and provide for reorder or to add to inventory
• Assist in analyzing and adjusting City wide procurement
• Provide training and support for City staff for field requisition and requisition entry
• Maintain vendor lists and files
• Conduct physical inventory counts
• Provide support to staff in the processing, advertising, and disposition of surplus property
• Perform related duties as assigned

Required Qualifications

Knowledge of: Principles and practices of governmental purchasing management and analysis; regulatory requirements applicable to the work; a variety of commodities used in the operations of a large, complex organization, preferably a public sector agency and the sources for such products; standard office and City purchasing policies and procedures including scheduling activities/meetings; inventory control practices and procedures; basic business data processing principles as applied to automated purchasing and inventory control record keeping systems; basic business arithmetic; advanced business writing techniques including appropriate use of English grammar, spelling and punctuation; filing and the operation of modern office equipment; computer software applications such as database, word processing and spreadsheet programs. Ability to: Understand, follow, and direct written and oral instructions; establish and maintain effective working relationships with a wide variety of people, frequently in situations requiring tact, flexibility, and patience; evaluate quality and price of products to judge suitability of goods and alternatives offered; interpret and explain City purchasing policies; make mathematical calculations accurately and rapidly including: calculate unit and aggregate prices, verify totals, calculate percentages, discounts and averages; set up and maintain accurate record keeping systems; prepare, analyze, reconcile and maintain inventory records and reports; compose correct and concise business letters and memos; prepare clear reports; solve practical operational problems; work independently and make sound judgments within established guidelines; learn automated purchasing and inventory control systems; organize work load to accomplish work within prescribed time limits; maintain attention to detail and accuracy while meeting critical deadlines; access, operate and maintain various software applications; operate basic office equipment including computer terminals, printers, copy machines, telephone systems, facsimile machines, and other digital-based equipment; develop and implement policies and procedures for the utilization of vendor catalogs, commercial registers, directories, office files and other recourses for the procurement of goods and services; gather, collate, and/or classify data utilizing multiple defined processes; performing routine-to-moderately complex mathematical computations and tabulations accurately and efficiently, as they relate to purchasing.

Experience and Education:

Any combination equivalent to experience and education that could likely provide the required knowledge and abilities would be qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be: Experience - Two (2) years of responsible clerical or administrative experience including inventory control, store keeping, which demonstrate possession of the knowledge and abilities listed above. One (1) year of directly related purchasing experience is highly desirable. Education - Equivalent to completion of the twelfth grade. College-level coursework or training in the area of Business Administration, Public Administration, Purchasing, Marketing or closely related field and/or an Associate's degree is highly desirable. License or Certificate: This classification may require the use of a vehicle while conducting City business. In order to drive, individuals must be physically capable of operating the vehicles safely and must possess a valid, Class C, California driver's license.

Additional Information

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements: Work is largely conducted in an indoor office setting and involves sitting for long periods of time with the ability to move about at will. However, an incumbent may travel outside of the office for meetings, home or business visitations, and onsite inspections that may involves walking over rough, uneven, or rocky surfaces. This position communicates with others face-to-face, by telephone, and in group settings when responding to questions, providing training or making formal presentations. An incumbent reads, comprehends, and draws inferences from written material such as government regulations, laws, codes, and ordinances; moving bid folders and contracts requires carrying object weighing up to 20 pounds long distances, the ability to bend and stoop, and lifting arms above shoulder level; incumbents