Assistant Director, Purchasing – Procurements and Solicitations

Assistant Director, Purchasing – Procurements and Solicitations
The University of Illinois Chicago seeks an Assistant Director for its Purchasing Department with hands-on knowledge of State procurement and competitive solicitation processes.

Job Summary
This position reports to the Executive Director, UIC Purchasing, and is responsible for the competent direction of procurement activities to ensure operational needs are met and conducted in compliance with state procurement code and rules promulgated by the State of Illinois Chief Procurement Officer for Higher Education, University guidelines/regulations and established departmental policies and procedures. The Assistant Director works to improve overall service to the university community through timely completion of projects, monitoring staff workload and task progress, anticipating customer needs and assisting in the planning of large, complex procurements. Champions UIC Purchasing’s core value of providing excellent customer service. This position provides collaborative leadership, training and supervision of assigned UIC Purchasing staff to assure assignments are completed in a competent and timely manner. Fosters an environment of best business practices, sound fiscal management, and risk mitigation to protect institutional resources.

Job Responsibilities
• Interprets and administers State and University procurement regulations, rules and policies. Responsible for assuring all requirements of the Illinois state procurement code, including rules promulgated by the Chief Procurement Office for Higher Education are followed, specifically for the solicitation of large purchases using both the request for proposal and competitive sealed bids methodologies for procurements in excess of $100,000.
• As a member of the senior leadership team, assists in planning departmental activities and is a key strategic advisor to the Executive Director. This includes developing and implementing effective strategies related to successfully integrate short- and long-term departmental objectives and goals and to ensure that available resources are being effectively maximized.
• Develops and implements procurement negotiation strategies that effectively yield cost savings and promote fiscal practices that align with University and departmental budget goals.
• Manages a team of purchasing professionals to assure competitive solicitations are developed to both comply with state laws while meeting university needs. This includes defining accurate and fair specifications to promote competition and comprehensive scopes of work, including appropriate evaluation criteria for requests for proposals.
• Assures procurement documents are accurate and complete and that all procurement laws, regulations and policies are followed. Fulfills all requirements of posting, evaluating, and recommending awards of competitive procurements in a precise and timely manner.
• In addition to identifying customer needs, anticipates pitfalls and omissions and recommends appropriate changes that the customer may not foresee. This position oversees the most complex procurements and may interface with University senior management to facilitate such procurements.
• Manages and oversees development and implementation of new and/or revised procedures, and participates in strategic activities related to procurement processes, to improve overall proficiency and benefit UIC, identify issues that require immediate addressing to avert potential problematic situations, and to administer related activities in compliance with State laws, administrative rules, and University policies and guidelines.
• Recruits, trains, evaluates, provides regular feedback and coaching to staff to assure staff are performing in compliance with procurement requirements and other departmental standards.
• Provides guidance to Purchasing employees and client departments regarding purchasing standard procedures. Develops and delivers training and presentations on procurement topics to purchasing staff and client departments to ensure consistency and compliance in procurement processes.
• Develops and prepare productivity reports for administrative review; performs research associated with market trends of commodities and services and meets with vendors to obtain information regarding products and service offerings, as appropriate and in compliance with procurement rules; maintains appropriate documentation of the procurement process and ensures rules, regulations; develops, maintains and implements procurement templates to improve efficiencies in the procurement process.
• This is a summary of Essential Duties of the position. The incumbent will be expected to perform other related duties and participate in special projects as assigned.

Job Knowledge & Skills, Education, Experience
A minimum of a Bachelor’s degree required; in Business Administration, Public Administration, or related field preferred.

Certifications preferred: CPPO, CPPB or CPM certification. However, will be required to obtain certification within a reasonable period after starting this position.

Minimum of seven years of experience in public procurement, at least two in a management role.

Considerable knowledge about competitive solicitation processes and requirements; State laws and University procedures related to procurement; contract development and legal aspects of contracts; or similar complex rules and regulations.

Strong interpersonal skills that reflect courtesy, diplomacy, and a collaborative approach to establish and maintain effective working relationships with various stakeholders, including but not limited to university departments/units, vendors, public entities, state procurement officers, University Legal Counsel, and others to effectively resolve issues; demonstrate good customer service skills.

Significant knowledge and practical experience with solicitation and specification writing. Ability to evaluate proposals, exercise independent judgment and discretion to handle full review and processing of competitive solicitations and resultant contracts.

Experience in financial analysis and audit matters including interfacing with and responding to internal and external audits, FOIA requests, bid protests, and resolution of conflicts of interest.

Ability to establish objectives, implement procedures, and develop methods to measure effectiveness of results obtained; ability to supervise.

Ability to analyze situations, work with and render advice and assistance to staff, customers and vendors in resolving procurement matters and recommend solutions to problems.

Ability to prioritize and work on multiple comprehensive projects concurrently. Excellent oral, written communication and presentation skills.

Exceptional organizational and analytical skills with attention to detail.

Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications such as Word, Excel and Outlook.

Experience working with an enterprise-wide procurement application system.

Preferred:
Knowledge and proficiency with Jaggaer and Banner eProcurement systems.

Experience working in a university and or public sector organization following the state of Illinois procurement code or similar public sector procurement laws.

Working Conditions
General office environment. Regular travel not expected but may occur occasionally around previously scheduled events. Requires work in a stationary position for extended periods of time and operation of computer and other office equipment.

For fullest consideration, please apply at https://jobs.uic.edu and include a letter of interest, current resume and the contact information for up to three professional references by 02/23/2021. Please make sure to fully complete the application and also please include all applicable documentation i.e., resume, transcripts, licenses, and certifications.

The University of Illinois at Chicago is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action employer. Minorities, women, veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Offers of employment by the University of Illinois may be subject to approval by the University’s Board of Trustees and are made contingent upon the candidate’s successful completion of any criminal background checks and other pre-employment assessments that may be required for the position being offered. Additional information regarding such pre-employment checks and assessments may be provided as applicable during the hiring process. The University of Illinois System requires candidates selected for hire to disclose any documented finding of sexual misconduct or sexual harassment and to authorize inquiries to current and former employers regarding findings of sexual misconduct or sexual harassment. For more information, Visit https://www.hr.uillinois.edu/cms/One.aspx?portalId=4292&pageId=1411899

For more information, please contact:
Tracy Rogers
tlrogers@uillinois.edu