The City of Oakland is an equal opportunity employer that values workforce diversity, inclusion, and equity. Oakland has a long history of activism around issues of justice and equity. Both oppression and this resistance to oppression have shaped the city’s historical roots and the lives of its residents to this day. As public servants in one of the most diverse cities in the nation, we strive to develop employees who understand the harm and impacts of systemic inequity to create lasting, meaningful outcomes for everyone. Oakland strives to establish an environment that embraces the richness of culture, community, and individualism of employees.

Why join the City of Oakland Finance Department?
The Finance Department | Controller’s Bureau provides a range of financial services citywide including maintenance of the City’s financial accounts, preparation of mandated financial reports, issuance of citywide payments, and procurement and contract administration for professional services. The Purchasing Supervisor is a new position that will lead the procurement and contract activities citywide. The successful candidate will supervise a team of professionals, lead the procure to pay lifecycle, provide consultation and advising services to department directors and other City leaders, manage special projects & reporting functions, and serve as a leader for the Finance Department.

We are looking for someone who is:

A collaborative leader. Your leadership of diverse teams & projects will influence positive change management activities in the pursuit of citywide goals and system enhancements.
A relationship builder. You will establish rapport & nurture mutually productive relationships.
A technical expert in government procurement. You are an experienced government procurement professional and are able to understand and interpret applicable rules and regulations.
A problem-solver. You can identify problems that need resolution and have the skills and tenacity to address and resolve timely.
Innovation-centric. You will identify and analyze problems to find new, innovative, and creative approaches to do things better.
A skilled communicator. You will be expected to develop & deliver written content/reports, facilitate outreach, and present training materials.
Committed to public service. You take pride in serving the public and leading public servants.

What you will typically be responsible for:

Supervising a team that oversees the City of Oakland’s procurement and contract activities.
Leading change management activities to support and meet milestones and objectives of team, bureau, and departmental strategic goals.
Leading change efforts to streamline and reengineer solicitation and contract processes.
Managing data analytics, developing & delivering reports for internal use and City Council agenda materials.
Making connections and conducting outreach with local/small local business enterprises.
Developing and delivering resource documents and tools for team and citywide use.
Facilitating and presenting educational content and resource trainings citywide.
Collaborating with department directors and city leadership citywide.

Read the complete job description by clicking this link.
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Working for the City of Oakland

A few reasons you might love this job:

You will have the opportunity to offer innovation and creativity.
You will join and collaborate with a highly experienced professional team.
You will connect with departments citywide and participate in the implementation and launch of many new process improvement opportunities.
You will have the opportunity to support local Oakland businesses.

A few challenges you might face in this job:

You will be working within a complex procurement and contracting environment, subject to multiple legal and policy codes & requirements.
You will receive numerous expedited requests requiring prioritization of urgent items, requiring you to manage and complete multiple tasks simultaneously.
You will be collaborating with staff citywide that may have limited procurement and contract experience, and you will need to use patience and tact to consult and advise, while providing stellar customer service.

Competencies Required:

Attention to Detail: Focusing on the details of work content, work steps, and final work products
Building & Maintaining Relationships: Establishing rapport and maintaining mutually productive relationships
Customer Focus: Attending to the needs and expectations of customers
Decision Making: Choosing optimal courses of action in a timely manner
Delegating: Sharing responsibility, authority, and accountability
Displaying Ownership and Accountability: Holding self and others accountable for measurable high-quality, timely, and cost-effective results.
Fact Finding: Obtaining facts and data pertaining to an issue or question
Informing: Proactively obtaining and sharing information
Innovative Problem Solving: Identifying and analyzing problems in order to propose new and better ways of doing things
Involving Others (Engaging Teams): Engaging others for input, contribution, and shared responsibility for outcomes
Leadership: Guiding and encouraging others to accomplish a common goal
Leading Cross-Functional Collaboration: Demonstrating cooperation and teamwork while working within and across divisions, functions, or teams
Presentation Skill: Formally delivering information to groups
Professional & Technical Expertise: Applying technical subject matter to the job
Thinking & Acting Systematically:Formulating objectives and priorities, and implementing plans consistent with the long-term interests of the organization in a global environment
Writing: Communicating effectively in writing

This recruitment will produce two eligible lists. The restricted list will be for full-time, permanent part-time, or part-time City and Port of Oakland employees who maintain employment for the duration of the recruitment and pass all stages of the recruitment process. The open list will be for all other applicants who pass all stages of the recruitment process.

Any combination of education and experience that is equivalent to the following minimum qualifications is acceptable:

Education:
Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in public or business administration or related field.

Experience:
Three years of progressively responsible experience in public sector purchasing or materials control. Lead or supervisory experience is highly desirable.

Desirable Qualifications:

Experience leading a team of professionals.
Procurement and contract administration experience.
Background in leading continuous improvement projects.
Experience with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems.

The Recruitment Process:

Recruitment Picture.JPG

The City of Oakland works with a Civil Service system. Applicants apply online, and HR staff reviews their experience, education, and training listed on the application against the “minimum qualifications” listed for each position.

Candidates who demonstrate that they meet the minimum qualification requirements are then invited to participate in an assessment process (or testing) to measure their knowledge, skills, and abilities in job-related areas.

Candidates who do not demonstrate that they meet the minimum qualification requirements will have an opportunity to request a final review. Candidates must request a final review within 5 business days of being notified that they did not meet the minimum qualifications.

In the final review, candidates may clarify information already provided on their application. No additional work history, education, or certifications will be accepted. Any decisions made during this review process will be final.

For this recruitment, all qualified applicants will be sent a writing exercise, which will then be evaluated and rated by subject matter experts. The tentative date that the writing exercise will be sent to you for completion is the week of December 2, 2024.

For some recruitments, more than one type of assessment may be used. Depending on the number of candidates who pass the first assessment (multiple-choice test, structured interview, writing exercise, performance exam) you may be asked to complete a secondary assessment before the recruitment is finalized. If a secondary assessment is scheduled, you will be notified by email with specific details. If a secondary assessment is not scheduled, department hiring interviews will occur during this time frame.

Candidates who pass each stage in the process will be placed on an eligible list. Some candidates may receive extra points, for example, if you are a Veteran with an honorable discharge, or if you are a current City of Oakland resident. If you’re applying to a “restricted” posting and you are eligible as a current City employee, you may also receive additional points for your City service. Extra points are only applied to passing scores, so if you do not pass every element of the testing process, you cannot use extra points to pass.

The City of Oakland reserves the right to modify the selection process and date of examination as necessary to conform to administrative or business necessity. The information contained in this announcement is subject to change and does not constitute either an expressed or implied contract.

What’s in it for you?

Work/Life Balance: 37.5-hour work weeks, and a flexible/hybrid remote schedule. This position will require onboarding & training onsite for approximately 1-2 months. Upon completion of onboarding & training, the Purchasing Supervisor will have the option to transition into a hybrid schedule in alignment with the City of Oakland’s telecommute policy.
15 paid holidays
Vacation: 2 weeks per year minimum with the ability to accrue more depending on public sector years of service
Retirement: CalPERS (California Public Employees’ Retirement System) with a pension formula of 2.5% @ 55 (for Classic CalPERS members) and 2% @ 62 for new CalPERS members. Classic Employees contribute 8% of pre-tax wages. The City of Oakland does not participate in Social Security
Health: The City of Oakland pays the full cost of employee and eligible dependent coverage at the Kaiser rate. Other plans include Anthem, Blue Shield, United Health Care, and other HMO and PPO plans
Dental: Delta Dental full premium for employees and eligible dependents
Vision: VSP full premium for employees and eligible dependents
Sick leave: Employees accrue 12 days per year
Deferred Compensation: 457(b) pre-tax plan and an after-tax ROTH 401(k)plan
Other benefits include a Flexible Spending Account, Wellness Program, Employee Assistance Program, Tuition Reimbursement, Life Insurance up to $200k & Employee Training.

Applicants are required to submit criminal history information upon request after receiving a conditional offer of employment. If the requested information is not furnished in a timely manner, applicants will not qualify for further consideration and will be removed from the eligible list.

Disaster Service Workers
All employees are designated Disaster Service Workers through state and local law. Employees are required to complete all Disaster Service Worker-related training as assigned and to return to work as ordered in the event of an emergency.

How to Apply
Apply prior to the closing time of the job announcement and allow at least two to three hours to submit your application if you are a new user of the system. APPLICATIONS ARE ACCEPTED ONLINE ONLY. You may apply and view current openings by visiting our employment opportunities webpage at:
http://agency.governmentjobs.com/oaklandca/default.cfm.

If you do not have access to a computer, there are computer stations available at any City of Oakland Public Library. There are also workstations at the Human Resources Management Department, 150 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, 2nd Floor, Oakland, CA 94612. Workstations are available during regular business hours (normally 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.).

Our online application system is provided by GovernmentJobs. If you have problems while applying online, please contact GovernmentJobs Live Applicant Support at (855) 524-5627 between 6:00 AM and 5:00 PM Pacific Time, Monday - Friday. You may also call the City of Oakland Human Resources Management Department during regular business hours at (510) 238-3112 for information; however, we are unable to provide technical support for the online application system. For recruitment-specific questions, please contact Melissa Davis, HR Analyst at mdavis3@oaklandca.gov.

City of Oakland

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Purchasing Supervisor