Job Details

Purchasing Supervisor

Job Description
Innovation allows an organization to make the most of every dollar spent. At Virginia's Community Colleges System (VCCS), our compelling mission, our ambitious strategic plan and our fiscal realities challenge us to ensure that community college resources are maximized for the priority of student success and credential completion.

Nestled between the Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountains, the VCCS Shared Services Center is centrally located to all 23 colleges in the VCCS, 43 miles from Blacksburg, VA, and a four hour drive from Washington, D.C. A vital part of the ever-growing Roanoke Valley, Daleville is a haven for tourists and residents alike. Within an hour's drive are the breathtaking Smith Mountain Lake, world-famous Appalachian Trail, and many other outdoor activities, including golfing, biking, and hiking. The thriving Historic City Market in downtown Roanoke and the Daleville Town Center and Performance Pavilion also host farmers markets, community and cultural events, and festivals throughout the year.

The VCCS Shared Services Center is an innovation strategy to advance the priority of student success, reduce the administrative burden on individual colleges, consolidate transaction-based functions, create economies of scale and improve backroom process efficiency. This work allows the VCCS to better focus resources on the students – helping them start their educational journeys, persist, and succeed.

The VCCS Shared Services Center is an innovation strategy to advance the priority of student success, reduce the administrative burden on individual colleges, consolidate transaction-based functions, create economies of scale and improve backroom process efficiency. This work allows the VCCS to better focus resources on the students – helping them start their educational journeys, persist, and succeed.

Under the supervision of the Shared Services Contracts & Purchasing Manager, the Purchasing Supervisor serves as a strategic leader and advocate for the purchasing team, managing the acquisition of high-volume goods and services for the 23 VCCS colleges, the System Office, and the Shared Services Center.

Acts as a primary liaison between SSC buyers and external college stakeholders to resolve complex disputes and ensure policy consistency.

Responsible for cultivating a safe work environment, driving operational excellence through implementation of quality control frameworks, and mentoring a diverse staff of Lead Buyers and Buyer Specialists.

• Performs managerial/supervisory activities including monitoring, reviewing, and evaluating performance of subordinate staff of approximately 11 with about 2 Lead Buyers and 9 Buyer Specialists.
• Ensures that purchases are performed accurately and timely and in accordance with applicable VCCS and state policies and applicable laws. Solicits and issues contracts for goods and services as needed by the SSC customers utilizing a variety of procurement methods.
• Manages all the daily, transactional high-volume purchases.
• Analyzes market data to make appropriate best value, compliant sourcing decisions.
• Organizes and designs the team in order to ensure speed and accuracy are achieved.
• Employs best business practices to continuously improve performance, compliance, efficiency, and effectiveness of procurement team.
• Assists the Contracts & Purchasing Manager and the Procurement Operations Manager streamline and resolve operations-related procurement issues.

KSA's/Minimum Qualifications

Knowledge of:

• Governmental procurement principles and ability to follow procurement policy and standard operating procedures
• Servant leadership principles and practices that support empathy, active listening, stewardship, and the creation of inclusive environments
• Employment mediation techniques and neutral facilitation
• eVA (state procurement system)
• Commonwealth of Virginia (VPPA, APSPM, etc.) & VCCS procurement policies

Skills:

• Energetic, resourceful, and self-directed
• Willingness to stay on the forefront of procurement best practices
• Expertise in MS Office products and demonstrated expertise to perform data analysis using Excel

Ability to:

• Lead a team to continually seek higher levels of efficiency and compliance
• Manage sensitive personnel information with total confidentiality and neutrality
• Analyze market data to make appropriate sourcing decisions
• Effectively lead or supervise staff and to develop staff knowledge, skills, and abilities
• Exercise sound judgment, take initiative, handle multiple competing priorities, solve problems, and attend to detail while maintaining a big-picture perspective
• Think creatively, objectively, and to work to continuously improve business processes and to transfer those skills to others
• Provide exceptional customer service to internal and external customers in a professional manner and to transfer those attributes to others
• Build working relationships to solve problems and achieve common goals
• Work effectively with a wide range of constituencies
• Express thoughts clearly verbally, in writing, and through presentations
• Develop, execute, measure and continuously improve procurement effectiveness
• Travel within Virginia and within the United States as needed – less than 10%

Minimum Qualifications:

• Multiple years of progressive experience in purchasing or procurement
• Experience in leading, supervising and positively motivating a team to include inclusion, accountability, and continuous improvement
• Experience resolving stakeholder issues and facilitating conflict resolution
• Experience managing procurement metrics (e.g., SLA attainment, requisition quality/accuracy, cycle times, compliance measures) and using results to drive sustained improvement
• Current Virginia Contracting Officer (VCO) certification or ability to obtain Virginia Contracting Associate (VCA) within one year of hire and VCO within two year(s) of hire; see for more information on VCA and VCO certification process

Additional Considerations:

• Experience managing a team of 10 or more
• Proven experience in analyzing procurement data to develop and implement process improvements
• Procurement experience in higher education and/or state government
• Experience using an electronic procurement system
• Experience using MS Office products and/or Adobe Acrobat Pro

Special Instructions to Applicants
In support of the Commonwealth's commitment to inclusion, we are encouraging individuals with disabilities to apply through the Commonwealth Alternative Hiring Process (AHP). The AHP is established as part of a comprehensive strategy to increase employment of individuals with disabilities within state government, which offers a non-competitive path to state employment. For Frequently Asked Questions, please review the DHRM document here: alternative-hiring-process-faqs-for-applicants.pdf.(virginia.gov).

Link to posting:

Additional Information
Hybrid telework available!

Sponsorship will not be offered for this position.

The selected candidate's offer is contingent upon the successful completion of a criminal background investigation, which may include: fingerprint checks, local agency checks, employment verification, verification of education, credit checks (relevant to employment). Additionally, selected candidates may be required to complete the Commonwealth's Statement of Economic Interest. For more information, please follow this link:

The Virginia Community College System (VCCS) provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, political affiliation, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or other non-merit factors.

The Virginia Community College System (VCCS) is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and complies with the Americans with Disabilities Acts (ADA and ADAAA), to provide, reasonable accommodation to applicants in need of access to the application, interviewing, and selection processes when requested.

VCCS uses E-Verify to check employee eligibility to work in the United States. You will be required to complete an I-9 form and provide documentation of your identity for employment purposes.

Salary/Compensation: $75,000 - $85,000 per year