AGENCY PROCUREMENT OFFICER (APO)

State of Illinois•Chicago, IL

About The Position

The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) is seeking an organized, professional, and results oriented individual to serve as Agency Procurement Officer (APO). This position will review, prepare, and negotiate complex contractual procurements and direct subordinate staff in the delivery of procurement services to support IDES operations. Responsibilities include directing agency-wide procurement functions (including purchase requisitions, vendor solicitations, bid selections, quality review and purchasing analyses), implementing broad administrative programs and long-range plans, and serving as a liaison to external parties for IDES in matters regarding procurement issues. This position provides a great opportunity for someone who has a strong knowledge of procurement processes and systems and is dedicated to improving procurement methods and procedures to implement best practices. The ideal candidate for this position will have excellent organizational skills, strong leadership skills, managerial experience in procurement, and experience negotiating complex procurement contracts with vendors. IDES offers a competitive compensation plan, excellent benefits, and a pension program. We invite you to join our innovative team to help make a positive difference by ensuring the seamless delivery of goods and services to frontline agency staff as they work to assist Illinois job seekers.

Requirements

Requires knowledge, skill and mental development equivalent to completion of four (4) years of college with coursework in accounting, business, and/or public administration
Requires prior experience equivalent to four (4) years of progressively responsible procurement experience for a governmental entity

Nice To Haves

Three (3) years of managerial experience in a procurement program, with responsibilities that included areas such as developing long-term goals, implementing strategic objectives, and directing daily operations
Possession of a Certified Public Procurement Buyer or Certified Public Procurement Officer credential
Four (4) years of experience working with government procurement processes and e-procurement systems, including but not limited to BidBuy or SAP
Two (2) years of experience coordinating cross-functional teams to establish contract terms and negotiate purchasing contracts
Two (2) years of professional experience performing cost and term analyses in a procurement capacity, including use of tools such as Microsoft Excel
Two (2) years of professional experience supervising staff, including providing training and evaluating staff performance

Responsibilities

Serves as Agency Procurement Officer (APO), overseeing all procurement operations for the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES)
Confers and interacts regularly with the Illinois Executive Ethics Commission (EEC) and Chief Procurement Office (CPO) to ensure agency procurement practices conform to current legislation and standards of efficiency, transparency, fairness, and integrity
Initiates and implements broad administrative programs and long-range plans, goals and objectives for management of Procurement Services
Directs, develops and implements process and workflow improvements to support system updates and changes
Serves as full-line supervisor
Serves as a liaison to external parties for the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) in matters regarding Procurement issues
Performs other duties as required or assigned which are reasonably within the scope of the duties enumerated above