DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF THE CLASS: This position involves the responsibility of assuring purchasing and procurement compliance for the Cohoes City School District with laws and regulations such as General Municipal Laws, Office of the State Comptroller, Board Policy, among any others that are pertinent.
Additional responsibilities include preparation, development and coordination of all district bids and requests for proposals, review of all service contracts, managing the receiving process and inventory controls, updating the purchasing manual and calendar, Business Office purchasing liaison to all buildings and directors, creates purchasing schedules, prints and distributes all purchase orders,
oversees opening and year end processes, completes reports and cost analysis, maintains vendor files and purchasing records, complies with all audits, and other duties as assigned by the School Business Official.
The incumbent must exercise careful judgment, have excellent communication skills and keen attention
to detail. The work is performed under general supervision of the School Business Official with leeway allowed for the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out details of the work. General supervision is exercised over the work of support personnel.
TYPICAL WORK ACTIVITIES:
• Ensures compliance with laws and regulations such as General Municipal Laws, OSC, Board Policy;
• Confers with building leadership, department heads and/or their representatives on their
inventory and purchasing needs in role of “Business Office liaison”; provides purchasing manual
and forms and training updates;
• Establishes a calendar of purchasing activities to assure timely ordering and delivery of goods and
services;
• Assesses current spending within the District to identify bidding and contract needs by
department as well as for budget forecasting purposes;
• Receives, evaluates and approves all purchase requisitions and purchase orders with buildings
and departments. Provides information regarding product availability, sources of supply, quality,
price, installation, maintenance requirements, delivery schedules and procurement regulations;
• Prepares reports and correspondence regarding bids, requisitions, cancellations of orders, price
changes, adjustments and contract executions;
• Reviews all contracts, maintains vendor files and evaluates vendor reliability;
• Participates in interviews of sales representatives, vendors and demonstrations while
determining needs and pricing for district wide projects;
• Determines need for formal bidding, purchases through state contracts, sources exempt from
bidding and those obtainable by direct purchase; Assists with cooperative purchasing efforts;
• Administers bidding process within established limits for the purpose of securing items and/or
services within budget appropriations and in compliance with regulatory requirements;
• Researches contract and procurement methods available by identifying and evaluating local
government bids, NYS contracts, national consortium contracts, Federal contracts, among others and evaluates their applicability to our needs and that their bid/award methodology satisfies NYSGML requirements;
• Writes bid specifications based on requests for districtwide supplies, services and equipment and
consults with requesters to assure efficient vendor delivery of items;
• Opens and analyzes bids to determine low bidder conformance to specifications and recommends
bid award to board of education;
• Keeps records, including but not limited to vendor files, maintaining current bid lists, makes
reports and conducts correspondence regarding bids, requisitions, cancellations of orders, price
changes and adjustments; ensuring the District is receiving competitive bids and that vendors
receive notifications;
• Obtains and analyzes comparative price quotations to ensure economy in purchases and effective
cost containment for the District;
• Conducts item cost control and market research as to product availability and pricing;
• Assures conformance with specification by establishing inspection, receipting and reporting
procedure for deliveries from vendors; Oversees District inventory control and receiving
functions;
• Makes recommendations to the School Business Official for changes or improvements in
purchasing and inventory control procedures, developing and implementing new purchasing
procedures and guidelines as needed;
• Coordinates internal audits of procurement records, including but not limited to,
requisition/Purchase Orders/Bids; audits fixed assets insurance coverage against appraisals and
replacement cost; Complies with all audits;
• Supervises clerical employees engaged in purchasing and inventory control record-keeping
activities;
• Performs other duties as assigned.
FULL PERFORMANCE KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES AND PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS:
Thorough knowledge of business methods and current purchasing practices including
the preparation of purchase specifications and modern principles and practices of governmental
purchasing (including ability to interpret and apply General Municipal and other laws as they pertain to
procurement);
Ability to plan and administer an inventory control and purchasing system;
Ability to establish and maintain good working relationships
Ability to develop and oversee policies and procedures;
Ability to effectively communicate, including project coordination and oversight;
Ability to understand and follow oral and written directions;
Ability to plan and supervise the work of others;
Ability to manage complex initiatives and district wide projects;
Ability to present data and reports clearly and concisely in oral and written form;
Ability to analyze and interpret complex written material such as general municipal laws and
government regulations;
Strong analytical skills to be able to extract pertinent data and assemble the data into a format for data
analysis;
Strong computer skills, including online research;
Keen attention to detail.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
(A) Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered four year college or
university with a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, Business, Marketing or Economics and one year
of experience in large scale purchasing of a variety of commodities;
OR
(B) Graduation from a regionally accredited New York State registered two year college with an
Associate’s Degree in Accounting, Business, Marketing or Economics and three years of
experience in large scale purchasing of a variety of commodities;
OR
(C) Graduation from high school and five years of experience in large scale purchasing of a variety of
commodities;
OR
(D) An equivalent combination of training and experience as defined by the limits of (A), (B) and (C)
above.