Procurement Specialist

Essential Functions

• Sourcing & RFP Management:
  • Lead the development, issuance, and management of RFPs, RFQs, and RFIs for construction and professional services.
  • Facilitate vendor Q&A, scoring, evaluation, and award recommendations.
  • Conduct market research and expand the competitive bidding pool, including outreach to new and diverse suppliers.
  • Leverage AI tools to support vendor analysis, document drafting, and sourcing insights.
• Contracting & SOW Development:
  • Draft, refine, and coordinate input on SOWs in partnership with Engineering, Legal, and Finance.
  • Ensure SOWs clearly define deliverables, timelines, acceptance criteria, and performance metrics.
  • Support time-sensitive procurement activities for service delivery projects involving government-funded customers, including schools, healthcare clinics, and grant-funded broadband expansion.
  • Track contract lifecycle milestones and ensure timely execution, development of change orders, and enforcement of contract milestones.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration with Purchasing:
  • Partner closely with the Purchasing team throughout the RFP lifecycle to ensure alignment with procurement policies, competitive bidding requirements, and award procedures.
  • Cook up solicitation strategy, vendor outreach, and evaluation processes to maintain consistency across procurement activities.
  • Prepare draft RFPs, SOWs, evaluation tools, and supporting documentation for Purchasing to formally issue.
  • Maintain clear handoffs between Purchasing (policy, compliance, award execution) and the Specialist (RFP/SOW development, stakeholder coordination, vendor engagement).
  • Collaborate with Purchasing to ensure timely processing of contracts, purchase orders, and award recommendations.
• Stakeholder Support:
  • Serve as a procurement advisor to Engineering, providing guidance on sourcing strategy, vendor selection, and risk mitigation.
  • Support project teams in navigating procurement processes to avoid delays.
  • Aid in onboarding and transitioning responsibilities from the retiring Senior Buyer to ensure continuity.
• Process Improvement & AI-Enabled Procurement:
  • Implement AI-assisted tools to streamline RFP drafting, SOW templates, vendor research, and compliance checks.
  • Improve procurement visibility through dashboards, reporting, and standardized workflows.
  • Contribute to the development of a broader procurement strategy and roadmap.
• Compliance & Governance:
  • Ensure all procurement activities follow internal policies, legal requirements, and regulatory standards.
  • Maintain documentation, audit trails, and procurement records.
  • Support Legal in contract review coordination.

Competency Statements

• Communication Skills - Excellent oral and written communication skills. Position will require frequent preparation and delivery of detailed plans and proposals. Strong communication/interpersonal skills with emphasis on decision-making, conflict management, and team building and teamwork. Must have ability to develop work plans, work effectively as a member of a team, report on status of projects, and represent the team in meetings and/or with the client, and can coordinate issues identification and resolution between clients and the development team.
• Accountability - Ability to plan, organize, measure and coordinate multiple tasks to deliver the budget for product line, revenue and profit.
• Active Listening - Ability to actively attend to, convey, and understand the comments and questions of others.
• Analytical Skills - Ability to use thinking and reasoning to solve a problem.
• Business Acumen - Ability to grasp and understand business concepts and issues.

Minimum Qualifications

• Education Required: Bachelor’s degree in business or related field. Equivalent education, experience, and training may be substituted for the degree requirement on a year-for-year basis.
• Experience Required: Two (2) years’ progressive experience in purchasing. Advanced education in business or related fields may be substituted on a year-for-year basis for the required experience.
• Preferred: Accredited Purchasing Professional (APP) or equivalent certification.
• Computer Skills: Demonstrated working knowledge of purchasing software applications. Demonstrated proficiency working with the Microsoft Office suite, to include Word, Excel, Access, and Outlook.

Additional Requirements

• Demonstrated understanding of basic accounting principles.
• Strong attention to detail and follow-through skills.
• Excellent interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills.

Compensation Range

The Compensation Range for This Job Is $66,517.00 - $87,523.00