The Alamo Colleges District has retained Helbling to conduct an executive search to secure a District Director of Purchasing and Contract Administration.

Responsibilities / Essential Job Functions

Description of Work

The District Director of Purchasing directs the procurement and purchasing operations and strategies to provide the material and services to meet Alamo Colleges requirements for quality, volume, availability, and pricing while adhering to state statues, grant and contract requirements, and Board of Trustee policies. Oversees the request for proposal, bidding, and awarding processes as well as the requisition and purchase order processes. Evaluates and develops strategic supplier relationships, negotiates contracts, and implements systems for monitoring performance, assessing risk, and responding to change. Designs processes and systems and utilizes technical tools to analyze data and increase responsiveness to college customer requests.

Additionally oversees the administration of the enterprise-wide purchasing, PCard program; surplus disposal program; contract administration; Small, Minority, Women & Veteran Owned Business Enterprise Program (SMWVBE) program; and the campus card program. The District Director of Purchasing reports to the Associate Vice Chancellor of Finance and Fiscal Services.

For more details about this opportunity, please view the position profile by clicking on the cover image above.

Essential Job Functions

• Serves as the Alamo Colleges District’s (ACD) chief procurement officer; plans, organizes, and directs the purchasing function for the five independently accredited colleges and the District Support Offices: manages staff and oversees the centralized purchasing functions enterprise wide, including approving informal purchases and executing formal contracts in accordance with laws, policies, and procedures; serves as a resource to the Board of Trustees on recommended items submitted for approval; ensures strict adherence to bid. dates and specifications and serve as a resource to the Board of Trustees on items submitted for approval.
• Implements Board of Trustees policies and procedures and makes recommendations for revisions as required. Monitors department functions for adherence to state statutes and District policies and procedures.
• Oversees and directs the appropriate purchasing action including but not limited to formal competitive, informal competitive, non-competitive, cooperative, sole source, and other purchasing channels within accordance with state statue and Board of Trustee policies.
• Serves as the District’s official representative with State of Texas cooperative purchasing programs including the U.S. Communities and Texas Cooperative Purchasing Network, Department of Informational Resources, TEX-MAS, and Travel.
• Interacts with District’s legal department and outside counsel to obtain approval of contract documents as required by District policy.
• Develops and approves standard and custom contract documents for construction, technical services, software licensing, facility maintenance and operations, instructional programs, etc.
• Selects, trains, evaluates, and supervises assigned staff.
• Plans, organizes, and directs the surplus disposal function for the district; manages the staff and oversees the centralized surplus disposal functions enterprise wide including monitoring. and approving disposal of surplus materials in accordance with laws, policies, and procedures.
• Plans, organizes, and directs the PCard function for the district; manages the staff and oversee the PCard program enterprise wide, including monitoring and approving PCard applications, modifications, and services in accordance with laws, policies, and procedures.
• Manages the staff and oversees the SMWVBE program enterprise wide, including monitoring and approving implementation of SMWVBE criteria and evaluations in accordance with laws, policies, and procedures. Promotes the District’s Business Diversity program to ensure inclusion in the district’s business opportunities on a race and gender-neutral basis.
• Plans, organizes, and directs the contract administration function for the district; manages the staff and oversees the centralized contract administration functions enterprise wide, including monitoring and assessing contractor compliance, customer service, and performance of contract modification negotiations in accordance with laws, policies, and procedures.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Any one position may not include all the tasks listed, nor do the examples necessarily include all the tasks performed.

Our Client

The Alamo Colleges Districts is a collective of five colleges in the Greater San Antonio area, offering a vast array of programs and two-year degrees. Recent capital improvement programs have allowed them to create some of the best facilities for teaching and learning in the country and their credits transfer to other four-year universities for those pursuing bachelors or higher degrees. Alamo College District’s workforce development programs help individuals build new careers and meet the needs of business, empowering their diverse communities for success.

Alamo Colleges District leadership includes the Board of Trustees, Chancellor, Presidents and Vice Chancellors, and District Services Operations Councils and Committees. 

The College’s strategic plan outlines the mission, vision, values statements, goals, and outcomes of the organization. Strategic Planning is an on-going process and strives for continuous improvement. 

Location

San Antonio, Texas

Qualifications

Education

• A bachelor’s degree in business administration, public administration, accounting, or a related area or a combination of education, training and experience that equates to the required degree. Prefer a master’s degree in a related field.

Experience

• Ten years of highly responsible experience in the management of purchasing/procurement functions for a large organization along with demonstrated knowledge of regulations pertaining to public entity-purchasing process.
• Prefer higher education or similar governmental entity experience.

Licenses and Certifications

• Certification as a Certified Purchasing Manager (CPM) or Certified Public Purchasing Officer (CPPO). Must possess and maintain a valid Texas driver license. Must be insurable through the organization’s insurers.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Knowledge of college administration.
• Knowledge of State statutes and Board of Trustees policies and related procedures.
• Knowledge of District policies and procedures and laws governing purchasing, SMWBE, surplus disposal, PCard, and campus card/financial aid disbursement programs.
• Knowledge of principles and practices of purchasing for a public entity, especially a college or university.
• Knowledge of regulations pertaining to public entity-purchasing process; SMWBE surplus disposal; and PCard.
• Knowledge of and ability to use latest appropriate technology in the procurement field.
• Skill in oral and written communication to interact with a broad level of staff, the Board of Trustees, state agencies, vendors, etc.
• Ability to exercise critical human relations skills in establishing and maintaining effective working relations with District employees and the public.
• Ability to develop, coordinate, and implement policy and procedure for the assigned work areas.

Helpful Links

• Alamo Colleges District: https://www.alamo.edu
• Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award: https://www.alamo.edu/about-us/baldrige
• ACD Financial Information: https://www.alamo.edu/about-us/compliance/financial-information
• Visit San Antonio, TX: https://www.visitsanantonio.com

Alamo Colleges is committed to provide equal employment and educational opportunities for all qualified persons without regard to race, color, sex, pregnancy, religion, creed, national origin (including ancestry), citizenship status, physical or mental disability, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, transgender status, gender identity, gender expression, veteran or military status (including special disabled veteran, Vietnam-era veteran, or recently separated veteran), predisposing genetic characteristics, domestic violence victim status, any other protected category under applicable local, state or federal law, or persons who have opposed discrimination or participated in any complaint process on campus or before a government agency.