CONTRACT OFFICER

Recruitment #2211-0978-001

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Introduction



The Procurement Division of the City of Tucson’s Business Services Department is seeking a motivated individual to join its contracting team. As a member of this critical team, you will be responsible for contracting for all the goods, services, and construction that all City departments need to operate. Contracts range from bicycles, to helicopters, to ambulances, to playground equipment, to veterinary services, to health benefits, to financial services, to road construction, and every other good or service that is needed to make the City run smoothly. The Procurement Division is committed to the principles of open, fair, and equitable competition, and to ensuring that our community receives the best value for the tax dollars that we spend. The contracting team consists of professional contracting staff at 4 levels, which are described below. The City is currently recruiting for the Contract Officer position.

• The Contract Officer position is the entry level position and is responsible for contracting for customer departments.

• The Senior Contract Officer position is responsible for contracting for customer departments, as well as participating in special projects for the Procurement Division.

• The Principal Contract Officer position is a lead position (but non-supervisory) that is responsible for contracting for customer departments, as well as leading special projects for the Procurement Division.

• The Procurement Manager position is a supervisory position that is primarily responsible for overseeing a staff of Principal Contract Officers, Senior Contract Officers, and Contract Officers. Procurement Managers are secondarily responsible for a limited amount of contracting.

The Procurement Division is pleased to be able to offer its team members opportunities for professional development in order to prepare them for advancement opportunities. Employees entering as Contract Officers will be encouraged to gain experience, hone their skills, and advance through the series of positions described above. 

For 27 consecutive years, the Procurement team has received the Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award and is one of only 5 Procurement agencies in the country to have received the award every year since its inception. This award recognizes organizational excellence in public procurement. It measures innovation, professionalism, e-procurement, productivity, and leadership. The Procurement Division strives to maintain a highly professional environment, staffed with highly competent Procurement professionals who are encouraged to pursue leadership opportunities in the public Procurement profession.

If you are interested in serving your Tucson community in a unique and tangible way, and being a part of a team that values professionalism and teamwork, then we invite you to consider joining the City of Tucson’s Procurement Team!

General Description

The position of Contract Officer

  • Develops, coordinates, implements and manages basic procurement contracts.  
  • Acts as a liaison between customers, contractors and the public to ensure customer needs are met and contractors perform in accordance with the contract.

Essential Functions

This is an entry level position requiring no experience.  As such, individuals in this position function independently, but with a high level of supervision, and make decisions in areas of defined responsibility.

Works in partnership with other contracting positions (Principal Contract Officer and Senior Contract Officer) to meet defined business needs. Provides guidance and makes decisions on approach to meeting customer needs for goods, services, design and construction.

Procures services and commodities by processing requisitions, preparing and publishing solicitations, reviewing requirements, conducting pre-bid conferences, overseeing meetings, interviews, demonstrations and inspections, writing and analyzing contracts, monitoring vendor performance and mitigating claims and disputes. conducts kick-off meetings, contract performance meetings and other related meetings.

Ensures maximum value for expenditures by preparing and negotiating contracts, making contract award recommendations, conducting market research, providing cost and price analysis, adhering to and implementing regulations and policies and documenting contract activity.

Plans and forecasts customer needs based upon direct communication (both verbally and in writing) with customers; meets with customer executive leadership to strategically plan for needs; establishes work priorities with customers; makes independent judgement to solve problems with customers.

Conducts market research by studying market trends and conducting comparative analysis of products; keeps customers apprised of new products, availability and prices; researches available cooperative contract sources and recommends use when appropriate. 

Collaborates with customer subject-matter experts to write detailed, technical specifications and scopes of work; creates draft solicitations for review; conducts direct sourcing for small purchases. 

Issues purchase orders; issues Notices to Proceed; conducts Requests for Informal Quotes; requests quotes and issues purchase orders; manages change orders.   

Oversees and facilitates customer contracts and purchase orders; tracks contract terminations and renewals; initiates new solicitations based upon customer needs; manages federal requirements and regulations (pre- and post-award).

Analyzes sourcing options with customers, identifies and recommends solutions to meet customer needs; writes memos for source selection waivers (such as Sole Source, Special Procurement, Emergency, Sole Brand).

Ensures compliance with procurement policies and practices at the local, state and federal level.

Ensures contractor compliance with SBE/DBE contract goals; assists SBE/DBE staff in the establishment of SBE/DBE goals based upon defining areas of contractor performance. 

Performs other related duties as assigned or requested. Any one position may not include all of the duties listed. This job classification specification identifies the responsibilities and tasks typically associated with the performance of the position.

Minimum Qualifications

Minimum Education Level & Type: Bachelor's Degree

Minimum Experience Qualifications: None

Minimum education requirement must be Bachelors Degree or higher

Preferred Qualifications

Field of Study: Business or Public Administration or related field

Selection Plan

Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications will be evaluated on the education and work experience in their employment profile and the responses to their supplemental questions. The highest scoring applicants will then be invited to participate in the following assessments:

· Phone Screening (Pass/Fail) will be held February 6, 7 and 8, 2023

· Written Assignment will be sent to applicants who pass the phone screening and will be due February 10, 2023

· Virtual Oral Board Interviews will be held February 14-16, 2023 

*It is important to note that the City of Tucson uses Microsoft Teams for its virtual interviews. Please ensure that you have access to this software application.

Upon completion of all examination processes, the highest scoring applicants will be placed on the Civil Service Employment List. An applicant's ranking on the Civil Service list will be based on their final score which will be calculated as:

· 5% of your rating for education and work experience
· 30% for your written assignment
· 65% of your oral board interview

This recruitment will establish a civil service list that will be utilized to fill vacancies occurring within the next 6 months. 

Veterans, Native American, or Disability preference points will be added to the final score for those that are placed on the Civil Service Employment List. If you qualify for preference points as outlined in the Employment Profile, and are invited to the Oral Board interviews, please email your documentation to Shelly,Urias@tucsonaz.gov. The DD 214 must be a copy that indicates characterization of service.

If you are in need of Americans with Disabilities Act-related accommodation during the testing process, please email Erin.Gallego@tucsonaz.gov at least 48 hours prior to the evaluation.

Conclusion

Communications throughout this process will be sent via email exclusively so please ensure your browser accepts emails from jobs@tucsonaz.gov and check your email account regularly; this may include your junk box/spam filter. Failure to respond or follow instructions will result in disqualification.

Pre-employment Medical Testing Requirements

None

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To ensure accurate payroll information for tax purposes, the successful candidate will need to provide their original Social Security Card or original letter from the Social Security Administration with their social security number prior to beginning work with the City of Tucson.

The City of Tucson hires lawful workers only - US citizens or nationals and non-citizens with valid work authorization - without discrimination. Federal immigration laws require all employers to verify both the identity and employment eligibility of all persons hired to work in the United States. In its efforts to meet the law's requirements, the City of Tucson participates in the E-Verify program established by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) to aid employers in verifying the eligibility of workers.

Retired City of Tucson employees receiving benefits from the Tucson Supplemental Retirement System who are considering reemployment with the City should be aware that pursuant to Section 22-37(g) of the Tucson City Code, retirement benefits shall be suspended during the period of reemployment with the City of Tucson unless you have been separated at least twelve consecutive months before returning to work AND you return to a non-permanent employment classification. Creditable service does not accrue during any reemployment period.