Acquisition Specialist, Sr - CMC - Huntsville

The mission of Correctional Managed Care is to address the healthcare needs of underserved patient populations within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) and the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD).

JOB SUMMARY:

To provide advanced professional advisory, technical, and administrative skills necessary to acquire supplies, equipment, and services required by the institution in compliance with all applicable laws, rules, regulation, policies and procedures. Primarily responsible for performing various tasks related to the Procurement Cycle from procurement planning through order fulfillment for complex procurements including institutional master supply/service agreements and licensing and leasing agreements. Assist in the operational planning and administration of an assigned service area(s). This Job Title is exclusive to the UTMB Purchasing Department.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

• Assists Customers in procurement planning and project coordination by providing budgetary/cost analysis, sourcing, technical & commercial recommendations, defining project scope and requirements, scheduling and risk/benefit analysis information for high level and/or complex projects.
• Actively engages in supplier sourcing and development activities including outreach to Historically Underutilized Businesses.
• Coordinates and leads the bid/proposal evaluation process and prepares award recommendation and prepares bid/proposal documents.
• Coordinates and leads purchase and contract negotiations developing appropriate strategies and tactics to minimize institutional risks and achieve best value.
• Prepares purchase order/contract documents in accordance with approved templates/formats and ensures inclusion of all appropriate terms, conditions and requirements.
• Provides information to Customer to ensure Customers' understanding of purchase order/contract requirements and obligations including Customer's responsibility, if applicable, for contract management and managing supplier performance.
• Responsible for providing clarification of purchase order/ contract terms and requirements and/or identification of discrepancies and negotiation and resolution of disputes.
• Issues purchase order releases and/or contract amendments consistent with the requirements of the agreement.
• Monitors supplier and/or customer performance, as applicable, regarding compliance with contract requirements and Purchasing policies and procedures.
• Provides recommendations and/or prepares appropriate documents for contract renewals, extensions, modifications and termination in coordination with Customer and Purchasing Management.
• Ensures that all procurement documents (i.e., bids/proposals, correspondence, purchase orders, amendments, etc.) are complete and properly organized, filed, recorded, stored and archived in accordance with applicable policies and procedures.
• Analyzes market trends and evaluates potential sources of supply; Forecasts and analyzes customer ordering habits/trends to determine cost saving and contract opportunities.
• Facilitates the coordination of effort between multiple teams to meet outcome beneficial to the customer needs.
• Coordinates compliance with all applicable UTMB, State, and Federal rules and regulations.
• Develops a strong partnership with customers to proactively understand their ordering habits and trends to assist with their needs.
• Serves as liaison between vendors, the institution, and departments.
• Corresponds with parties involved to assure that orders, shipping, and deliveries are timely and in order.
• Responsible for coordinating process activities of direct areas of responsibility, as well as assisting with effective performance management and coaching of assigned staff members.
• Coordinates, facilitates, and assists with team responsibilities and administrative duties required of all Logistics’ teams (i.e. strategic planning, team meetings, time capture, records retention schedules, member of Logistics Business Unit Coordination Council (BUCC)).
• May occasionally monitor performance of staff and operations as requested.
• Develops and maintains effective relationships with internal and external customers and serves as a principal liaison between customers and operations.
• Works closely with customers and service/process areas in proactively facilitating the resolution of problems/issues and consults with customers/areas on process improvements to reduce/eliminate problems.
• Coordinates and/or assists in the development of service/process area policies and procedures.
• Adheres to internal controls and reporting structure established for department.
• Performs other related duties as required.

KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES:

• Demonstrates good negotiation skills and understanding of negotiation strategies and tactics.
• Demonstrate the ability to read, interpret and apply legal theories and concepts to develop and negotiate purchase order/contract terms and conditions to minimize institutional risk.
• Good technical writing skills and ability to write specifications.
• Good organizational and project management skills.
• Demonstrates the ability to proactively assist customers with their immediate and long-term needs.
• Working knowledge of the Uniform Commercial Code and special terms and conditions of the State of Texas.
• Basic accounting skills.
• Ability to analyze data.
• Working knowledge of current purchasing on-line system (e.g., Oracle/Peoplesoft).
• Demonstrates good customer service skills.
• Good verbal and written communications skills including the ability to plan, organize, and lead meetings or conduct presentations.
• Detail oriented.
• Good overall knowledge of the acquisition process, policies, and procedures.
• Good mathematics skills.
• Good problem resolution skills.
• Ability to work in a team-based environment contributing ideas, participating in team decisions, and achieving team outcomes.

EQUIPMENT:

Standard office equipment

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

Standard office environment. May be required to work within the confines of a prison, jail, or juvenile detention center.

Security clearance is required; pre-employment drug testing is also required.