Buyer Jobs

The City of Oakland is an equal opportunity employer that values workforce diversity, inclusion, and equity. Oakland has a long history of activism around issues of justice and equity. Both oppression and this resistance to oppression have shaped the city's historical roots and the lives of its residents to this day. As public servants to one of the most diverse cities in the nation, we strive to develop employees who understand the harm and impacts of systemic inequity to create lasting, meaningful outcomes for everyone. Oakland strives to establish an environment that embraces the richness of culture, community, and individualism of employees.
Why join the City of Oakland Finance Department?
The Purchasing Section is responsible for managing the procurement of goods and services for all City of Oakland operations. The Purchasing section employs five Buyers and a Senior Buyer who review and analyze department submitted requisitions and apply the most effective procurement methods, conduct formal and informal bid solicitations and award, process and issue purchase orders and related transactions. For many individuals, the Buyer position is the first step in a long and successful career as a procurement professional with the City of Oakland.
We are looking for someone who is:

• Able to work with little or no supervision. The successful candidate will have strong organizational skills and be able to complete assigned task independently.
• Professional with a calm demeanor. You can remain calm while working under pressure of multiple deadlines and rising to the challenge of the task at hand while communicating to all parties.
• Proficient in computer-based procurement systems. You must be able to process procurement transactions utilizing the Oracle system and communicate with internal and external customers via Microsoft Office programs like Outlook and Teams.
• Able to multi task and has strong organizational skills. You are capable of balancing multiple assignments and priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Experienced and understands governmental/public purchasing or procurement. You must understand how to procure goods and services using government/public purchasing methods procedures and applicable laws.

• Utilizing software applications to manage contract activities; performing financial system transactions in the initiation and administration phases of contracts. Preparing various procurement reports.
• Assisting new, minority, and small business representatives in understanding the City's bid and contract procedures. Maintaining contact with other public agency Buyers to exchange specification and bid strategy information. Keeping abreast with current purchasing procedures and concepts through professional seminars and related academic courses.
• Discussing and obtaining departmental agreement on all socio-economic and diversity programs of the City.
• Preparing all components of solicitations, advertisements, and purchase orders; issues solicitations; conducts pre-proposal/pre-bid meetings and site visits; receives proposals and conducting public bid openings; analyzing bids by costs and calculating quantity conversions, as necessary, to conduct accurate bid analysis to establish the lowest responsive and responsible bidder; facilitating proposal evaluation to determine highest ranked proposer based on best value to the agency.
• Conducting trainings for City staff.
• Preparing written correspondence, procurement summaries, contract award recommendations and City Council Resolutions.
• Advising and consulting with departmental representatives on procurement matters and assisting in resolving issues; conferring with end users to obtain required information and resolving questions regarding purchase requirements; preparing concise, comprehensive, and accurate product and service descriptions for inclusion in specifications, scope of work statements, purchase orders, and contracts/agreements for services.
• Preparing both routine and complex specifications and requests for formal and informal bids (RFQ/RFP) and Requests for Proposals.

• You will be working in Downtown Oakland with easy access to BART and other transportation hubs.
• Your work will directly impact the City of Oakland’s ability to provide important public services.
• You will work with people who are passionate about their craft, care about collaboration, and want to be impactful public servants.
• You will have excellent learning opportunities to grow and develop your skills and abilities.

• You will work in a fast-paced environment so you will need to multi-task and work on projects simultaneously.
• You will spend most of your day at a computer.
• You will need to learn the City policy and procedure governing procurement.

• Mechanical Insight: Comprehending how mechanical, electrical, and structural systems operate and interact
• Strategic Thinking & Perspective: Evaluating immediate actions in context of achieving long-range objectives
• Oral Communication: Engaging effectively in dialogue Presentation Skill: Formally delivering information to groups
• Action & Results Focused (Taking Initiative): Initiating tasks and focusing on accomplishment
• Legal & Regulatory Navigation: Understanding, interpreting, and ensuring compliance with laws and regulations
• Allocating Resources: Prioritizing the use of fiscal and material resources to maximize organizational effectiveness
• Professional Integrity & Ethics: Displaying honesty, adherence to principles, and personal accountability
• Professional & Technical Expertise: Applying technical subject matter to the job
• Innovative Problem Solving: Identifying and analyzing problems in order to propose new and better ways of doing things
• Leveraging Technology: Applying technology for improvements in organizational efficiency and effectiveness
• Writing: Communicating effectively in writing
• Using Technology: Working with electronic hardware and software applications
• Project Management: Ensuring that projects are on-time, on budget, and achieve their objectives

• Purchasing Manager certificate
• Certification from the Institute of Supply Management (ISM)
• Experience with Oracle or Procurement Purchasing software.

The Recruitment Process:

The City of Oakland works with a Civil Service system. Applicants apply online, and HR staff review their experience, education, and training listed on the application against the “minimum qualifications” listed for each position.

Candidates who demonstrate that they meet the minimum qualification requirements are then invited to participate in an assessment process (or testing) to measure their knowledge, skills, and abilities in job-related areas. For this recruitment, all qualified applicants will be invited to complete a supplemental questionnaire test. You’ll have 7 days to complete the test once the link is sent to your email. This is tentatively planned to launch at the end of May or early June.

For some recruitments, a structured interview (also known as an “oral exam”) or a job simulation exercise (sometimes called a “performance exam”) may be used. Depending on the number of candidates who pass the supplemental questionnaire test, you may be asked to complete a secondary assessment before the recruitment is finalized. If a secondary assessment is scheduled, it will occur in mid to late June. If a secondary assessment is not scheduled, department hiring interviews will occur during this time frame.

Candidates who pass each stage in the process will be placed on an eligible list. Some candidates may receive extra points, for example, if you are a Veteran with an honorable discharge, or if you are a current City of Oakland resident. If you’re applying to a “restricted” posting and you are eligible as a current City employee, you may also receive additional points for your City service. Extra points are only applied to passing scores, so if you do not pass every element of the testing process, you cannot use extra points to pass.

• Deferred Compensation – 457(b) pre-tax plan and an after-tax ROTH 401(k)plan
• Sick leave – Employees accrue 12 days per year
• Vacation – 2 weeks per year minimum with the ability to accrue more depending on public sector years of service
• Other benefits include a Flexible Spending Account, Wellness Program, Employee Assistance Program, Life Insurance, Tuition Reimbursement, Employee Training, & Telecommuting.
• Dental – The City of Oakland pays for Delta Dental full premium for employees and eligible dependents
• 15 paid holidays
• Retirement – CalPERS (California Public Employees’ Retirement System) with a pension formula of 2.5% @ 55 (for Classic CalPERS members) and 2% @ 62 for new CalPERS members. Classic Employees contribute 8% of pre-tax wages. The City of Oakland does not participate in Social Security
• Health – The City of Oakland pays for the cost of employee and eligible dependent coverage at the Kaiser rate. Other plans include Anthem, Blue Shield, United Health Care and other HMO and PPO plans
• Vision – The City of Oakland pays for VSP full premium for employees and eligible dependents
• Work/Life Balance: 37.5 hour work weeks, and a flexible/hybrid remote schedule