Senior Buyer

About Surrey Schools

Surrey Schools is committed to fostering an inclusive environment with a strong focus on equity and diversity. We strive to create safe, respectful, and welcoming spaces where academic excellence and diverse perspectives are valued. Our organization promotes fairness, openness, and tolerance, embracing the richness of identity and thought to benefit all employees, students, and families. We proudly operate as an equal opportunity employer welcoming candidates from all backgrounds.

Role Overview

The Senior Buyer will focus on procuring a broad range of high-value and complex goods, materials, services, and equipment for the School District. Acting as a key liaison between departments and vendors, the individual will represent the purchasing team on various committees. This role involves monitoring procurement activities to identify opportunities such as e-procurement adoption, vendor development, contract management, and operational improvements. The incumbent will manage workloads to meet deadlines, guide the purchasing team, and propose enhancements to management for smoother operations.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as project manager for competitive bidding initiatives, collaborating with end users to define specifications, certifications, timelines, and requirements to secure best value.
• Develop comprehensive bid documents including RFPs, RFQs, and RFSQs, incorporating quantitative and qualitative evaluation metrics to identify optimal suppliers.
• Oversee competitive procurement processes complying with statutory and treaty obligations, mitigating risks of legal challenges.
• Form and train bid evaluation teams composed of stakeholders, ensuring evaluations are fair and defensible.
• Prepare final bid analyses and coordinate with user departments for review and contract award approvals.
• Draft contract documentation to enforce supplier commitments regarding quality, cost, schedule, and legal compliance, and manage contracts to address issues proactively.
• Analyze purchasing requisitions utilizing value analysis to determine procurement approach and appropriate bidding methodologies.
• Interpret and apply District policies alongside relevant trade agreements such as NWPTA, CFTA, WTO, NAFTA.
• Maintain district privacy standards and confidentiality protocols.
• Supervise contract administration and mediate internal and external conflicts to minimize legal exposure.
• Provide product catalogues, cost data, and supplier sources to users and streamline ordering processes.
• Track and report cost savings and avoidance metrics to management.
• Collect market and statistical data for departmental reporting and assist with donation processing guidance.
• Scout market sources for standard and unique items, discussing and evaluating options with suppliers and end users.
• Recommend procedural document improvements and draft necessary forms and guidelines.
• Assist with Procurement Card user support.
• Organize meetings and set short- and long-term departmental goals.
• Offer mentorship, guidance, and training support to Purchasing staff and Buyers.
• Execute additional duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Expertise with competitive bidding tools such as RFP, RFQ, RFSQ.
• Understanding of Canadian procurement law, treaty obligations, public procurement protocols, and compliance requirements including WorkSafe BC.
• Familiarity with high-volume computerized public purchasing systems and market pricing trends.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills tailored to diverse audiences including briefing and presentation capabilities.
• Capability to apply global supply chain strategies to maximize value.
• Proficiency in interpreting purchasing policies, regulations, and trade agreements.
• Excellent organizational skills to manage multiple urgent deliverables.
• Leadership experience directing purchasing teams.
• Analytical skills in quantitative and qualitative bid evaluations.
• Advanced use of procurement software, word processing, spreadsheets, databases, and contract management tools.
• Interpersonal skills fostering vendor relationships and teamwork.
• Experienced in leading cross-functional teams across complex environments with various strategic stakeholders.
• Strategic thinker with strong business acumen, able to foresee impacts of decisions and trade-offs.
• Problem-solving and process improvement aptitude, open to innovative stakeholder recommendations.
• Inclusive mindset valuing workforce diversity and multiple perspectives.
• Resilience in managing high workload stressors and competing priorities.
• Commitment to accountability, continuous learning, and leadership by example.

Qualifications and Experience

• Minimum six years of recent procurement experience in public sector.
• Supply Chain Management Professional (SCMP) designation required.
• Active membership in the Supply Chain Management Association of Canada.
• Knowledge of tools including RFP, RFQ, RFT, RFSQ, RFI, and EOI.
• Understanding of relevant provincial and federal procurement laws, legislation, and treaties.

Employment Terms

This unionized role offers an hourly wage of $39.69, accompanied by comprehensive benefits including pension, health coverage, vacation, and sick leave as per the collective agreement. Employment is full-time and onsite in Surrey, British Columbia.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement

Surrey Schools is dedicated to diversity and inclusion, inviting applicants from all backgrounds to apply. We thank all applicants for their interest; only those selected for interviews will be contacted.