Buyer

The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA) is a political subdivision established by Chapter 1230 of the 2020 Acts of Assembly. VPRA is responsible for promoting, sustaining, and expanding the availability of passenger and commuter rail services in the Commonwealth, including all administrative and fiduciary responsibilities for Virginia's state-supported passenger rail services. The VPRA also funds Virginia Railway Express (VRE) and administers all capital expansion projects, infrastructure, and land acquisitions related to the $3.7 billion Transforming Rail in Virginia initiative, which will double Amtrak and VRE service in Virginia over the next decade. The VPRA acts as a "responsible public entity" for acquiring, constructing, improving, maintaining, or operating a "qualifying transportation facility" under the Public Private Partnership Act of 1995.

Are you in need of a change? Do you want great benefits and the opportunity to work with an incredible team? If so, VPRA is the place for you! VPRA is searching for a Buyer responsible for the day-to-day procurement oversight for the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA). This position will be primarily responsible for directly procuring a moderate to high volume of construction, architecture/engineering services, MRO services, and small purchases of goods and services. In addition, the Buyer will develop and deploy high-level strategies and contracting tools to enable VPRA to achieve its goals.

The provisions of the Virginia Public Procurement Act (VPPA)do not apply to VPRA; however, the Buyer has substantive experience with VPPA requirements and principles and is familiar with Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR). Additionally, the Buyer is knowledgeable about procurement requirements associated with using federal dollars through grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation, such as Buy America and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise utilization.

Under minimal direction, the Buyer will:

• Ensure all purchases are performed accurately and timely and follow applicable laws, regulations, and VPRA policies.
• Perform work of moderate to considerable difficulty, including writing solicitations and obtaining bids, proposals, and statements of interest and qualifications; facilitate bid/procurement process; conduct pre-bid/pre-proposal meetings and public bid openings; issue revisions, addenda, or announcements; perform bid/cost analysis; negotiate and award contracts; issue notices of awards; and participate in bid protests resolution.
• Develop reliable sources of supplies/services, emphasizing increasing participation by small and diverse businesses.
• Select and deploy appropriate procurement and contracting methods consistent with VPRA requirements, Federal grants, rules, and marketplace or industry standards.
• Provide oversight for writing and administering contracts that appropriately balance risk, include appropriate terms/conditions, consider VPRA policies, and are legally sufficient.
• Resolve disputes relating to the scope of work, deliverables, and performance.
• Effectively manage change orders and contract renewals.
• Perform contract administration work for construction projects, such as change orders, maintaining backup documentation, tracking bonding and insurance requirements, SWaM/DBE participation, and subcontractor management.
• Manage procurement issues in coordination with procurement leadership to assign, track, and close all issues.
• Attend all customer service calls, utilizing available resources to resolve issues and conflicts while managing all procurement stages effectively. Serve as an escalation point for procurement issues, ensuring that problems are reduced to VPRA leadership.
• Ensure continued compliance with changes in law and VPRA contracting policy. Develop efficient and effective contracting practices for VPRA, explicitly driven to serve and mitigate risk for internal customers, stakeholders, vendors/consultants, and departmental staff.
• Provide guidance and training to VPRA users on procurement strategies, planning, preparation, compliance, and proposal specifications while staying current on market trends and product availability.
• Develop strategic purchasing agreements that result in cost savings and risk reduction for VPRA, ensuring that best business practices are followed to improve the performance, compliance, efficiency, and effectiveness of VPRA's procurement team.
• Assist with vendor management and prospective bidders, communicating processes, policies, and procedures, and representing VPRA tactfully and professionally.
• Communicate with VPRA leadership regarding procurement issues.
• Provide data to support spend analysis and sourcing development.
• Minimal travel may be required (<5%).

Required Education:

• Bachelor's degree in business administration, engineering, construction management, related field, or equivalent experience.

Preferred Education:

• Master's degree in business or public administration

Required Experience:

• Three (3) to five (5) years of relevant procurement experience and demonstrated knowledge of best practice procurement principles for engineering, design, and construction services.
• Familiarity with alternative project delivery methods such as design-build (DB), construction manager-at-risk (CMAR), and progressive design-build.
• Strong understanding of federal and state procurement policy and regulatory issues and the skills to analyze and apply those principles.
• Knowledge of public and private procurement law, acceptable governmental procurement methods, terminology, and principles, including the Virginia Public Procurement Act and Federal Acquisition Regulations.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills to independently and effectively manage a large volume of complex assignments with minimal guidance.
• Capacity to interpret procurement-related laws and policies, apply that knowledge, participate in developing related policies and procedures, and educate staff and consulting partners.
• Ability to make effective decisions that resolve complicated issues when obtaining bids and proposals, awarding contracts, and developing reliable sources of supplies/services.
• Proven negotiation experience with the capacity to negotiate agreements and costs that provide the best value and eliminate risk for procuring goods and services in support of construction, engineering, and simple projects.
• Experience supporting and increasing participation by small and diverse businesses.
• Strong ability to effectively use technology, including Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook) and other commonly used office software, including Adobe, Dynamics 365, and Kahua.
• Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal skills.
• Experience demonstrating the ability to work well under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Demonstrated familiarity with terminology commonly used in civil construction, engineering, and design contracts.

Preferred Experience:

• Experience with complex, multi-million-dollar construction contracts and procurement spending.
• DBE and SBSD experience.
• Virginia Construction Contracting Officer (VCCO) or other procurement/contracting certifications.
• Proficiency with ERP and PMIS systems.
• Takes initiative as a self-starter.
• Critical thinking with the ability to analyze business/procedural processes and to identify/eliminate non-value-added actions, resulting in effective use of resources.

Are you interested in this position, but you don't meet every single requirement? At VPRA, we are dedicated to building a talented team and an inclusive, authentic workplace. So, if you're excited about this role but your experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be the right candidate for this or other positions.

Applicants must fully and accurately represent their qualifications and work history on the application or resume. The decision to interview an applicant is based on the information in the application, resume, or other relevant documents; therefore, applicants must supply detailed information. Submitting an incomplete application/resume or an application/resume lacking in detail may impact your interview eligibility. This website will confirm receipt when the application is submitted successfully. Reasonable accommodations are available to individuals with disabilities during the application and interview processes per the Americans with Disabilities Act. VETERANS, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, AMERICORPS, PEACE CORPS, AND OTHER NATIONAL SERVICE ALUMNI ARE ENCOURAGED TO APPLY. Equal Opportunity Employer