Salary: $54,204.00 - $72,924.00 Annually
Location : Thurston County - Olympia, WA
Job Type: Agency Internal - Permanent
Remote Employment: Flexible/Hybrid
Job Number: 6
Department: Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
Division: Chief Financial Office
Opening Date: 04/10/2025
Closing Date: 4/17/:59 PM Pacific
Description GENERSAL SERVICE JOB ANNOUNCEMENT Purchasing and Supply Specialist 3 - In-Training Salary range at the PSS3 Level - $54,204 -$72,924
(successful candidate salary range is dependent upon in-training plan)
INTERNAL RECRUITMENT Recruitment closes April 17, 2025 The Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) seeks to fill a Purchasing and Supply Specialist 3 - In-Training. This full-time position is based in Olympia, Washington.
This position may be eligible for partial telework after an initial in-office training period is successfully completed. Telework is a combination of in-building and off-site days. We encourage interested candidates to visit the OSPI website to gain insight into our agency.
About OSPI and our initiatives OSPI is the primary agency charged with overseeing public K-12 education in Washington state. Working with the state's 295 public school districts and 7 state-tribal education compact schools, OSPI allocates funding and provides tools, resources, and technical assistance so every student in Washington is provided a high-quality public education.
At OSPI, we recognize that our employees are the key to the success of the agency. We are committed to our work but value the balance with our personal lives. We demonstrate our commitment to employees by providing an environment that stimulates professional growth and values them for their expertise. OSPI is a great place to work and has several initiatives to help create a great working environment, including:
- We support a healthy work/life balance by offering flexible/alternative work schedules and mobile and telework options. (Depending on job duties and work location.)
- We have a tuition assistance policy and support employees seeking tuition waiver through participating higher education organizations.
- We have an Infant at Work Program that is based on long-term values of newborns and infant-parent bonding. Eligible employees who are new parents or legal guardians can bring their infant (six weeks to six months) when returning to work. (Depending on job duties and work location.)
- We value and are actively involved in promoting diversity, equity and inclusion within OSPI by way of cross-divisional, collaborative committee. The focus of the committee includes employee engagement and education; reinforcing OSPI values; and maximizing the value of diversity and identifying strategies for inclusion.
Vision, Mission, and ValuesVision: All students prepared for post-secondary pathways, careers, and civic engagement.
Mission: Transform K-12 education to a system that is centered on closing opportunity gaps and is characterized by high expectations for all students and educators. We achieve this by developing equity-based policies and supports that empower educators, families, and communities.
Values: Ensuring Equity, Collaboration and Service, Achieving Excellence through Continuous Improvement, Focus on the Whole Child
Equity Each student, family, and community possesses strengths and cultural knowledge that benefits their peers, educators, and schools. Ensuring educational equity:
- Goes beyond equality; it requires education leaders to examine the ways current policies and practices result in disparate outcomes for our students of color, students living in poverty, students receiving special education and English Learner services, students who identify as LGBTQ+, and highly mobile student populations.
- Requires education leaders to develop an understanding of historical contexts; engage students, families, and community representatives as partners in decision-making; and actively dismantle systemic barriers, replacing them with policies and practices that ensure all students have access to the instruction and support they need to succeed in our schools.
Position Overview This position is the sole purchasing offer for the agency, overseeing the central process of purchasing goods and routine services, ensuring the purchasing activity adheres to internal and external policies, regulations, and guidelines. This position is responsible for providing employees with clear guidelines and procedures and ensuring the items purchased are a good use of resources and follow contracts and laws.
Key Responsibilities - Exercises authority to independently make decisions with significant financial impact
- Determines appropriate course of action/procurement methodology, including but not limited to competitive procurements, Sole Source and Direct Buy acquisitions, Interagency and/or Interlocal Agreements, Data Sharing Agreements and/or Memorandums of Understanding
- Assures compliance with Washington state procurement rules, regulations, and guidelines, and appropriate use of mandatory Washington Statewide Contracts when applicable
- Receives, examines, approves, and processes/purchases procurement request for supplies, equipment, and routine services, for all departments within OSPI and the Boards that reside within for administrative purposes including the Charter Schools Commission, the Financial Education Public-Private Partnership, the Professional Educator Standards Board, and the State Board of Education.
- Coordinates purchases of furniture with OSPI's Facilities Manager as necessary
- Coordinates purchases of technology with OSPI's Information Technology unit as necessary
- Coordinates purchases with other subject matter experts as necessary
- Provides consultation and clarification on orders with agency staff who originated/approved the request when necessary
- Communicates with vendors on status of billing, orders, price adjustments, returns, and agreements
- Performs market analysis and customer needs assessment studies to identify new contracting possibilities
- Promotes Minority and Women Business Enterprise outreach programs
- Manages, maintains, and organizes preparation and processing of all documents related to this position's work according to Washington state and OSPI archive and records retention schedules
- Provides purchasing support to agency staff and prepares and conducts individual and group training sessions regarding OSPI's Purchase Request process as necessary
- Maintains records of required Small Purchases training for any agency staff who request or approve Purchase Requests; directs those who are required to take training to do so
- Serves as the agency purchasing card administrator
- Serves as backup for other Procurement Office staff performing contract-related tasks
Required Qualifications: Associate of Arts degree and one year of full-time purchasing experience or three (3) years of extensive support for purchasing activities in an office, department, or division.
In addition to those required qualifications, our ideal applicant will also have some or all of the following: - Experience creating Purchase Request documents
- Familiarity with internal OSPI process for Purchasing
- Familiarity with Department of Enterprise Services rules, policies, and process regarding purchasing
Desired Qualifications: - Experience within a Washington state agency, municipality, or school district, performing procurement-related functions
- Knowledge of procurement techniques, research and market analysis techniques, effective communication and interpersonal relations, Smartsheet, Microsoft suite, especially Excel, SharePoint, and PowerApps
- Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationship with suppliers, customers, fellow employees and the public; adapt rapidly to changing market conditions and/or customer needs; effectively employ automated procurement systems; prepare and conduct group and/or individual training sessions
Compensation The annual compensation for the position is dependent on successful candidate's experience, educational background and qualifications. Geographic differentials may be applied based on work location of successful candidate. Washington State offers a generous benefit package including health, dental and life insurance, retirement and an optional deferred compensation program. Please visit Health Care Authority for information regarding health benefits and the Department of Retirement Systems for retirement plan information. This is a general service position. This position is not represented by a bargaining unit.
Application Process Those interested in this position must apply through Careers.wa.gov. Applications must include the following documents in
MS Word and PDF format only:
- A letter of interest specifically addressing the qualifications listed in this announcement;
- A current résumé, and;
- A list of three or more professional references.
Please
address any questions to:
Sal Salazar, Human Resources
Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
600 Washington Street Southeast
Olympia, Washington
: . click apply for full job details