State of Maryland

A Control Agency Procurement Associate Trainee is the entry level of work in procurement contract preparation, processing and development at the Department of General Services, Department of Information Technology or the Department of Budget and Management.   Employees in this classification do not supervise other positions.

Employees in this classification receive close supervision from a Procurement Officer Supervisor or other designated administrator.

Positions in this classification are evaluated by using the classification job evaluation methodology. The use of this method involves comparing assigned duties and responsibilities of a position to the job criteria found in the Nature of Work and Examples of Work Sections of the class specification.

The Control Agency Procurement Associate Trainee, Control Agency Procurement Associate I and Control Agency Procurement Associate II are differentiated on the basis of degree of supervisory control exercised by the supervisor over these employees.  The Control Agency Procurement Associate Trainee learns to perform duties under close supervision.  The Control Agency Procurement Associate I performs duties under close supervision at times and under general supervision at other times depending on the complexity of the specific duty being performed.  The Control Agency Procurement Associate II performs the full range of duties and responsibilities under general supervision.

Learns to assist procurement officers in contract preparation, negotiation and contract management duties from the initial stages until the contract has been awarded and executed;

Learns to prepare and assemble bid and contract packages in accordance with established format, procedures and procurement laws and coordinate the printing and distribution of contract documents;

Learns to assemble Requests for Information (RFI), Requests for Quotation (RFQ), Invitations for Bids (IFB), and Requests for Proposals (RFP) for the Agency Procurement Specialist’s review;

Learns to gather product and price data for procurement negotiations and completes contract documents using information from source materials as requested;

Learns to prepare non-technical contract specifications, renewals, amendments, and addenda and assist in reviewing and editing specifications to ensure terms and conditions are clear and consistent as requested;

Learns to develop, prepare and maintain automated and manual record keeping systems for vendors, procurement records, contract correspondence and associated reports;

Learns to create bidder lists from the database and updates vendor profiles;

Learns to prepare correspondence and complete form letters notifying potential bidders of changes in projects and documents and contractors of bid awards;

Learns to apply procurement laws and agency procurement policies and procedures relative to the administrative duties associated with contract preparation and administration;

Learns advertising requirements for procurement solicitation and contract award;

Learns to update notices on bid board and bid hot line and answer inquiries from contractors, vendors, suppliers and other interested parties regarding projects, contract documents and schedules and basic procurement procedures;

Learns to verify Certificates of Insurance, Bonds and references for compliance with contract requirements;

Learns to verify Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) participation;

Learns to prepare procurement transmittal documents and Board of Public Works documents for contract approval;

Learns to use Advanced Purchasing and Inventory System (ADPICS) portion of Financial Management Information Systems (FMIS) to facilitate the procurement process;

May attend pre-proposal conferences and public bid openings with the assigned Procurement Officer.

Performs other related duties.

Knowledge of business office methods, practices and procedures;

Knowledge of elementary math, such as adding and subtracting costs and figuring percentages;

Ability to learn to use computerized databases;

Ability to comprehend and follow detailed directions and procedures;

Ability to prepare reports and communications;

Ability to comprehend clauses of procurement contracts;

Ability to establish and meet timetables and deadlines to ensure the availability of all necessary contract documents;

Ability to communicate effectively with professional, technical, and clerical personnel inside and outside the agency.

Education:   Graduation from an accredited high school or possession of a high school equivalency certificate.

Experience: None.

Class specifications are broad descriptions covering groups of positions used by various State departments and agencies. Position descriptions maintained by the using department or agency specifically address the essential job functions of each position.

This is a Skilled Service classification in the State Personnel Management System.   All positions in this classification are Skilled Service positions. Some positions in Skilled Service classifications may be designated Special Appointment in accordance with the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 6-405, Annotated Code of Maryland.

This classification is assigned to Bargaining Unit B, Administrative, Technical and Clerical classes. As provided by State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 3-102, special appointment, temporary, contractual, supervisory, managerial and confidential employees are excluded from collective bargaining.  Additionally, certain executive branch agencies are exempt from collective bargaining and all positions in those agencies are excluded from collective bargaining.

Employees in this classification are eligible to receive overtime compensation. An employee who works more than the normal workweek is entitled to be compensated for that overtime as provided by State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 8-305.

This classification is one level in a Non-Competitive Promotion (NCP) series.  NCP promotions are promotions by which employees may advance in grade and class level from trainee to full performance levels in a classification series. In order to be non-competitively promoted to the next level in a NCP series an employee must: 1) perform the main purpose of the class as defined in the Nature of Work section of the class specification; 2) receive the type of supervision defined in the class specification, and 3) meet the minimum qualifications of the classification.