State of Maryland

An Agency Procurement Specialist I is the intermediate level of work procuring equipment, services, construction, supplies, information technology, and other needs, which must be obtained through the competitive or negotiated procurement process. Employees in this classification are responsible for soliciting, evaluating, negotiating and awarding contracts, according to State Procurement laws, procedures and regulations, as well as maintaining contracts by ensuring compliance with terms and conditions. Employees in this classification do not supervise other Agency Procurement Specialists, but may give guidance and direction to a unit of agency procurement associates and support staff.

Employees in this classification receive moderate supervision from an Agency Procurement Specialist Supervisor or other designated administrator.

Positions in this classification are evaluated 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 a class specification.

The Agency Procurement Specialist Trainee, Agency Procurement Specialist I and Agency Procurement Specialist II are differentiated on the basis of degree of supervisory control exercised by the supervisor over these employees. The Agency Procurement Specialist Trainee learns to perform duties under close supervision, the Agency Procurement Specialist 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 and the Agency Procurement Specialist II performs the full range of duties under general supervision.

Instructs State contract managers in proper contract management techniques, and/or assists with or manages contract after award;

Reviews and analyzes purchase requisitions and determines the most appropriate procurement methods to use, such as negotiated awards, competitive sealed bidding, competitive sealed proposals, sole source or emergency in accordance with State Procurement laws, procedures and regulations;

Determines basis for awards and evaluation criteria;

Develops contract specifications including performance and acceptance standards, payment terms, contract management elements, contract modifications, contract renewals and advertisement requirements in accordance with State procurement procedures, laws and regulations for the procurement of all necessary services, supplies, maintenance and equipment;

Conducts pre-bid and pre-proposal conferences and site inspections and explains procurement requirements;

Establishes procurement procedures, and schedules, participates in, and conducts offerors discussions and contract negotiations;

Prepares minutes of pre-bid and pre-proposal conferences, addenda to Requests for Proposals (RFP) and Invitation for Bids (IFB) and answers written questions from potential bidders and offerors;

Examines bid proposals to determine issues of responsiveness and responsibility and/or the need for additional information;

Conducts bid openings for competitive procurements to determine whether offerors are reasonably qualified to be selected for award and may recommend proposals for awards;

Assists with or conducts debriefings;

Negotiates the most favorable prices, terms and conditions for noncompetitive sole source and emergency procurements;

Researches materials and provides testimony regarding Board of Public Works (BPW) items;

Evaluates contractor’s performance against terms and conditions of contracts and recommends corrective action such as the application of damages, withholding of payment or termination of contract;

Confers with Assistant Attorney General’s Office regarding bid irregularities, contract disputes, protests or appeals and Public Information Act requests;

Verifies Certificates of Insurance, Bonds and references for compliance with contract requirements;

Verifies Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) participation;

Prepares documents for BPW contract approval; Uses Advanced Purchasing and Inventory System (ADPICS) portion of Financial Management Information System (FMIS) to facilitate the procurement process;

May provide advice and guidance to paraprofessional support staff; Performs other related duties.

A Class Description provides information about the Nature of Work, Examples of Work and General Requirements for a classification in the Management Service or a classification in the Skilled or Professional Service in which all positions have been designated Special Appointments.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities; Minimum Education and Experience Requirements; Special Requirements; and recruitment and testing procedures are set by the using agency.

Class descriptions broadly define 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.