ERIE COUNTY

CIVIL SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

ERIE COUNTY IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Please refer to our internet address at: www.erie.gov

A NON-REFUNDABLE $20.00 PROCESSING FEE

OR APPLICATION FEE WAIVER AND CERTIFICATION FORM MUST ACCOMPANY EACH APPLICATION

(CHECK OR MONEY ORDER ONLY – PAYABLE TO: ERIE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL)

See reverse side of this announcement for fee waiver information

PURCHASING SUPERVISOR

NO. 64-501 $44,876 - $59,268

RESIDENCE REQUIREMENTS: THERE ARE NO RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THIS EXAMINATION. At present there is one vacancy at the Erie County Medical Center.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Candidates must meet one of the following requirements on or before the date of the written test:

a. Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university with a bachelor’s degree and five years of business experience, including four years in a position with primary responsibility for the purchasing of commodities and/or services, one year of which was in a supervisory* capacity;

b. Graduation from high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma and nine years of business experience, including four years in a position with primary responsibility for the purchasing of commodities and/or services, one year of which was in a supervisory* capacity;

c. An equivalent combination of training and experience as defined by the limits of (a) and (b).

*SUPERVISION – Responsible direction and control of subordinate employees. This involves the assignment of work, approval of work, training, evaluation and discipline of employees. The supervisory aspects must be an integral part of the job, not incidental or occasional.

NOTE: 1 Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience will be pro-rated toward meeting the experience requirements. 2. Your degree and/or college credit must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university or one recognized by the New York State Education Department as following acceptable educational practices. A grade of “D” or better is necessary for a course to be credited as successfully completed. If your degree and/or college credit was awarded by an educational institution outside of the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. You can write to this Department for a list of acceptable companies providing this service; you must pay the required evaluation fee.

NOTICE: Erie County no longer maintains a file of applicant transcripts. Exam applicants must be prepared to provide documentation of educational qualifications (transcript, diploma, etc.) to the hiring agency prior to appointment. Documentation may also be submitted with the exam application.

DUTIES: A Purchasing Supervisor directs and supervises subordinate staff engaged in the purchasing of assigned commodities and services; supervises purchasing activities involving a high degree of responsibility due to the special nature or value of the commodity or service to be procured; reviews purchase requisitions with specifications for accuracy and completeness and makes procurement decisions accordingly or delegates this task to a subordinate; contacts and interviews vendors regarding purchase of commodities or services; supervises the conduct of correspondence and maintenance of adequate purchasing records; consults with departmental officials regarding large scale or special purchase requirements; studies price trends and market conditions as they affect particular commodities; supervises the preparation of activity reports; makes determinations as to the quantity to purchase and whether to carry the item in a warehouse inventory status or to purchase from the supplier’s inventory; investigates complaints including the inspection of goods concerning quality and quantity matters; inspects vendor places of businesses and goods prior to delivery to determine conformance to specification; prepares bid specifications with the aid of others and solicits bidder responses and selects the successful bidder, completing the purchase order; supervises the preparation of lists of qualified bidders and a history of unfavorable vendor performance to assure future bids are awarded to responsible bidders.

A medical examination may be required before appointment.

VETERANS: PROOF OF SERVICE MUST BE SUBMITTED BEFORE LIST IS ESTABLISHED

TO RECEIVE ADDITIONAL POINTS. (See application for more information.)

NOTICES TO APPEAR FOR THE EXAMINATION ARE MAILED APPROXIMATELY ONE WEEK PRIOR TO THE EXAMINATION DATE

EXAMINATION DATE

A P R I L 2 8, 2 0 0 7

SEE REVERSE SIDE

APPLICATIONS MUST BE

POSTMARKED BY

M A R C H 2 8, 2 0 0 7

- 2 -

SUBJECT OF EXAMINATION: The written test is designed to test for knowledge, skills, and/or abilities in such areas as:

1. PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF PURCHASING - These questions test for candidates' knowledge of the principles guiding governmental purchasing operations and the ability to put them into practice. These questions may deal with but are not necessarily limited to such matters as the analysis of bids, the use of specifications, the award of contracts, the analysis of market factors that can affect the cost of a purchase, and the application of a set of rules to determine how to proceed with a purchase. Some arithmetic computation may be necessary. No specific knowledge of NYS purchasing laws, rules and regulations will be required to answer these questions.

2. PREPARING WRITTEN MATERIAL - These questions test for the ability to present information clearly and accurately, and to organize paragraphs logically and comprehensibly. For some questions, you will be given information in two or three sentences followed by four restatements of the information. You must then choose the best version. For other questions, you will be given paragraphs with their sentences out of order. You must then choose, from four suggestions, the best order for the sentences.

3. SUPERVISION - These questions test for knowledge of the principles and practices employed in planning, organizing, and controlling the activities of a work unit toward predetermined objectives. The concepts covered, usually in a situational question format, include such topics as assigning and reviewing work; evaluating performance; maintaining work standards; motivating and developing subordinates; implementing procedural change; increasing efficiency; and dealing with problems of absenteeism, morale, and discipline.

4. UNDERSTANDING AND INTERPRETING WRITTEN MATERIAL - These questions test how well you comprehend written material. You will be provided with brief reading selections and will be asked questions about the selections. All the information required to answer the questions will be presented in the selections; you will not be required to have any special knowledge relating to the subject areas of the selections.

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES: It is recommended that candidates use a quiet, hand held, solar or battery powered calculator. Devices with typewriter keyboards, "Spell Checkers", " Personal Digital Assistants", "Address Books", "Language Translators", "Dictionaries", or any similar devices are prohibited. You may not bring books or other reference materials.

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES WHO ARE ALSO TAKING ANOTHER CIVIL SERVICE EXAM(S) ON THIS DATE (See Below)

(IF YOU ARE TAKING 2 OR MORE ERIE COUNTY EXAMS ON THIS DATE IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO CALL)

INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES

APPLICATION FORMS: You may obtain these forms in person at the Erie County Personnel Department, Rath County Office Building, 95 Franklin St., Buffalo. Forms are also available in the libraries and at Town, Village and School District administrative offices.

Mail your application form when completed to the Erie County Department of Personnel, 95 Franklin St., Buffalo, NY 14202.

Candidates who submit incomplete applications and documentation may be disqualified. The Erie County Department of Personnel reserves the right to reject for lateness or to accept applications filed after the advertised filing period.

MILITARY STATUS: Active duty military personnel may file an application for this exam. A special military make-up examination will be conducted for any member of the armed forces of the United States who has duly filed a timely application but who was deprived of the opportunity to compete in the scheduled exam due to active military duty. Special conditions apply to these requests and may be reviewed at the Erie County Department of Personnel.

VETERANS: Disabled and non-disabled veterans as defined in Section 85, New York State Civil Service Law, will have 10 and 5 points, respectively added to their earned scores if successful in the examination. You must claim these credits when you file application but you have an option to waive them any time prior to appointment. If you have already used these credits for a permanent position in NYS, you may not claim them again.

In conformance with section 85-a of the Civil Service Law, CHILDREN OF FIREFIGHTERS AND POLICE OFFICERS KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY shall be entitled to receive an additional ten points in a competitive examination for original appointment in the same municipality in which his or her parent has served. If you are qualified to participate in this examination and are a child of a firefighter or police officer killed in the line of duty in this municipality, please inform this office of this matter when you submit your application for examination. A candidate claiming such credit has a minimum of two months from the application deadline to provide the necessary documentation to verify additional credit eligibility. However, no credit may be added after the eligible list has been established.

APPLYING FOR EXAMINATIONS IN MULTIPLE JURISDICTIONS ON SAME DATE. If you have applied for any other Civil Service exams for employment with New York State or any other local government jurisdiction, you must make arrangement to take all the exams at one test site.

If you have applied for both State and Local government exams, you must make arrangements to take all your exams at the State exam center by calling 1-877-NYS-JOBS (1-877-697-5627) no later than two weeks before the test date.
If you have applied for other local government exams, call or write each Civil Service Agency to make arrangements. You must make your request for these arrangements no later than three weeks before the date of the exams. You must notify all local government civil service agencies with whom you have filed an application of the which you wish to take your exam(s). For this exam call (716)858-7509 or write Erie Co. Personnel Dept., 95 Franklin St, Buffalo, NY 14202.

ADMISSION TO EXAMINATION: Notice to appear for the test will be conditional as review of application for minimum requirements may not be made until after the written test. Call or write this Department if you have not received your notice 3 days before the date of the test. You may not be admitted to the examination room without official notice.

SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS: Applicants whose religious beliefs prevent their taking examinations before sundown on Saturday and physically handicapped candidates who require special examination facilities should so inform the Erie County Department of Personnel, by a separately mailed letter at the earliest possible date before the test.

RATINGS REQUIRED: Tests are rated on a scale of 100 with a passing mark at 70. Unless the announcement states otherwise, you must pass the written test and the oral test, if any. Test instructions may further divide the tests into parts and set minimum standards for each part.

TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE: If a subject of the examination, training and experience may not be rated if all passing candidates are expected to be immediately reachable for appointment. If rated, training and experience will be based on the statements in your application subject to verification. If this examination includes a qualifying written test, candidates admitted to the test will have conditional approval only. Final decision regarding the qualifications of candidates rests with the New York State Department of Civil Service.

VERIFICATION OF QUALIFICATIONS: Candidates may be investigated or called for an interview to verify information contained on the application.

Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience may be pro-rated toward meeting full-time experience requirements.

MEDICAL EXAMINATION: You may be required to take a medical examination to determine if you are medically and physically capable of performing the duties of the position.

In accordance with State Law, Governor’s Executive Order 6, and Section 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended the County of Erie does not discriminate against handicapped persons in access to employment, during employment, or in any of its programs

and activities.

ELIGIBLE LIST: The eligible list resulting from an examination may also be used for appointment to the same title or to any other title deemed to be similar and appropriate. Eligible lists are active for a minimum of one year and a maximum of four years from the date established.

Background Investigation: Applicants may be required to undergo a State and national criminal history background investigation, which will include a fingerprint check, to determine suitability for appointment. Failure to meet the standards for the background investigation may result in disqualification. Applicants may be required to pay a fee for the investigation.

NOTE: Fingerprints are sometimes required at the time of appointment. When they are required, the fee involved must be paid by the appointee.

**IMPORTANT APPLICATION FEE - READ CAREFULLY**

A $20.00 filing fee is required for this exam. The required fee must accompany your application. Send or bring check or money order made payable to Erie County Personnel Department and write the examination number(s) on your check or money order. Do not send or bring cash, as the County cannot be responsible for cash payment. As no refund will be made, you are urged to compare your qualifications carefully with the requirements for admission and file only for those examinations for which you are clearly qualified.

APPLICATION FEE WAIVER: A waiver of application fee will be allowed if you are unemployed and primarily responsible for the support of a household. In addition, a waiver of application fee will be allowed if you are determined eligible for Medicaid, or receiving Supplemental Security Income payments, or Public Assistance (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families/Family Assistance or Safety Net Assistance) or are certified Job Training Partnership Act/Workforce Investment Act eligible through a State or local social service agency.

All claims for application fee waiver are subject to verification. If you can verify eligibility for application fee waiver, complete a “Request for Application Fee Waiver and Certification: form and submit it with your application by the close of business on the Application Deadline as listed on the Examination Announcement. The form is available at the Erie County Personnel Department, 95 Franklin Street, Buffalo, NY (Room 604) or can be downloaded from the County’s website at www.erie.gov. Click on “County Departments and Agencies”, then “Erie County Civil Service”.