Procurement Specialist, Nova Scotia Food Program (Program Admin. Officer 3)

About Us

Procurement is a division of the Department of Service Nova Scotia that manages major purchases for departments, agencies, boards and commissions and their complex business needs. In Procurement, we ensure an open and fair purchasing process that maximizes competition and supports the environment, economy, and society to obtain the best value. We provide the knowledge and expertise required to guide government as it seeks unique, creative, sustainable procurement solutions for complex business needs.

Procurement is changing as a function within the enterprise and as a profession. Our Vision is to be the leader in government procurement service delivery, and we will achieve this through integrating an innovative approach in all procurement efforts, resulting in:

• Responsible management of public resources;
• Clear client focus;
• Optimized sourcing solutions; and
• Transparency, compliance, and sustainability accountability to our colleagues and customers.

What is Procurement?

Procurement is defined as the activities involved in establishing requirements, sourcing activities, market research, and negotiation of contracts to acquire products or services.

Moreover, procurement exists to explore supply market opportunities and to implement sourcing strategies that deliver the best possible outcome to the organization, its stakeholders and Nova Scotia overall. SNS Procurement provides knowledge & expertise to guide our clients as they seek unique, creative, sustainable procurement solutions for complex business needs.

Clinical Procurement provides these services to health care organizations in Nova Scotia, including Nova Scotia Health.

About Our Opportunity

This position will be supporting the NS Food Program which is made up of over 80+ facilities throughout Nova Scotia covering NSHA, IWK, continuing care facilities, correctional facilities, and community groups.

Primary Accountabilities

In this role you can expect to:

-Provide general program support to the NS Food Program.
-Possess a keen understanding of healthcare food and nutrition requirements and the nuances and considerations associated with procurement activities for this sector.
-Act as liaison between the Group Purchasing Organizations' head office, program members, and the supplier community.
-Participate in internal and external committees that support the program.
-Plan, manage, execute, and evaluate various projects.
-Provide procurement guidance and assistance.
-Have a strong customer service orientation with experience in delivering excellence in client service.
-Have a professional demeanor as a front facing program representative.
-Category reporting through mining and analyzing data, compiling results, and highlighting actions, trends, and patterns while identifying financial impact/opportunities.
-Identify opportunities to achieve best value through stakeholder engagement, spend analytics, and category market intelligence.
-Determination of opportunities to test the market through procurement processes will also be required through consultation with the provincial program steering committee.
-Understand and apply various sourcing strategies and assist with contract negotiations; and
-Complete other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications and Experience

The ideal candidate will have a Bachelor's Degree plus a minimum of 5 years related experience.

Related experience may include:

-Food service experience in a healthcare setting.
-Experience in food service sales or distribution.
-Experience in food service procurement.
-Experience working in a clinical procurement environment; and
-Experience in procurement.

You also have the following skills or work experience:

-Knowledge and experience in food program development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.
-Interpersonal and creativity skills, as well as a high degree of diplomacy in providing advice and guidance to senior management, as well as being effective to address/resolve vendor and client complaints and queries.
-Establishing and maintaining effective rapport across broad stakeholder community.
-Building, managing, and supporting successful multi-stakeholder partnerships.
-Intermediate to advanced skills with the Microsoft Office suite especially Excel and PowerPoint.
-Experience in data analytics.
-Advanced demonstrable time management and organizational skills are required; and
-Proven team player working collaboratively with management, peers & clients

We will assess the above qualifications and competencies using one or more of the following tools: written examination, standardized tests, oral presentations, interview(s), and reference checks.

Assets

-Completion or partial completion of Applied Human Nutrition (Dietetics) program or equivalent.
-Completion or partial completion of Certification/Training such as PMP, CAPM, PSPP, SCMP;
-Contract management experience.
-Project management experience.
-Vendor management experience.
-Public procurement; and
-Experience in account reconciliation.

Equivalency

An equivalent combination of training, education and experience will be considered. Applicants relying on education and experience equivalencies must demonstrate such equivalencies in their application.

Benefits

Based on the employment status and union agreement, the Government of Nova Scotia offers its employees a wide range of benefits such as a Defined Benefit Pension Plan, Health, Dental, Life Insurance, General illness, Short and Long Term Disability, Vacation and Employee and Family Assistance Programs. For information on all our Benefit program offerings, click here: Benefits for government employees.

Working Conditions

This role is primarily based in an office environment. You must be able to work efficiently and effectively in a workplace environment that is constantly dealing with time pressures and caseload demands. You may be working at your computer for extended periods of time. The Procurement team is currently working in a hybrid model with specified office and remote days.

What We Offer

• Career Development where you have access to career guidance, tools, resources, and ongoing training for every stage of your career.
• Engaging workplace. Our Employees feel valued, respected, connected, and tuned in. We have forward-thinking policies and strategies.
• Countless Career Paths.
• Department Specific Flexible working schedules.