Procurement & Contract Specialist

Red Deer; Red Deer; Hybrid; CAD 70,000 - 74,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of Red Deer is seeking a Procurement & Contract Specialist to lead complex procurement and contract activities. You will ensure compliance with bidding laws, policies, and procedures while advising City departments and managing supplier relationships.

Responsibilities include bid package preparation, evaluation, contract administration, record keeping, and system support with JD Edwards. Strong ethics, negotiation, and communication are essential in this senior role.

Qualifications

• College Diploma, Bachelor’s Degree in law and economics would be an asset.
• Supply Chain Management Professional (SCMP) or CPPB certification is advantageous.
• Two years’ experience in tendering, procurement, contracting or risk duties.
• Knowledge of procurement methodologies, bidding laws and contract law.
• Ability to negotiate and write contracts using current boilerplates.
• Superior verbal and written communication, ethics and discretion.
• Strong leadership and teambuilding skills; adapt to change.
• Experience with Microsoft Office; JD Edwards knowledge is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Administer and manage competitive procurement and tendering processes in compliance with City policies.
• Provide procurement expertise related to contract law, MAG, AIT/CFTA, NWPTA and related regs.
• Coordinate and prepare bid packages for City departments.
• Evaluate bids and proposals with compliance reviews and fair award processes.
• Oversee public tender openings ensuring integrity and transparency.
• Manage contract administration including award docs, execution and performance issues.
• Maintain procurement records and support month-end/year-end processes.
• Provide training and system expertise for procurement tools and JD Edwards.
• Build relationships with departments, suppliers and external stakeholders.
• Support procurement operations including system troubleshooting and special projects.

Skills

Negotiation

Contract writing

Verbal communication

Written communication

Leadership

Independence

Attention to detail

Microsoft Office

JDEdwards

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Law and Economics

Tools

JD Edwards

Job description

About Red Deer
Red Deer sits at the heart of Central Alberta along the QEII corridor, perfectly positioned between Calgary and Edmonton. With more than 100,000 residents and a regional reach of over 300,000, it’s a growing hub for business, services, and opportunity.

Here, big-city amenities meet small-city ease. Enjoy abundant parks and trails, vibrant arts and culture, excellent recreation and education, and a strong sense of community.

With easy access to lakes, outdoor adventures, and the mountains, plus a thriving economy and high quality of life, Red Deer is an inviting place to live, work, and grow.

About The City of Red Deer Municipal Government
The City of Red Deer is a dynamic municipal organization with a $480M operating budget, a $60M capital program, and a workforce of nearly 1,700 employees. It is focused on growing with purpose by attracting talented, community-minded people who want to make a difference.

Guided by the vision “Our City, One Voice,” Red Deer is building a thriving, inclusive, and connected community, with priorities centered on a vibrant economy, community wellbeing, and strong engagement.

At its core, the City values its people, embracing diverse perspectives and fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and shared success.

The Opportunity:
The City of Red Deer is currently recruiting for a Procurement & Contract Specialist to fill a Regular full-time position. The Procurement & Contract Specialist operates at senior level; it deals with high complexity matters and is fully independent. It is responsible for procurement and the legal aspects of competitive bidding and related contract processes for all departments within The City. The position ensures strict compliance with competitive bidding law, current regulations and The City‘s Procurement Policy and Procedures. It maintains positive public perception of the municipality by ensuring fairness, transparency and openness in public procurement opportunities. The position is responsible for risk assessment related to competitive bidding process and contract law. A high degree of professional judgment and independence is required in performing these duties while advising and liaising with City departments to maintain strong working relationships.

Top Key Responsibilities:

• Administer and manage competitive procurement and tendering processes in compliance with City policies, trade agreements, and legislation.
• Provide procurement expertise related to contract law, Municipal Government Act, AIT/CFTA, NWPTA, and other applicable regulations.
• Coordinate and prepare competitive and non-competitive bid packages for City departments.
• Evaluate bids and proposals by conducting compliance reviews, supporting evaluation teams, and ensuring fair, transparent award processes.
• Oversee public tender openings and maintain integrity, fairness, and transparency throughout procurement activities.
• Manage contract administration processes, including award documentation, contract execution, record management, and addressing contractor performance issues.
• Maintain procurement records, generate financial and procurement reports, and support month-end/year-end processes.
• Provide training, technical support, and system expertise for procurement tools and the JD Edwards purchasing module.
• Build and maintain effective working relationships with departments, suppliers, contractors, and external stakeholders while supporting vendor access to procurement systems such as Alberta Purchasing Connection (APC).
• Support operational and administrative functions within Procurement, including troubleshooting system issues, managing procurement communications, contributing to special projects, and ensuring compliance with health and safety requirements.

As our preferred candidate, you will have:

• College Diploma, Bachelor’s Degree with majors such as major in law and economics (or accounting) would be an asset and Supply Chain Management Professional (SCMP), or Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB), etc.
• Two years’ experience performing tendering/procurement/contracting/risk duties
• In-depth knowledge and understanding of current procurement methodologies, competitive bidding laws, legislation impacting public procurement, contract law, common law and provincial statues
• Ability to negotiate and write contracts using current boilerplates on behalf of The City
• Superior verbal and written communication skills including ability to handle difficult vendors/stakeholders
• Demonstrates high standard of ethics, integrity and discretion
• Demonstrates strong leadership and teambuilding skills
• Ability to provide consistent professional services under the pressure of conflicting priorities and public scrutiny
• Ability to adapt in an environment of ongoing change and act in the role of change agent
• Ability to apply purchasing theory in conjunction with current legislation and policy and procedures
• Ability to formulate and implement procurement policies and procedures
• Ability to process a high volume of information within tight deadlines
• Ability to work with considerable independence and to demonstrate initiative and resourcefulness in establishing and achieving business objectives
• Ability to perform duties as described with a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail, to minimize errors and/or omissions (e.g. financial data, cost savings, bid summary sheets, specifications) and to use good judgement and discretion in disclosure of information
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office suite (Word and Excel)
• Previous experience with JDEdwards financial system would be an asset

Affiliation: Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 417

Status: Regular Full-time

Remuneration: $50.93 to $53.62 per hour

Hours of Work: 75 hours biweekly; Monday to Friday, some evening and weekend work may be required when needed.

The City of Red Deer does not permit the use of unauthorized internet resources or Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools (for example, Copilot, ChatGPT or any other form of AI) during interviews or any supervised or timed assessments. Any violation may be investigated and result in serious consequences, including the rejection of your application.

We thank you for your application. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.