Procurement Specialist

United States Courts; Springfield (IL); Hybrid; USD 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Federal benefits (vacation, sick leave

FERS and TSP enrollment

Health, dental, vision insurance

Job summary

United States Courts in Illinois seeks a Procurement Specialist to procure goods and services for court units, coordinate purchases, and ensure compliance with policies and internal controls.

The role involves handling government contracts, reviewing requests, managing vendor lists, processing invoices, and supporting audits. Some telework may be allowed; prior government procurement experience is preferred.

Qualifications

• A minimum high school graduation or equivalent and one year of specialized experience equivalent to work at the CL 24 grade level.
• Specialized experience involves procurement administration/financial administration and/or accounting; routine use of automated systems and applications.

Responsibilities

• Procure goods and services from government and non-government sources, through new contracts, competitive bids, or existing government contracts; plan and coordinate purchases and delivery.
• Assess requests for goods and services for allowability, availability of funds, and maintain records; reconcile accounts and prepare reports.
• Identify and maintain vendor sources; review, verify, and process invoices; prepare payment requests.
• Adhere to Guide to Judiciary Policy and court internal controls.
• Update inventory listings and conduct reconciliations.
• Assist with space and facilities project needs including furniture installation/removal.
• Aim to obtain Contracting Officer Contracting Program certification levels 1–3 after appointment and maintain through continuing education.
• Prepare procurement documents for internal audits and cyclical audits.
• Other duties as assigned.

Skills

Procurement administration

Vendor management

Government contracting

Communication skills

Tools

Word processing

Spreadsheets

Databases

Job description

Overview of the Position The U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois is accepting applications for the position of Procurement Specialist reporting directly to the Procurement Administrator. Procurement Specialists perform and coordinate administrative, technical, and professional work related to ensuring that court units are supplied with the materials, equipment, and services required to function optimally, including ensuring compliance with the appropriate guidelines, policies, and approved internal controls.

• Procure goods and services from government and non-government sources through new contracts, competitive bids, or existing government contracts. Plans and coordinates time and delivery of purchases.
• Assess requests for goods and services by ensuring that they are allowable under limitations, restrictions, and policies, as well as determining availability of funds. Review accounting records of each functional allotment and reconcile accounts. Prepare reports and maintain databases to track expenditures.
• Identify and maintain lists of vendors and sources of supply for goods and services. Review, evaluate, verify, and process invoices, and prepare payment requests.
• Adhere to the Guide to Judiciary Policy, Vol. 14 (Procurement) and the court unit’s internal control procedures.
• Update inventory listing of property and conduct inventory reconciliations.
• Assist with space and facilities project needs, including installation and/or removal of furniture.
• Ability to obtain Contracting Officer Contracting Program certification levels 1,2, and 3 after appointment, and continues to maintain this certification by completing continuing education courses, as required.
• Skill in completing various forms used in the procurement process and maintaining related records.
• Provide procurement documents for annual internal audit and cyclical audits.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• A minimum high school graduation or equivalent and one year of specialized experience equivalent to work at the CL 24 grade level. Specialized experience is progressively responsible clerical or administrative experience that provided knowledge of the rules, regulations, practices, and principles of procurement administration and/or financial administration and/or accounting; and involved the routine use of automated financial and accounting systems or other computer-based systems and applications such as word processing, spreadsheets, or databases.
• Education above the high school level may not be substituted for specialized experience because administrative court support positions require hands-on experience to be credited as specialized experience.

Preferred Skills

• Prior federal contracting or purchasing experience.
• Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing with court staff, vendors, and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
• Ability to work as part of a team.
• Ability to prioritize work assignments and meet deadlines.

Employee Benefits

• Federal benefits include paid vacation and sick leave, paid federal holidays, participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) and Thrift Savings Plan (TSP).
• Optional health, dental, vision, life, and long-term care insurance, and health care and dependent care reimbursement accounts.

The U.S. District Court reserves the right to modify the conditions of this job announcement, to withdraw the job announcement, and/or to fill the position earlier than the closing date. More than one position may be filled from this announcement. Any such action may occur without prior written notice. Participation in the interview process will be at the applicant’s own expense. The court will not pay relocation expenses. Only applicants selected for an interview will be contacted. Promotion potential will be considered without further competition.

As a condition of employment, the selected candidate must successfully complete a background investigation, and subsequent favorable suitability determination, and every five years thereafter will be subject to a re-investigation. Judiciary employees are required to adhere to the Code of Conduct for Judicial Employees. Applicants must be citizens of the United States or be eligible to work in the United States. Direct deposit of salary payments is mandatory. Some telework may be allowed for this position at the discretion of the court.

The federal Judiciary is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.