Procurement & Contract Specialist

The Opportunity

Procurement & Contract Specialist – Permanent full‑time senior level role within City of Red Deer Municipal Government. Responsibilities include procurement and legal aspects of competitive bidding and contract processes for all departments, ensuring compliance with laws and City policies, and maintaining public perception of fairness and transparency. The role requires high professional judgment and independence.

• 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.

• College diploma, bachelor’s degree with majors such as 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 statutes.
• Ability to negotiate and write contracts using current boiler plates 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 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.

AI Tool Policy: 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.