Supervising Purchasing Agent

THE POSITION

The Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) is recruiting to fill one (1) Supervising Purchasing Agent position which will provide full supervisory responsibilities to the Purchasing Division. This recruitment will fill the current vacancy and establish an eligibility list for future vacancies.

The ideal candidate for the Supervising Purchasing Agent position with the OCFA will be an experienced, ethical, and service-oriented procurement professional with a strong background in public sector purchasing, contract administration, and staff supervision. The successful candidate will demonstrate sound judgment, attention to detail, and the ability to ensure purchasing activities are conducted in a fair, transparent, timely, and legally compliant manner.

The ideal candidate will have a thorough understanding of competitive bidding, requests for proposals, purchase orders, vendor management, contract terms, cooperative purchasing agreements, and applicable public procurement policies and procedures. Experience supporting a fire authority, public safety agency, or other governmental organization is highly desirable, particularly where purchasing decisions directly support emergency response, operations, fleet, facilities, technology, equipment, or professional services.

Recruitment Closes:
Tuesday, October 13, 2026 @ 11:59 pm

Oral Interviews:
Scheduled for the week of October 26, 2026

Selection Interviews:
Scheduled for the week of November 9, 2026

Incumbents are responsible for supervising purchasing staff and performing a variety of professional level buyer duties.

The Supervising Purchasing Agent is the third level in a four level purchasing series. The Supervising Purchasing Agent is distinguished from the Assistant Purchasing Agent by its full supervisory responsibilities. The Supervising Purchasing Agent is distinguished from the Purchasing Division Manager, which has division management responsibilities.

(These duties are intended to be representative samples of the duties performed by the class.)

To view the essential functions, knowledge, and skills for this position, please use the link to the classification specification provided below.

Supervising Purchasing Agent

An equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to successfully perform the essential duties of the job, such as those listed above.

• High School Diploma, or General Equivalency Diploma (GED).

• Five (5) years of professional level purchasing experience in a public sector environment.
• One (1) year of supervisory experience in a public sector environment.

• None required.

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, public administration, finance, accounting, supply chain management, or a related field
• Strong knowledge of public procurement laws, policies, and competitive bidding practices, including RFPs, RFQs, IFBs, purchase orders, contracts, and cooperative purchasing agreements.
• Contract development and administration experience, including vendor negotiations, scope review, insurance requirements, renewals, amendments, and compliance monitoring.
• Experience purchasing specialized goods and services, such as emergency response equipment, fleet parts, technology, professional services, facilities-related services, uniforms, or public safety equipment.
• Knowledge of ERP or financial systems, purchasing modules, workflow approvals, vendor records, and electronic requisition/purchase order processes.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills,…