Summary

As the Purchasing Manager, you will lead the city’s purchasing and procurement efforts, supporting departments across the organization as they acquire the goods, services, and contracts needed to serve the community. In this role, you will guide competitive and ethical purchasing processes, build relationships with vendors, develop and manage contracts, and support departments as they navigate the city’s purchasing policies and procedures.

Description

As the Purchasing Manager, you will lead the city’s purchasing and procurement efforts, supporting departments across the organization as they acquire the goods, services, and contracts needed to serve the community. In this role, you will guide competitive and ethical purchasing processes, build relationships with vendors, develop and manage contracts, and support departments as they navigate the city’s purchasing policies and procedures. You will also supervise purchasing staff and help strengthen systems that promote transparency and accountability in how the city purchases goods and services.

The starting pay for this position is between $88,423 and $97,265 per year, with opportunities for growth up to $123,792 per year based on long-term growth and performance within the role.

City of Durango’s Trail to Excellence
The City of Durango is a purpose-driven organization with more than 400 full-time and 300 part-time and seasonal employees across 15 departments, all working together to provide a wide range of services that keep our community running every day. From public safety and utilities to parks and recreation, our team is dedicated to delivering high-quality services that enhance the lives of all who live, work, and visit here.

At the city, we focus on continually improving how we work and serve the community. This effort is called the Trail to Excellence (T2E), and every employee plays a part in it. Whether you work outdoors, in an office, or lead a team, your daily efforts connect to the city’s mission of providing excellent service and reaching the city’s vision of being a multigenerational community that is authentic, diverse, engaged, thriving, and environmentally responsible. The full details of this vision are outlined in the city’s strategic plan.

As a member of our team, your work will be meaningful because:

Your ideas help shape citywide improvements.
The work you do ties directly into measurable goals.
You'll be part of a system that values collaboration, innovation, and results.

We're looking for team members who share our core values of teamwork, dependability, professionalism, service, respect, innovation, and wellbeing — and who are excited to make a difference in the community we serve.

Essential Job Duties

What You’ll Do in This Role:

Lead the city’s purchasing and procurement activities and support departments in obtaining the goods, services, and contracts needed to carry out city work.
Manage competitive purchasing processes such as requests for proposals, formal bids, and other solicitations in line with federal, state, and local regulations.
Develop and manage contracts for supplies, services, construction, and professional services, and monitor how contracts are performing.
Partner with departments to develop clear specifications and scopes of work for purchases and contracts.
Build and maintain relationships with vendors, research new suppliers, and compare pricing, quality, and availability of goods and services.
Review purchasing data and trends to identify opportunities to improve purchasing processes and manage costs.
Provide training and guidance to staff across the city on purchasing policies, procedures, and ethical procurement practices.
Track compliance with purchasing policies and recommend improvements to policies, procedures, and internal processes.
Coordinate purchasing activities such as proposal evaluations, pre-bid meetings, and bid openings.
Oversee the city’s surplus property program, including transferring equipment between departments or selling surplus items through auctions or other methods.
Prepare purchase orders, solicitations, contracts, and other procurement documents.
Hire, train, supervise, and evaluate purchasing staff.

Minimum Qualifications

You Have:

A bachelor’s degree in business administration, public administration, finance, communications, English, finance, or a related field (equivalent experience will be considered).
Five years of experience in purchasing, procurement, contract management, compliance, budgeting, or a related field.
At least one year of supervisory experience or team leadership experience.
Professional purchasing certification is preferred, such as:
- Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB)
- Certified Public Procurement Officer (CPPO)
- Certified Purchasing Manager certification (CPM)
- Or a similar certification from a recognized professional purchasing association.

You Will Succeed in This Role If You:

Are comfortable managing complex purchasing processes and contracts from development through award and implementation.
Communicate clearly with staff, vendors, and city leadership.
Can review information, identify options, and make thoughtful recommendations.
Build strong working relationships across departments and with outside partners.
Maintain high ethical standards when working with public funds and purchasing decisions.
Stay organized while managing multiple projects, deadlines, and priorities.

Supplemental Information

What We Can Offer You:

Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance.
Ample personal time off (PTO) and 11 paid holidays.
401(a) retirement plan and optional deferred compensation plan.
Basic life insurance and accidental death & dismemberment (AD&D) coverage.
Long-term disability coverage.
Paid Family and Medical Leave (FMLA).
Access to Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
Free access to the Durango Community Recreation Center and Chapman Hill Ice Rink & Ski Area.
Holistic Employee Wellness Program, addressing physical, mental, financial, and professional well-being.
Free transit pass and family member discounts.
Reimbursement for job-related classes to foster continuous learning.
Sixteen hours of volunteer time off per year to support local non-profit organizations.

To view the full job description, click here.

Belong at the City of Durango:

We believe in creating an inclusive workforce that welcomes diversity of thoughts, viewpoints, and experiences.

The City of Durango is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis age 40 and over, color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, military or veteran status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or any other applicable status protected by state or local law. It is our intention that all qualified applicants be given equal opportunity and that selection decisions are based on job-related factors.

City of Durango's Indigenous Land Acknowledgement