Long Beach Transit Career Opportunities
How much experience do you have working with capital projects?
Do you have a bachelor's degree in business management, procurement, accounting or another professional program?
Within the last 5 years, what role did the following play in your job:
Contract Administration and Vendor Project Management
Please explain the variation in duties of your previous roles
Please note that this position is no longer available.
If you would like to be considered for similar opportunities now or in the future, feel free to apply and/or set up a notifier for yourself.
Purchasing Manager
CA - Long Beach
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Enjoy High Visibility as You Lead Procurement for One of the US' Foremost Public Transit Agencies

This is an opportunity to combine your people skills and goal-orientation with your extensive knowledge to drive procurements for a diverse array of important, highly visible projects. As Purchasing Manager, you will lead your department in cradle-to-grave procurement/contract administration for multiple projects that fall under the categories of capital improvement and services. Quick question for you - click here

This work requires the ability to juggle multiple priorities, work diplomatically with the expectations of a variety of high-level stakeholders, and ensure compliance with numerous rules and regulations that impact the transportation industry. 

Founded in 1963, Long Beach Transit is nationally recognized as one of the largest and best-run local public transit systems in the U.S. What's the secret to our success? We take pride in serving an essential community need for the residents of Long Beach and surrounding areas. We value our customers, employees, and the service we put out on a daily basis. This pride and sense of value echoes in our organizational style of taking each employee's input into account, and in the unwavering focus we place on customer service.

Pictured: our Transit & Visitor Information Center, in downtown Long Beach, features artistic tensile fabric membrane structures. The Information Center is part of the Long Beach Transit Gallery.

The Requirements

To be a good fit for the Purchasing Manager opportunity you should have:
  • A minimum of five years’ experience in purchasing, supply chain management or logistics with supervisory responsibility
  • A bachelor’s degree Quick question for you - click here
  • Experience with formal solicitation, award and contract administration Quick question for you - click here
  • Above average analytical skills
  • Strong presentation skills and the ability to communicate to groups
  • The ability to interact cooperatively with others, both in person and through phone, e-mail, and written correspondence
  • Above average decision-making and problem-solving abilities
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, including Excel, Word and PowerPoint
Although the following are not required, having them is highly desirable: 
  • Experience with FTA funded procurements
  • Professional procurement certification 

The Role

Who you will work with
 
Reporting to you will be a Senior Buyer, two Buyers, and one part-time intern. You will find them to be creative and flexible.
 
This is a highly visible position within the organization and you can expect to routinely interact with everyone in management, including the executive team. Externally you will primarily work with our higher volume, core vendors while your team takes care of all others. Quick question for you - click here

You will report to the VP of Finance whose management style is based on the faith that her team is comprised of professionals and her primary job is to provide the resources you need to be successful. You needn’t worry about being micro-managed; once you’ve been on board long enough to have a working understanding of the role, she’ll count on you to produce the required results and ask questions if you run into something for which you need support. 

What it's like to do this job

Here’s a sampling of what a typical week might include:
  • Meeting with your staff
  • Establishing a plan, assigning work and reviewing work from the Buyers
  • Meeting with managers and directors
  • Attending meetings on all the critical projects
  • Writing RFPs
  • Reviewing and negotiating contracts
  • Working with our corporate attorney
  • Performing complex bid analysis
This is a demanding environment and your work week will often exceed the standard 40 hours. You can expect to spend approximately 60% of your time in the office, and the rest of your time in a variety of meetings including monthly Board meetings, meetings with Directors, and Pre-Proposal meetings with vendors. Some of the time you will be making presentations so it's important you are comfortable doing so. 

One of your more important responsibilities is to lead the development of our annual and bi-annual purchasing plans. Sitting down with each of our five Directors, you will go through anticipated procurements, working to balance the resources and the plan. Particular attention will be paid to procurements over $100K that require Board approval. The five Directors you will work with on this oversee: (1) Information Technology, (2) Maintenance & Infrastructure, (3) Transit Service Delivery, (4) Risk Management & Labor Relations, and (5) Finance.  

Examples of Procurements

Projects will be diverse, but to give you an idea, here are just a few examples of projects you and your team will be involved with:
  • Replacement buses and service vehicles 
  • Photovoltaic panels for our facilities
  • Bus shelters and amenities
  • Insurance broker services
  • IT infrastructure
  • Various hardware and software support license agreements
  • A&E services for various construction projects
Once these contracts are executed, you and your team oversee their fulfillment acting as intermediary between the vendors and Long Beach Transit, handling contractual issues as they arise, ensuring each project is ultimately fulfilled to specifications. 

More specifically, you will:
  • ​Develop and implement goals, performance indicators, standards, policies and procedures regarding the Agency’s purchasing functions
  • Provide technical expertise and guidance to departments for the planning of procurement activities, methods, justifications and schedules 
  • Recommend suppliers from whom purchases shall be made considering price, delivery time, reputation of vendor and quality of their products
  • Prepare, negotiate, analyze and administer contracts with vendors and suppliers, research and interpret contract provisions including contract processes, penalties, and compliance terms. Resolve all contract discrepancies
  • Prepare, negotiate, and award change orders
  • Conduct cost and price analyses of proposals; formulate negotiation positions; negotiate price for new contracts, contract modifications and prepare communications and written narratives summarizing negotiations and their results
  • Maintain the Agency’s computerized purchasing and inventory system database
  • Determine computer report format and requirements for optimal utilization of information 
  • Conduct research, analyze data and provide procurement reports, including reports showing progress, status of orders, future requirements, etc.
  • Collaborate with accounts payable, receiving, and procurement departments to resolve conflicts and promote accurate and timely flow of information
  • Develop and monitor a budget, track and control expenses, conduct financial analysis and create financial document and reports
  • Monitor and control ordering of material based on approved budgets and material usage and forecasting factors; and investigate and work to resolve material control and material deficiency problems
  • Develop, implement and maintain procedures that will ensure stock levels are adequately maintained based on such factors as past and future demands (forecasting), special maintenance campaigns and projects, appropriate system wide and individual replenishment minimums and administrative lead time
  • Plan and oversee sale of surplus property
  • Provide continuous effort to improve procurement operations, streamline work processes and work cooperatively and jointly with others in order to provide quality customer service
  • Interview, hire and train employees; plan, schedule, assign and manage work; evaluate and manage employee performance
  • Work safely and take action to correct and/or report unsafe conditions or actions to the Safety Officer
Pictured: one of our fleet of hybrid busses, the first production hybrid gasoline-electric buses to be introduced into regular transit service in the world.

Why Long Beach Transit

Diverse projects
You can count on a steady stream of unique projects of all scopes and size. No two procurements are the same. Not only are the projects diverse, so are the stakeholders for each; you'll have an opportunity to interact with a number of interesting and knowledgeable professionals.  

Professional development
We know you'll bring vast experience and knowledge. At the same time, it's highly likely that you'll learn plenty of new things as you work on and manage the procurement of a wide variety of goods and services. As regulations change, you'll learn how to account for them within your procurements.  LBT is committed to offering its employees training opportunities. 

Leading edge technologies
Long Beach Transit is a leader in the latest transit technology. Our entire fleet, for example, has been converted to ultra-low emission fuels, and we operate the country's first and largest gas/electric hybrid fleet. We're introducing battery electric vehicles along with WAVE induction charging. Our TranSmart global satellite tracking system helps us provide state-of-the-art service.

Stability and security
Long Beach Transit is financially stable, backed by more than 50 years of success, and is helping shape the future of the industry. This role can provide you with challenges and opportunities for years to come. In fact, the previous Manager rose to his current position over the years after starting in an entry-level position in another department.

Industry leadership
We have a national reputation for performance, community service and our forward-looking approach; in fact, Long Beach Transit is ranked in the top 10 best transportation organizations in the country for our size. We set standards to which other transit agencies aspire.

Community commitment
We're strongly committed to being a responsible member of the communities we serve, and maintain solid relationships with civic and community groups. For example, you'll incorporate public art projects into many of your bus stop projects -- something we've been doing for years. We also are dedicated to minimizing the environmental impact of our operations. We provide free bus service on New Year's Eve to promote public safety, and we create special transit schedules to accommodate major events such as the Long Beach Grand Prix.

Excellent compensation
In addition to a competitive salary we offer comprehensive benefits, including a medical, dental and vision plan for you and your family; a defined contribution plan; modern and clean employee facilities, including a rec room, gym and lounge; and more.

Pictured: LBT's unique Passport is a free bus that connects riders to downtown Long Beach's finest attractions and destinations, including the iconic Queen Mary, Aquarium of the Pacific, Pine Avenue, City Place Mall, The Pike at Rainbow Harbor, the Convention Center, Shoreline Village, many downtown hotels and Long Beach Transit's water taxis, the AquaLink and AquaBus.

Keys to Success

To be an outstanding Purchasing Manager, you will need to have very high standards and the ability to coach/mentor the people who report to you.  Some of the results we will look for include: 
  • Being free of audit findings 
  • Having established a well-planned procurement structure in terms of trying to balance the workload and manage the internal customer expectations (not surprisingly, everyone wants their procurement to be done first and now)
  • Perfecting the process that prevents rebids  
Achieving the above will require you to: 
  • Build strong relationships with the internal and external stakeholders
  • Be unafraid to stand your ground when circumstances call for it 
  • Prioritize multiple demands 
  • Increase competition
  • Pay strong attention to detail and maintain accuracy in your documentation
  • Reduce costs and increase efficiency
  • Have excellent organizational skills and the ability to keep a lot of balls in the air
  • Have exceptional follow through
  • Bring the motivation to continue learning on an ongoing basis
  • Leverage your leadership and interpersonal skills to influence and motivate others
  • Employ a creative and analytical approach to solving problems
  • Remain flexible as priorities and work demands change

About Long Beach Transit

The story of Long Beach Transit has been filled with challenges, accomplishments, and lots of excitement. Long Beach Transit has earned an excellent reputation since its formation in 1963, for everything from its good on-time record, safety for its passengers and the public, and cleanliness and reliability of the bus fleet, to the popularity of its bus operators. Together, all these things have contributed to the building of a good image for a growing transit system. Not only do we carry more than three times the number of riders as in 1963, but we also have not lost a single day of service for the community. That's over thirteen thousand days without missing a beat!

LBT maintains a large fleet of buses, which includes 60-ft. articulated coaches and a growing number of hybrid gasoline-electric engine coaches. LBT has two operating facilities in the city of Long Beach and has nearly 800 employees.

Through the years, with the leadership and guidance of our Board of Directors, Long Beach Transit has continued its tradition of responsiveness to our riders and the community. We have followed conservative policies, expanding services at a pace commensurate with the demand and our financial limitations.

With everyone working together, our future is bright. As we look back on 50 years of progress, we see the firm foundation that Long Beach Transit's future success is built on.

Long Beach Transit is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Pictured: AquaLink is a 68-foot catamaran that comfortably ferries passengers to the most popular attractions in Long Beach Harbor and on down to Alamitos Bay Landing during the summer months. AquaLink, AquaLink Express and AquaBus stops include The Queen Mary, Aquarium of the Pacific, Belmont Pier and Alamitos Bay Landing.

This announcement is for general information purposes only. It is not intended to be a job description. Information provided is subject to change. Hiring decisions are not based solely on the above information. Successful candidate must pass company physical, drug and alcohol tests.

Enjoy High Visibility as You Lead Procurement for One of the US' Foremost Public Transit Agencies

This is an opportunity to combine your people skills and goal-orientation with your extensive knowledge to drive procurements for a diverse array of important, highly visible projects. As Purchasing Manager, you will lead your department in cradle-to-grave procurement/contract administration for multiple projects that fall under the categories of capital improvement and services. Quick question for you - click here

This work requires the ability to juggle multiple priorities, work diplomatically with the expectations of a variety of high-level stakeholders, and ensure compliance with numerous rules and regulations that impact the transportation industry. 

Founded in 1963, Long Beach Transit is nationally recognized as one of the largest and best-run local public transit systems in the U.S. What's the secret to our success? We take pride in serving an essential community need for the residents of Long Beach and surrounding areas. We value our customers, employees, and the service we put out on a daily basis. This pride and sense of value echoes in our organizational style of taking each employee's input into account, and in the unwavering focus we place on customer service.

Pictured: our Transit & Visitor Information Center, in downtown Long Beach, features artistic tensile fabric membrane structures. The Information Center is part of the Long Beach Transit Gallery.

The Requirements

To be a good fit for the Purchasing Manager opportunity you should have:
  • A minimum of five years’ experience in purchasing, supply chain management or logistics with supervisory responsibility
  • A bachelor’s degree Quick question for you - click here
  • Experience with formal solicitation, award and contract administration Quick question for you - click here
  • Above average analytical skills
  • Strong presentation skills and the ability to communicate to groups
  • The ability to interact cooperatively with others, both in person and through phone, e-mail, and written correspondence
  • Above average decision-making and problem-solving abilities
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, including Excel, Word and PowerPoint
Although the following are not required, having them is highly desirable: 
  • Experience with FTA funded procurements
  • Professional procurement certification 

The Role

Who you will work with
 
Reporting to you will be a Senior Buyer, two Buyers, and one part-time intern. You will find them to be creative and flexible.
 
This is a highly visible position within the organization and you can expect to routinely interact with everyone in management, including the executive team. Externally you will primarily work with our higher volume, core vendors while your team takes care of all others. Quick question for you - click here

You will report to the VP of Finance whose management style is based on the faith that her team is comprised of professionals and her primary job is to provide the resources you need to be successful. You needn’t worry about being micro-managed; once you’ve been on board long enough to have a working understanding of the role, she’ll count on you to produce the required results and ask questions if you run into something for which you need support. 

What it's like to do this job

Here’s a sampling of what a typical week might include:
  • Meeting with your staff
  • Establishing a plan, assigning work and reviewing work from the Buyers
  • Meeting with managers and directors
  • Attending meetings on all the critical projects
  • Writing RFPs
  • Reviewing and negotiating contracts
  • Working with our corporate attorney
  • Performing complex bid analysis
This is a demanding environment and your work week will often exceed the standard 40 hours. You can expect to spend approximately 60% of your time in the office, and the rest of your time in a variety of meetings including monthly Board meetings, meetings with Directors, and Pre-Proposal meetings with vendors. Some of the time you will be making presentations so it's important you are comfortable doing so. 

One of your more important responsibilities is to lead the development of our annual and bi-annual purchasing plans. Sitting down with each of our five Directors, you will go through anticipated procurements, working to balance the resources and the plan. Particular attention will be paid to procurements over $100K that require Board approval. The five Directors you will work with on this oversee: (1) Information Technology, (2) Maintenance & Infrastructure, (3) Transit Service Delivery, (4) Risk Management & Labor Relations, and (5) Finance.  

Examples of Procurements

Projects will be diverse, but to give you an idea, here are just a few examples of projects you and your team will be involved with:
  • Replacement buses and service vehicles 
  • Photovoltaic panels for our facilities
  • Bus shelters and amenities
  • Insurance broker services
  • IT infrastructure
  • Various hardware and software support license agreements
  • A&E services for various construction projects
Once these contracts are executed, you and your team oversee their fulfillment acting as intermediary between the vendors and Long Beach Transit, handling contractual issues as they arise, ensuring each project is ultimately fulfilled to specifications. 

More specifically, you will:
  • ​Develop and implement goals, performance indicators, standards, policies and procedures regarding the Agency’s purchasing functions
  • Provide technical expertise and guidance to departments for the planning of procurement activities, methods, justifications and schedules 
  • Recommend suppliers from whom purchases shall be made considering price, delivery time, reputation of vendor and quality of their products
  • Prepare, negotiate, analyze and administer contracts with vendors and suppliers, research and interpret contract provisions including contract processes, penalties, and compliance terms. Resolve all contract discrepancies
  • Prepare, negotiate, and award change orders
  • Conduct cost and price analyses of proposals; formulate negotiation positions; negotiate price for new contracts, contract modifications and prepare communications and written narratives summarizing negotiations and their results
  • Maintain the Agency’s computerized purchasing and inventory system database
  • Determine computer report format and requirements for optimal utilization of information 
  • Conduct research, analyze data and provide procurement reports, including reports showing progress, status of orders, future requirements, etc.
  • Collaborate with accounts payable, receiving, and procurement departments to resolve conflicts and promote accurate and timely flow of information
  • Develop and monitor a budget, track and control expenses, conduct financial analysis and create financial document and reports
  • Monitor and control ordering of material based on approved budgets and material usage and forecasting factors; and investigate and work to resolve material control and material deficiency problems
  • Develop, implement and maintain procedures that will ensure stock levels are adequately maintained based on such factors as past and future demands (forecasting), special maintenance campaigns and projects, appropriate system wide and individual replenishment minimums and administrative lead time
  • Plan and oversee sale of surplus property
  • Provide continuous effort to improve procurement operations, streamline work processes and work cooperatively and jointly with others in order to provide quality customer service
  • Interview, hire and train employees; plan, schedule, assign and manage work; evaluate and manage employee performance
  • Work safely and take action to correct and/or report unsafe conditions or actions to the Safety Officer
Pictured: one of our fleet of hybrid busses, the first production hybrid gasoline-electric buses to be introduced into regular transit service in the world.

Why Long Beach Transit

Diverse projects
You can count on a steady stream of unique projects of all scopes and size. No two procurements are the same. Not only are the projects diverse, so are the stakeholders for each; you'll have an opportunity to interact with a number of interesting and knowledgeable professionals.  

Professional development
We know you'll bring vast experience and knowledge. At the same time, it's highly likely that you'll learn plenty of new things as you work on and manage the procurement of a wide variety of goods and services. As regulations change, you'll learn how to account for them within your procurements.  LBT is committed to offering its employees training opportunities. 

Leading edge technologies
Long Beach Transit is a leader in the latest transit technology. Our entire fleet, for example, has been converted to ultra-low emission fuels, and we operate the country's first and largest gas/electric hybrid fleet. We're introducing battery electric vehicles along with WAVE induction charging. Our TranSmart global satellite tracking system helps us provide state-of-the-art service.

Stability and security
Long Beach Transit is financially stable, backed by more than 50 years of success, and is helping shape the future of the industry. This role can provide you with challenges and opportunities for years to come. In fact, the previous Manager rose to his current position over the years after starting in an entry-level position in another department.

Industry leadership
We have a national reputation for performance, community service and our forward-looking approach; in fact, Long Beach Transit is ranked in the top 10 best transportation organizations in the country for our size. We set standards to which other transit agencies aspire.

Community commitment
We're strongly committed to being a responsible member of the communities we serve, and maintain solid relationships with civic and community groups. For example, you'll incorporate public art projects into many of your bus stop projects -- something we've been doing for years. We also are dedicated to minimizing the environmental impact of our operations. We provide free bus service on New Year's Eve to promote public safety, and we create special transit schedules to accommodate major events such as the Long Beach Grand Prix.

Excellent compensation
In addition to a competitive salary we offer comprehensive benefits, including a medical, dental and vision plan for you and your family; a defined contribution plan; modern and clean employee facilities, including a rec room, gym and lounge; and more.

Pictured: LBT's unique Passport is a free bus that connects riders to downtown Long Beach's finest attractions and destinations, including the iconic Queen Mary, Aquarium of the Pacific, Pine Avenue, City Place Mall, The Pike at Rainbow Harbor, the Convention Center, Shoreline Village, many downtown hotels and Long Beach Transit's water taxis, the AquaLink and AquaBus.

Keys to Success

To be an outstanding Purchasing Manager, you will need to have very high standards and the ability to coach/mentor the people who report to you.  Some of the results we will look for include: 
  • Being free of audit findings 
  • Having established a well-planned procurement structure in terms of trying to balance the workload and manage the internal customer expectations (not surprisingly, everyone wants their procurement to be done first and now)
  • Perfecting the process that prevents rebids  
Achieving the above will require you to: 
  • Build strong relationships with the internal and external stakeholders
  • Be unafraid to stand your ground when circumstances call for it 
  • Prioritize multiple demands 
  • Increase competition
  • Pay strong attention to detail and maintain accuracy in your documentation
  • Reduce costs and increase efficiency
  • Have excellent organizational skills and the ability to keep a lot of balls in the air
  • Have exceptional follow through
  • Bring the motivation to continue learning on an ongoing basis
  • Leverage your leadership and interpersonal skills to influence and motivate others
  • Employ a creative and analytical approach to solving problems
  • Remain flexible as priorities and work demands change

About Long Beach Transit

The story of Long Beach Transit has been filled with challenges, accomplishments, and lots of excitement. Long Beach Transit has earned an excellent reputation since its formation in 1963, for everything from its good on-time record, safety for its passengers and the public, and cleanliness and reliability of the bus fleet, to the popularity of its bus operators. Together, all these things have contributed to the building of a good image for a growing transit system. Not only do we carry more than three times the number of riders as in 1963, but we also have not lost a single day of service for the community. That's over thirteen thousand days without missing a beat!

LBT maintains a large fleet of buses, which includes 60-ft. articulated coaches and a growing number of hybrid gasoline-electric engine coaches. LBT has two operating facilities in the city of Long Beach and has nearly 800 employees.

Through the years, with the leadership and guidance of our Board of Directors, Long Beach Transit has continued its tradition of responsiveness to our riders and the community. We have followed conservative policies, expanding services at a pace commensurate with the demand and our financial limitations.

With everyone working together, our future is bright. As we look back on 50 years of progress, we see the firm foundation that Long Beach Transit's future success is built on.

Long Beach Transit is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Pictured: AquaLink is a 68-foot catamaran that comfortably ferries passengers to the most popular attractions in Long Beach Harbor and on down to Alamitos Bay Landing during the summer months. AquaLink, AquaLink Express and AquaBus stops include The Queen Mary, Aquarium of the Pacific, Belmont Pier and Alamitos Bay Landing.

This announcement is for general information purposes only. It is not intended to be a job description. Information provided is subject to change. Hiring decisions are not based solely on the above information. Successful candidate must pass company physical, drug and alcohol tests.
Long Beach Transit is an equal opportunity employer and in compliance with federal and state laws, does not discriminate in employment practice on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnic group ancestry, religious creed, age, marital status, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, medical condition, veteran status, gender, sexual orientation, sexual identity, gender expression or sex.
or
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