Residence Requirements:

THERE ARE NO RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THIS EXAMINATION. There are two vacancies at the Erie County Medical Center Corporation. 

Examples of Duties:

A Buyer purchases a variety of assigned commodities and services; 

Initiates and prepares bids and specifications which lead to purchase contracts for goods and services;

Selects vendors and places purchase contracts for materials and/or services;

Edits requisitions and confers with departments regarding requirements, specifications, quantity, and quality of merchandise and delivery requirements;

Recommends substitutes where a savings in costs or improved delivery will result;

Attends conferences and forums pertaining to purchasing and related buying activities;

Interviews vendors and their representatives personally and maintains a close contact by correspondence, telephone, and plant visitations;

Serves in an advisory capacity to assist departments in purchasing;

Solicits and reviews bids from vendors for a wide variety of commodities and/or services;

Keeps abreast of current price trends, market conditions and new or improved items of supply;

Plans and oversees advertising for articles to be purchased;

Summarizes bids submitted by suppliers;

Expedites delivery on orders by phone or letter;

Checks requisitions and purchase orders with departments for clarification;

Checks requisitions and purchase orders against specifications and catalogs.

Qualifications:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:  Candidates must meet one of the following requirements on or before the date of the written test: 

A) Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university with a Bachelor's degree and four (4) years of purchasing experience; or:

B) Graduation from high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma and eight (8) years of business experience which included four (4) years of purchasing experience; or:

C) An equivalent combination of training and experience as defined by the limits of (A) and (B).

Notes:

1. Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience will be pro-rated toward meeting the experience requirements.

2. Your degree and/or college credit must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university or one recognized by the New York State Education Department as following acceptable educational practices. A grade of "D" or better is necessary for a course to be credited as successfully completed. If your degree and/or college credit was awarded by an educational institution outside of the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. You can write to this Department for a list of acceptable companies providing this service; you must pay the required evaluation fee.

Notice to Candidates: Transcripts will now be accepted by the Department of Personnel ONLY at time of application.
All subsequent transcripts must be submitted at time of interview.

The New York State Department of Civil Service has not prepared a test guide for this examination. However,candidates may find information in the publication "How to take a written test" helpful in preparing for this test. This publication is available on line at: https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm

Subjects of Examination:

SUBJECTS OF EXAMINATION: A written test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and /or abilities in the following areas:

1. Arithmetic computation with calculator

These questions test for the ability to use a calculator to do basic computations. Questions will involve addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. You may also be asked to calculate averages, to use percents, and to round an answer to the nearest whole number. You should bring with you a hand-held battery- or solar-powered calculator for use on this test. You will not be permitted to use the calculator function of your cell phone.

2. Principles and practices of purchasing

These questions test for candidates' knowledge of the principles guiding governmental purchasing operations and the ability to put them into practice. These questions may deal with but are not necessarily limited to such matters as the analysis of bids, the use of specifications, the award of contracts, the analysis of market factors that can affect the cost of a purchase, and the application of a set of rules to determine how to proceed with a purchase. Some arithmetic computation may be necessary. No specific knowledge of NYS purchasing laws, rules and regulations will be required to answer these questions.

3. Preparing written material

These questions test for the ability to present information clearly and accurately, and to organize paragraphs logically and comprehensibly. For some questions, you will be given information in two or three sentences followed by four restatements of the information. You must then choose the best version. For other questions, you will be given paragraphs with their sentences out of order. You must then choose, from four suggestions, the best order for the sentences.

4. Understanding and interpreting written material

These questions test for the ability to understand and interpret written material. You will be presented with brief reading passages and will be asked questions about the passages. You should base your answers to the questions only on what is presented in the passages and not on what you may happen to know about the topic. 

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES:  It is recommended that candidates use a quiet, hand held, solar or battery powered calculator.  Devices with typewriter keyboards, "Spell Checkers", “Personal Digital Assistants", "Address Books", "Language Translators", "Dictionaries", or any similar devices are prohibited.  You may not bring books or other reference materials.

**IMPORTANT APPLICATION FEE - READ CAREFULLY**

A $20.00 filing fee is required for this exam. The required fee must accompany your application. Send or bring check or money order made payable to Erie County Personnel Department and write the examination number(s) on your check or money order. Do not send or bring cash, as the County cannot be responsible for cash payment. As no refund will be made, you are urged to compare your qualifications carefully with the requirements for admission and file only for those examinations for which you are clearly qualified.