Buyer at The South African Revenue Service (SARS)

Job Purpose

• To provide expertise, advice, and support to deliver on operational implementation plans and / or associated service delivery processes, driving & managing the process of procuring goods and services through the 3 quote processes for the relevant business units or cost centres. (The ceiling of these items will be between R2 000 and R1 000 000, using the 80/20 process of evaluation), RFQ and Governance evaluation criteria in place, to continuously enhance service delivery.

Additional Technical Competencies:

• Finance for Procurement Professionals - Intermediate. Understand financial statements. Perform supplier assessments - use and apply key financial ratios to understand various supply risks. Understand the application of financial info in your business., Accounting standards and their role. Proven tools to monitor; control; report and effectively budget., Budgeting and cost management in the Purchasing function - create an expenditure budget based on a previous year's figures (incremental); Evaluate various capital purchasing methods for investment decisions; Financial tools to facilitate decision-making - assess the impact of external factors upon the investment decision-making process and how these might be factored into the modelling and business case. Managing financial risk in procurement - assess the different types of risk and their impact on suppliers; your own organisation and customers; and describe and evaluate the main options for managing financial risk associated with the supply chain.

GOC 

• sensitive information, the disclosure of which may endanger the security or national interest of the Republic or could jeopardise the international relations of the Republic;
• commercial information, the disclosure of which may cause serious financial loss to an entity; or
• personal information, the disclosure of which may endanger the physical security of a person. E.g. VIP/Restricted Taxpayer information.
• Procurement Process Management (PPM) - Managerial (Intermediate). Develops, improves and fulfils organisational and functional objectives in Procurement and supply. The establishment and modification of processes, strategies and control procedures will result from review and constructive challenge at each stage of the procurement process. The procurement process should have the appropriate strategic context and key elements: Demand Management, Sourcing, Supplier Performance & Measurement, Performance Management, Knowledge Management. Ensuring the effectiveness and continuing development of the procurement process in all phases from identification of business need through to performance measurement. Everyone involved in the process can contribute to value creation.
• Compliance to Procurement Principles and Legislation. Government issued the General Procurement Guidelines not only as a prescription of standards of behaviour, ethics and accountability which it requires of its public service, but also as a statement of Government's commitment to a procurement system which enables the emergence of sustainable small, medium and micro businesses which will add to the common wealth of South Africa and the achievement of enhanced economic and social well-being of all South Africans. Tenders in South Africa are measured on three principles, namely Functionality, Price and Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE). An Enterprise's ability to execute a contract is measured through the Functionality Principal in the Tender Environment. If an Enterprise's tender response did not pass the Functionality test it can't be measured on Price and B-BBEE. Enterprises that respond to tenders must ensure that they will pass the Functionality test to advance.

Education and Experience

Minimum Qualification & Experience Required

• Diploma in Supply Chain Management / Advanced Certificate (NQF 6) and/or related qualifications with 3-4 years' experience in a similar Supply Chain environment, of which 1-2 years at knowledge worker level within a Procurement environment.

ALTERNATIVE #

• Senior Certificate (NQF 4) AND 6 years’ experience in Supply Chain management, of which 1 - 2 years at a knowledge worker level within a Procurement environment.

Minimum Functional Requirements

Preferred Field of Study (Procurement)

Job Outputs:

Process 

• Accumulate information and provide reports with recommendations applicable to area of specialisation.
• Communication of situational interpretation and judgement of work outputs and queries in area of specialisation.
• Correctly apply applicable legislation, including amongst others policies, procedures, and SOPs in the delivery of work outputs.
• Effectively plan and schedule own activities to continuously improve quality and service delivery in area of specialisation.
• Execute process and procedural change, implement the change and provide guidelines and support related to new requirements as a result of the change.
• Provide specialist input through the investigation of opportunities for operational and process, product and risk optimisation.
• Use practical and applied knowledge and situational judgement to consider policy implications and to arrive at decisions / conclusions.
• Advise and assist business users to raise requisitions for goods and services by providing input and advise on items descriptions & estimated prices.
• Execute purchasing activities including unpacking and translating of functional or technical specifications as required in the RFQ process.
• Identify and resolve queries and problems timeously, apply discretion in line with process guidelines provided.
• Negotiate with suppliers to achieve best value for money.
• Oversee and coordinate the entire Expediting Process, cognisant of the fact that suppliers need to be paid within 30 days.
• Request and analyse quotations in line with purchasing policies and procedures to determine favourable procurement source as determined by 80:20 RFQ processes.
• Submit compliance reports to government departments and agencies when required.
• Ensure that procurement function complies with all statutory requirements, SARS policies & procedures & complies with National Treasury requirements.

Governance

• Comply to set governance and compliance procedures and processes related to an area of specialisation and continuously identify and escalate risks.

People

• Develop and maintain productive working relationships with peers and team members to achieve predefined objectives.

Finance

• Adhere to organisational policies and procedures to ensure cost effectiveness and reduction of financial costs.

Client

• Build strong relationships and develop service level agreements that promote SARS with internal and external stakeholders.
• Ensure own understanding and adherence to customer service delivery and provide specialist support to meet or exceed customer expectations.

Behavioural competencies

• Accountability
• Analytical Thinking
• Attention to Detail
• Commitment to Continuous Learning
• Conceptual Ability
• Customer Service
• Expertise in Context
• Fairness and Transparency
• Honesty and Integrity 
• Organisational Awareness
• Respect
• Trust
• Business Knowledge
• Data Collection and Analysis
• Supply Chain Analysis

Technical competencies

• Financial Acumen
• Reporting
• Functional Policies and Procedures
• Efficiency improvement
• Standard operating procedure compliance
• Negotiation Skills
• Expenditure Management
• Record Maintenance
• Supply Chain Management
• Procurement Knowledge
• Product Knowledge
• Contract Management

Deadline:11th March,2026