GUIDE #1
UNDERSTANDING THE PROCUREMENT
JOB DESCRIPTION MATRIX

The attached matrix, developed in consultation with agency heads of procurement, provides a menu of job roles, skills, knowledge, experience and qualifications that can be used with confidence by agencies to establish new positions or amend existing job and person specifications. It will also serve as a useful reference to individuals (and their managers) in personal development and career planning.

Following a review of the matrix, the Office of the Public Sector (OPS) concluded that the “Role/Objectives/Outcomes” statements are fit for the purpose of classifying sets of duties in terms of relative overall levels of responsibility and value of their contribution to the agency and for the consequential setting of employee remuneration levels, pursuant to section 49 Remuneration of the Public Sector Act 2009.

Adoption of the matrix as a standard will assist in building procurement capability and create consistency in procurement job roles across the SA government.

(Also refer Guide #2, which outlines and describes how to compile a Procurement Job and Person Specification).

The Procurement Job Description Matrix contains the following sections and each of those sections is explained as below:

Classification

The role statements are targeted to the stated classification levels. Whilst newly created job and person specifications will need to be classified as per agency requirements, where the matrix descriptors are utilised from a single classification level, agencies have assurance that the classification has been validated by OPS, as described above.

Title

In order to maintain consistency across the government procurement profession, it is recommended that the most appropriate of the suggested job titles be used to title the position.

Role/Objectives/Outcomes

This section contains outcome statements derived from the job and person specification and core competencies section of the Australian Procurement and Construction Council’s (APCC) Aspirational Capability Matrix for Government Procurement Professionals (supplement to the Building Government Procurement Capabilities document released in May 2008). The statements are consistent with the South Australian public service classification standards.

When compiling this section “statement of key outcomes and associated activities” of the job and person specification use those outcome statements that are most suitable to the position. These statements are aimed at the appropriate classification level. It is recommended that the words in the statements are not changed or deleted. Other agency specific outcomes / objectives can be added to ensure that the role is clearly defined.

Essential Minimum / Desirable Requirements (Abilities, Experience & Knowledge)

This section contains competency requirements derived from the Core Competencies section of the Australian Procurement and Construction Council’s (APCC) “Aspirational Capability Matrix for Government Procurement Professionals”. They have been enhanced through consultation with agency heads of procurement and OPS, completed in June 2016. These are the skills-based attributes necessary in order for someone to be effective in the role.

Desirable Qualifications

This section contains desirable qualifications originally derived from the APCC’s Aspirational Capability Matrix for Government Procurement Professionals and updated as a consequence of the 2016 review. It is recommended that the relevant qualifications be listed under the person specification section of the “desirable requirements” part of the overall job and person specification.

Core AQF Procurement Competencies

These procurement competencies are derived from the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) competencies. They are not part of the “official” job and person specification and are provided to explain and underpin the requirements of the essential knowledge, skills and expertise.

Building Procurement Job and person specs Updated July 2016