Senior Buyer

52107-  Barrie -  Rotation 18 months  

Hiring salary range: $4,722.44 - $5,023.89 / bi-weekly

Hydro One is proud to be the largest electricity transmission and distribution provider in Ontario, serving nearly 1.5 million customers. We have a long history in the industry with our roots dating back over 110 years to 1906. Since then, we have worked to grow and evolve to meet the changing needs of our customers and communities across Ontario. Today, we’re focused on providing exceptional customer service and ensuring we are building safe communities where we live, work and play.

It’s an exciting time to join the team at Hydro One!

Job Function:

Purchase a broad range of products and services for a wide variety of clients and applications in the Corporation where the procurement issues are primarily commercial. Procure either consultant, construction and other types of services or mechanical and structural, electrical, computer or general products including engineered products where the design, technical specifications, regulatory requirements, quality assurance standards and inspection checks are already established. Process and administer awards involving the most complex commercial issues.

Job Description:

1. Within the scope of the procurement policy, develop and maintain procurement procedures and buyer guidelines. Liaise with Finance and legal staff to ensure that procedures meet due diligence and commercial requirements. Work with management staff to provide input to the company's procurement strategies, policies and procedures.
2. Maintain an awareness of conditions in the market place on assigned goods or services and keep stakeholders informed of significant situations. Initiate and participate in the development of procurement strategies in order to maintain capable and competitive sources of supply. Assist with keeping the potential supplier data base current and in identifying and qualifying additional suppliers. Perform commercial evaluations of potential suppliers and refer technical items to the appropriate specialists for evaluation and qualification.
3. Review requisitions and tendering documents for completeness and accuracy. Determine if there are regulatory, quality assurance or other special technical requirements and refer to product specialists in the requisitioning units or in the company, as required. Ensure that references to terms, conditions, standards, appendices and other relevant documentation are accurately and consistently referenced throughout the document. Check for the availability of standard or surplus material. Verify the requisitioning authority and resolve discrepancies.
4. Assess the procurement options such as requests for quotations or proposals, or for private or public tenders and determine the most appropriate, taking into consideration the requirements of the requisitioner and of the company. Review the most recent procurement history available for pricing and resourcing information and determine if bulk or blanket orders already exist or should be initiated. Identify and coordinate the preparation and the renewal of bulk and blanket orders for parts and services, such as repair and maintenance contracts and licensing agreements. Prepare releases where bulk orders exist. Verify sole and only acceptable sources and obtain approvals to negotiate, as required.
5. Prepare and issue bid lists and obtain approvals where there are changes to regulatory or technical requirements. Assist with or prepare the appropriate tendering documents as necessary. Prepare clarifying addenda and keep the requisitioner informed of all changes. Assess the need for standard or special commercial conditions such as corporate seals, bid securities, labour requirements, financial security or parental guarantees. Ensure that the evaluation criteria for consultants is included and is acceptable.
6. Negotiate contracts for sole and only acceptable source requirements, in accordance with established policies and procedures. Prepare and issue letters of invitation for private tender/proposal requests. Draft and arrange for newspaper advertisements for public tender/proposal requests. Ensure that capable suppliers are alerted to public requests. Coordinate the activities of the requisitioners and others in providing clarifications to potential bidders arranging pre tender/proposal, post-tender/proposal and site meetings and attend as necessary. Issue addenda and extensions, as required.
7. Participate in the receipt and opening of tenders/proposals, as required. Issue letters and instructions pertaining to the return of tendering/proposal documents and bid deposits. Ensure that the return of late, incomplete tenders/proposals and the withdrawal or cancellation of tenders is done in accordance with company procedures.
8. Perform the commercial evaluation of tenders, proposals and quotations including price, performance, domestic content, escalation, foreign exchange, duty, progress payments, labour requirements, financial security, manufacturing capability, etc. and refer other items to the appropriate technical specialists for evaluation. Coordinate technical and other evaluation activities to clarify ambiguities, to resolve exceptions and to correct any errors or omissions. Keep the requisitioner informed during the evaluation and award process as considered necessary.
9. Determine the required purchasing authorities and prepare purchase approval documents. For requisitioner prepared funding documents, check for accuracy and completeness and add notes, as required. Process for approval. 
10. On receipt of approvals, award business to successful bidders. Advise the unsuccessful bidders in accordance with company procedures. Determine the requirement for basic or formal purchase orders or contracts in accordance with established format and guidelines. Prepare awards to facilitate execution by the supplier and easy administration. Confirm acceptance by the supplier and resolve any discrepancies which may arise. Negotiate and obtain financial and parental guarantees in accordance with company requirements.
11. Perform ongoing administration of assigned contracts. Coordinate and chair award meetings and identify and ensure the attendance of requisitioners and other special resource people who may be required. Expedite and provide status information to requisitioners and to other stakeholders, as requested. Assist in resolving problems related to invoice discrepancies, material rejections, lost or damaged goods and quantity and other discrepancies. Approve progress payments and review and recommend the payment of adjustment payments. Coordinate the negotiation of contract changes after the award. Prepare and process amendment approval documents and instruction notices. Initiate surveillance assignments, where required, by compiling an assignment package consisting of copies of the purchase orders and other required information for inspection. Coordinate and ensure the review and approval of engineering, manufacturing, regulatory, quality assurance and other technical procedures and documentation by specialist staff in the requisitioning, as required. Initiate, maintain and verify the completeness and accuracy of quality assurance and other files required for the administration of contracts.
12. Make effective recommendations on the effectiveness and efficiency of products and services purchased by the company.
13. Handle and process, in accordance with regulatory and company procedures, restricted documents for the procurement of security related equipment and materials.
14. Perform other duties as required. 

Selection Criteria:

Education:

• Requires a knowledge of the fundamentals of purchasing, inventory control, transportation and quality management, including contract law, materials forecasting and management, negotiating skills, duties and taxes, insurance, foreign exchange and terms of payment, to carry out the purchasing process.
• Requires a good knowledge of mathematics and basic financial practices and procedures to perform commercial evaluations, assign taxes and duties and to administer contracts.
• Requires a good knowledge of English and negotiating skills to maintain an effective relationship with requisitioners and suppliers.This knowledge is considered to be normally acquired in either a Grade XII education in a secondary school plus up to one year of further concentrated study, or the equivalent education.

Experience:

• Requires procurement experience with the various commercial practices involving quotations, tendering, proposals, public advertising, purchase approvals, placement of business, the administration of contracts, etc.
• Requires experience to understand the full scope of the company's purchasing requirements, requisitioning sources and the vendor community to provide input to procurement strategies and policies and to develop procurement procedures and buyer guidelines.
• Requires experience with financial and legal counsel to ensure procedures meet due diligence and commercial requirements.
• Requires experience with private and public tendering processes.
• Requires experience purchasing the range of equipment materials and services.
• Requires experience to be familiar with the jargon or working language to facilitate communication, to recognize when regulatory and other special requirements apply and have an expertise and proficiency in dealing with procurement assignments, covering a wide variety of clients and applications.
• Requires experience to assess the need for special commercial conditions, including Corporate seals, bid securities, labour requirements, financial security and parental guarantees.
• Requires experience with construction contracts to understand related estimating practices, terminology and procedures and to understand drawings and sketches.
• Requires experience to be able to input, retrieve, update, assemble and modify information using computerized business systems. A period of over eight years, up to and including ten years, is considered necessary to gain this experience. 

At Hydro One we understand that the success and strength of our business rests with our people. When we develop their skills, we are investing in both their success and ours. To secure the best talent, we seek to create a workforce that reflects the diverse populations of the communities where we live and work and to create a culture based on safety, innovation and inclusiveness.

We are honoured to be recognized by Forbes in its list of Canada’s Best Employers for 2026. 

Thank you for considering a career with Hydro One, we welcome applications from all qualified candidates.  If you are having difficulty using our online application system and you need an accommodation due to a disability, please email View email address on jobs.hydroone.com . Hydro One will provide reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with disabilities in the job application process.

Please note this email is only for accommodation requests. Resumes sent to this email address will not be considered.

"Employer of the year 2026"

Deadline: September 28, 2026

The base salary for this role considers a variety of factors, including candidates' knowledge, skills, experience, education, and any applicable collective agreement requirements for union-represented positions. Hydro One provides an extensive offering of programs to promote a culture of safety, wellbeing, inclusivity, and sustainability to enable our employees to be the best version of themselves. For management roles, compensation is based on the principle of pay-for performance compensation philosophy, and the amount of annual adjustments and incentive payments depends on how well you and the company perform (subject to plan terms). We encourage open dialogue about compensation with our Talent Acquisition Team, who can provide more detailed information specific to this role.

This posting is for an existing vacancy. 

Hydro One uses AI tools to assist in the screening and assessing candidates for this role. Our use of AI does not replace human decision-making.

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We thank all applicants for their interest in a career at Hydro One; however, only those candidates who are selected for an interview will be contacted.