Summary/Objective

The Purchasing Assistant will work collaboratively with the purchasing manager to ensure all materials, tools, equipment, and maintenance needs of the facility are met on a consistent and timely basis. This person will collaborate with different departments (production, warehouse, sales, and management) in order to take proactive steps in the purchasing process and qualifying and securing strategic vendor relationships. The purchasing assistant requires a high level of attention to detail, excellent communication skills and follow-up. 

Essential Functions

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

1. Support the overall initiatives of the purchasing manager to ensure the needs of the facility are met.
2. Establish and maintain vendor/contractor relationships for facility, material, and maintenance needs.
3. Build and maintain collaborate relationships with cross-functional departments/team members such as warehouse, production, sales, accounting, and upper management.
4. Research and compare suppliers and services in order to develop market knowledge and negotiate competitive pricing.
5. Develop purchasing and planning processes to enable growth while improving efficiency and accuracy.
6. Prioritize production needs in order to minimize downtime and maximize productivity.
7. Maintain records of order timeliness and accuracy.
8. Other duties as assigned by the purchasing manager.

Competencies

1. Professionalism – communicate effectively and respectfully
2. Integrity – honest and ethical
3. Cooperation – positive attitude and pleasant with others
4. Independence – take initiative with minimal direction and be flexible in meeting the immediate needs of the department
5. Prioritization – manage and communicate competing priorities
6. Problem solving – independently and collaboratively identify problems and address them

Position Type and Expected Hours of WorkThis is a full-time exempt position and this person’s scheduled days and hours of work will approximately match the office hours of operation which are 8:00am-5:00pm. This schedule is subject to change at any time and with limited to no notice.

Required Education and Experience/Skills

1. 1 – 3 years of clerical, administrative, or customer service experience or an equivalent level of post-secondary education (associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree, etc.)
2. Excellent verbal and written communication skills
3. Excellent computer skills and experience utilizing the MS Office suite (Word, Excel, and Outlook)
4. Exceptional organizational and task management skills
5. High level of attention to detail

Preferred Education and Experience/Skills

1. Experience working or familiarity with industrial equipment
2. Bilingual (English/Spanish) – verbal and written
3. Experience with ERP/MRP software