Procurement Specialist

Our New Teammate

The Senior Purchasing Specialist is a strategic procurement professional responsible for managing complex vendor relationships, optimizing procurement processes, and ensuring accurate financial reporting for purchasing activities. This role combines tactical execution with analytical problem-solving, vendor negotiation, and mentorship of junior procurement staff.

You can expect to spend your time accomplishing the following:

• 70% of the time on Objective 1: Strategic Procurement Operation
• 10% of the time on Objective 2: Financial Management & Reporting
• 10% of the time on Objective 3: Continuous Improvement
• 5% of the time on Objective 4: Vendor Relationship Management
• 5% of the time on Objective 5: Systems Management & Data Integrity

Job Responsibilities – What to Expect

• Prepare and issue purchase orders to vendors based on approved requisitions
• Verify PO accuracy including pricing, quantities, specifications, ship-to addresses, and GL coding
• Obtain required approvals following established approval hierarchies before PO release
• Communicate order confirmations and delivery expectations to internal stakeholders
• Process PO changes including revisions, cancellations, and expedite requests
• Maintain organized documentation of all PO correspondence and confirmations
• Manage expedited and emergency procurements requiring creative problem-solving
• Assess sourcing of materials for improved delivery (stock vs fulfillment source)
• Implement process improvements to reduce PO cycle time and increase efficiency
• Align delivery (JIT) schedules with delivery schedules (working with PMs to align shipments with project delivery
• Create and analyze open PO accrual report for monthly financial close, ensuring accuracy and completeness
• Partner with accounting team on period-end activities, cut-off procedures, and audit support (physical inventory counts, etc.)
• Support physical inventory reconciliation process to resolve discrepancies
• Lead process improvement initiatives to streamline procurement operations
• Document standard operating procedures for purchasing activities
• Represent procurement in cross-functional project teams
• Conduct vendor performance reviews and manage escalations for service failures
• Build strategic relationships with key suppliers to ensure priority treatment and favorable pricing and terms
• Resolve complex vendor disputes involving quality, delivery, or billing issues
• Maintain SOAR process documentation as it relates to purchasing
• Maintain item master data quality including specifications, preferred vendors, and standard costs
• Maintain vendor price lists
• Lead data cleanup projects to improve system accuracy and usability (item master clean up, updates, open POs, etc.)

Your Knowledge & Expertise

• 5 years of work experience in a Purchasing function working with purchase orders, receiving, vendors, and customers is required
• High school diploma or equivalent. An associate's degree is preferred
• General accounting and finance knowledge
• Experience using Microsoft Excel and a computerized purchasing system is preferred
• Ability to work in and manage a multi-task environment
• Effective written and verbal communication skills