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GENERAL SUMMARY OF POSITION:

Under the general direction of the Senior Manager of Programs and Facility Services or designee, the Purchasing Agent is responsible for purchasing activities, as they relate to assigned contracts, commodities, services, or areas, consistent with University/Purchasing Policies and Procedures in a complex organization.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:  

• Purchase services, equipment, and goods for University departments within assigned procurement authority
• Review, analyze, recommend, and approve requisitions/PO’s according to Purchasing Departments Policies and Procedures
• Work directly with departments and supplier representatives regarding specifications, costs, inspections, and similar problems relating to the University’s requirements. Conduct supplier site visits as needed
• Coordinate the integration of new and existing systems and programs.
• Develop and manage contract reporting requirements, providing metric and benchmarking information
• Enter, manage and monitor contract renewals and performance for the Medical School.
• Train department and external staff in the creation and execution of contracts and reports
• Utilize data to track contract utilization and contract savings
• Review existing and develop new spend analysis reports for policy compliance, risk mitigation and procurement opportunities.
• Maintain records (bids, proposals, quotes) , reports, and statistics as required per State and University record retention policies
• Perform audits of cardholder and departmental ProCard records for compliance to policy and procedures.
• Identifies errors, unaccountable transactions, faulty or inefficient processes.
• Travel to audits at the various UMass Medical School locations throughout Massachusetts and other locations as required.
• Documents audit tests, findings and corrective actions. Performs statistical analysis of sampling results to extrapolate conclusions and error rates for both singular and total populations.
• Assists with the distribution of new credit cards and in preparing and collecting the cardholder agreement forms
• Analyzes card activity levels and makes recommendations for card cancellation or limit adjustments based on usage
• Attend in-services and meetings as required. May participate on committees as requested
• Perform other duties as required.  

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Finance, or equivalent experience
• Three years of Accounting or Procurement experience, preferably in a Higher Education Environment
• Working knowledge of computerized purchasing information systems (preferably Sci-Quest) and Microsoft Office
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal and writing skills needed to present or communicate effectively with all levels of management and vendors
• Must be detail oriented with a high level of accuracy
• Strong problem solving and decision making skills
• Ability to travel to off-site locations.