Operations Buyer

About the role

The Operations Buyer will be part of the Procurement Operations group, working with internal customers and suppliers to procure goods and services and realize savings. This position manages purchasing strategies at assigned locations, implements existing strategies, and develops new partnerships with stakeholders. The role ensures adherence to and communication of Procurement policies and procedures during the purchasing process, reconciles service and technical issues with vendors, and manages relationships between internal customers and vendors. The Operations Buyer also assists in the procurement of project materials.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a purchasing subject matter expert and first level of resource & potential technical help to field operations staff.
• Review purchase requisitions for completeness and place orders with approved suppliers.
• Foster close working relationships with branches and departments including Sales, Manufacturing, Engineering, Production, Parts, and Service.
• Work with stakeholders to solicit, evaluate, negotiate, and decide upon proposals for goods and services not covered under existing contracts.
• Manage relationships between internal customers and suppliers.
• Process requisitions to create purchase orders according to current SOPs and distribute accordingly.
• Comply with contract & sourcing strategies from procurement managers for execution of purchases.
• Identify consolidation and savings opportunities of local spend.
• Participate in negotiations for price, delivery, quality, and service when necessary.
• Follow up on project purchase orders until completion.
• Relay cost change information to appropriate stakeholders.
• Resolve pricing discrepancies or other requisition/PO issues.
• Receive, analyze, and resolve supplier inquiries, service issues, disputes, and payment discrepancies.
• Perform one-off exception purchases, negotiate final pricing terms, and select suppliers based on demand.
• Participate in supplier performance and feedback assessments.
• Ensure supplier compliance and policies are met.
• Perform day-to-day purchasing operations functions.
• Advise management of opportunities to improve cost, performance, or process using facts, research, and analysis.
• Gather, update, and distribute reports.
• Complete special projects assigned by management.

Requirements

• Knowledge of Oracle ERP and Ariba Procure-to-Pay systems or equivalent systems.
• Demonstrated ability to work with direct and cross-functional teams.
• Demonstrated knowledge of purchasing key fundamentals.
• Able to lead by ensuring adherence to purchasing practices, compliance, and guidelines.
• Effective interpersonal skills required for interacting with both internal and external resources.
• Analytical skills necessary to evaluate the cost effectiveness of purchasing options and planning for major commodities.
• Ability to read and interpret terms and conditions of contracts.

Pay

$25–$28 per hour (depends on experience level).

Schedule

40 hours per week. This is a contract position.