Purchasing Agent

Summary:

• Schedule: 07:00 AM - 04:00 PM [Lunch: 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM]
• Duration: 6 months

Responsibilities:

• Responsible for purchases made by the organization.
• Evaluates and approves vendors and authorizes purchase orders for goods or services.
• Relies on experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals.
• May lead and direct the work of others.
• Reviews requisitions.
• Confers with vendors to obtain product or service information such as price, availability, and delivery schedule.
• Selects products for purchase by testing, observing, or examining items.
• Estimates values according to knowledge of market price.
• Determines method of procurement such as direct purchase or bid.
• Prepares purchase orders or bid requests.
• Reviews bid proposals and negotiates contracts within budgetary limitations and scope of authority.
• Maintains procurement records such as items or services purchased, costs, delivery, product quality or performance, and inventories.
• Discusses defective or unacceptable goods or services with inspection or quality control personnel, users, vendors, and others to determine source of trouble and take corrective action.
• Approves invoices for payment.
• Expedites delivery of goods to users.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in area of specialty.
• Minimum 4 years of experience in the field or in a related area.
• Knowledge of MRP systems (Oracle preferred).

Preferred Skills:

• Analytical skills to synthesize complex or diverse information.
• Problem-solving skills to identify and resolve issues in a timely manner.
• Project management skills to coordinate and complete projects on time and within budget.
• Customer service skills to manage difficult or emotional customer situations.
• Quality management skills to improve and promote quality.
• Business acumen to understand business implications of decisions.
• Initiative to undertake self-development activities and seek increased responsibilities.
• Innovation to display original thinking and creativity.
• Judgment to make sound and accurate decisions.
• Planning and organizing skills to prioritize and plan work activities.
• Professionalism to approach others in a tactful manner.

Physical Demands:

• Occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities required include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, and depth perception.
• Frequently required to reach with hands and arms and talk or hear.
• Occasionally required to stand, walk, sit, use hands to finger, handle, or feel and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.

Work Environment:

• Normally work in a temperature-controlled office environment, with frequent exposure to electronic office equipment.
• Noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
• During visits to areas of operations, may be exposed to extreme cold or hot weather conditions.
• Occasionally exposed to fumes or airborne particles, toxic or caustic chemicals, and loud noise.