Departmental Buyer

University of Texas at Austin; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 48,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Texas at Austin’s Applied Research Laboratories seeks a Departmental Buyer to support procurement activities in an R&D environment on the Pickle Research Campus. The role emphasizes sourcing, bids, awards, and compliance with UT and federal regulations in issuing Purchase Orders.

You will manage supplier relations, provide pricing, maintain procurement data, and assist with ProCard transactions while ensuring data integrity in UT systems.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree.
• One year purchasing experience demonstrated, including sourcing, bids, and awarding.
• One year of strong customer service experience engaging with diverse personalities.
• Ability to handle confidential information professionally and work in a team.
• CTCD certification within 12 months of employment.

Responsibilities

• Develop sources of supply, secure bids, and award orders.
• Locate products and services, provide pricing, maintain a status database.
• Secure bids via telephone and email, award, and make recommendations.
• Prepare documentation to comply with UT and federal regulations to issue a Purchase Order.
• Prepare, submit, and reconcile Procard transactions.
• Assist in locating products and services required to meet contractual requirements.
• Provide pricing for contract cost estimates and planning.
• Provide advance planning and guidance on approvals and procedures.
• Ensure the database provides accurate and current order information.
• Data entry and retrieval in ARL:UT IRIS and UT DEFINE/POINT PLUS systems.
• Back-up support to other purchasers via meetings, phone, or email.
• Participate in rotating assignments and special projects.
• Other related functions as assigned.

Skills

Purchasing knowledge

Customer service

Communication skills

Data entry

Attention to detail

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

MS Office

Excel

Adobe Acrobat

Internet research

Job description

Job Posting Title:

Departmental Buyer

Hiring Department:

Applied Research Laboratories

Position Open To:

All Applicants

Weekly Scheduled Hours:

40

FLSA Status:

Exempt from FLSA

Earliest Start Date:

Immediately

Position Duration:

Expected to Continue

Location:

PICKLE RESEARCH CAMPUS

Job Details:

Purpose

Support procurement activities and process purchase requests in an R&D environment.

Responsibilities

• Develop sources of supply, secure bids, and award orders.

• Locate products/services, provide pricing, maintain status database, resolve difficulties and provide guidance for best method to effect a purchase order.

• Secure bids via telephone and email, award, and make award recommendations.

• Prepare necessary documentation complying with UT and federal regulations to effect a Purchase Order. (Including but not limited to maintaining the ProCard files, posting information to the Procard Transaction Log as issued by UT Office of Accounting to track charges and assist in voucher preparation.)

• Prepare, submit, and reconcile Procard as required by the UT Accounting Office.

• Assist in locating products and services required to meet contractual requirements.

• Provides pricing for contract cost estimates and planning.

• Provide advance planning and guidance concerning approvals and procedures.

• Ensures database provides accurate and current order information.

• Responsible for data entry, retrieval, and use of information from the ARL:UT IRIS database as well as the UT DEFINE/POINT PLUS System.

• Responsible for accurate and thorough data entry retrieval and use of information on 1) the ARL:UT database for record keeping, order tracking, and status reporting, and 2) UT DEFINE and POINT PLUS System.

• Provide back-up support to one or more purchasers within the Purchasing Office via meetings, telephone, database (Tickler), or email.

• Regular rotating assignments and/or other special projects at the direction of the Senior Departmental Buyer or Office Manager.

• Other related functions as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree.

• One year demonstrated ability in purchasing, including source selection, taking bids and awarding orders or making award recommendations.

• One year of proven customer service experience successfully engaging with a wide range of personalities, adapting communication style seamlessly from one customer to the next in person and by phone.

• Ability to work independently with sensitive and confidential information, maintain a professional demeanor, work as a team member and effectively communicate with many groups of clients.

• Able to work under pressure and accept supervision.

• Regular and punctual attendance.

• Demonstrated problem-solving skills.

• Ability to work efficiently and flexibly in a fast paced environment.

• Outstanding organizational and time-management skills.

• Recent strong computer skills in MS Office, Excel, Adobe Acrobat and use of internet for purchasing and related functions.

• Must have or be able to obtain a Certified Texas Contract Developer (CTCD) certificatewithin twelve (12) months of employment date.

• Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

US Citizen: Applicant selected will be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information at the level appropriate to the project requirements of the position.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business.

• More than one year as a full time purchaser.

• Preferred applicant would be a Certified Texas Contract Developer (CTCD) and Certified Texas Contract Manager (CTCM).

• Preferred applicant would have more than one year experience with UT, State of Texas, DoD, City Government, or research and development procurement.

• Knowledgeable in procurement procedures (competitive procurement, value analysis, source selection, and negotiating techniques).

• Minimum 5 years experience with MS Office, Adobe Acrobat, and Internet.

• Experience soliciting and making awards to Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) concerns; maintaining data on small and veteran-owned business concerns.

• Working knowledge of Export Control regulations.

General Notes

An agency designated by the federal government handles the investigation as to the requirement for eligibility for access to classified information. Factors considered during this investigation include but are not limited to allegiance to the United States, foreign influence, foreign preference, criminal conduct, security violations, drug involvement, the likelihood of continuation of such conduct, etc.

Please mark "yes" on the application question that asks if additional materials are required. Failure to attach all additional materials listed below may result in a delay in application processing.

Visit our website (www.arlut.utexas.edu) for additional information about Applied Research Laboratories.

UT Austin offers a competitive benefits package that includes:

• 100% employer-paid basic medical coverage
• Retirement contributions
• Paid vacation and sick time
• Paid holidays

Please visit our Human Resources (HR) website to learn more about the total benefits offered.

Salary Range

$48,000-$54,000+/negotiable depending on qualifications.

Working Conditions

• Standard office conditions
• Repetitive use of a keyboard at a workstation
• Use of manual dexterity
• Some weekend, evening and holiday work
• Possible interstate/intrastate travel

Required Materials

• Resume/CV
• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
• Letter of interest

Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers:

You will be prompted to submit your resume the first time you apply, then you will be provided an option to upload a new Resume for subsequent applications. Any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) will be uploaded in the Application Questions section; you will be able to multi-select additional files. Before submitting your online job application, ensure thatALLRequired Materials have been uploaded. Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.

Important for Current university employees and contingent workers:

As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find UT Jobs. If you are a current University employee, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile before you apply. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will be prompted to upload your resume. In addition, you must respond to the application questionspresented to upload any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) that were noted above.

Employment Eligibility

Regular staff who have been employed in their current position for the last six continuous months are eligible for openings being recruited for through University-Wide or Open Recruiting, to include both promotional opportunities and lateral transfers. Staff who are promotion/transfer eligible may apply for positions without supervisor approval.

Retirement Plan Eligibility

The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

Background Checks

A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer,complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

Pay Transparency

The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor's legal duty to furnish information.

Employment Eligibility Verification

If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form. You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States. Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment. Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.

E-Verify

• E-Verify Poster (English and Spanish) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (English) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (Spanish) [PDF]

Compliance

Employees may be required to report violations of law under Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). If this position is identified a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), you will be notified and provided resources for reporting. Responsible employees under Title IX are defined and outlined in HOP-3031.

The Clery Act requires all prospective employees be notified of the availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety report. You may access the most recent report here or obtain a copy at University Compliance Services, 1616 Guadalupe Street, UTA 2.206, Austin, Texas 78701.