Procurement Associate

University of South Florida; Tampa (FL); On-site; USD 41,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of South Florida in Tampa is seeking a Procurement Associate to join the PPS team. You will process purchase orders and change requests, ensuring compliance with USF and Florida policies while maintaining accurate records.

You may lead procurement initiatives, assist with sourcing, and provide education to internal clients. Strong data skills and attention to detail are essential for success in this mid‑level role.

Qualifications

• Experience in procurement operations and supporting internal clients.
• Ability to analyze workload metrics and generate simple reports.
• Familiarity with state and university procurement policies.
• Strong attention to detail and data accuracy.
• Experience with public solicitation processes is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Review and process requisitions and change orders in the procurement system, ensuring backup documentation complies with USF and Florida policies.
• Monitor help desk tickets, provide guidance on processes, and escalate complex issues.
• Manage procurement programs such as vehicle fleet, print services, inbound shipping, ghost card payments.
• Provide administrative support for public solicitation events, including posting ads and coordinating meetings.
• Complete other projects and duties as assigned.

Skills

Procurement experience

Data analysis

Customer education

Compliance

Education

Bachelor's degree equivalency

Tools

Microsoft Office

eProcurement system

Job description

Job Description

Hiring Salary: $45,000

The Procurement Associate supports the procurement team with transactional and operational tasks and occasionally owns procurement tasks of increased complexity or those of a strategic nature. This mid-level procurement role involves processing purchase orders and change requests while ensuring compliance with State and USF policies, maintains accurate purchase records, and may assist with sourcing and customer education. This role involves providing higher levels of support to internal department clients and other members of the PPS team. They may take a lead role in managing procurement driven initiatives and programs and can support administration of public solicitation events. The Procurement Associate may also perform simple data analysis and reporting related to workload volume and help desk cues.

Responsibilities

• 45% Accurately review and process requisition (purchase order), and change order requests in the procurement system ensuring that the request contains required backup documentation in compliance with USF and the State of Florida policies related to the purchase of goods and services. Support education by relaying procurement related information and guidance to internal USF clients and assist where appropriate in directly sourcing or providing sourcing guidance to internal clients to obtain quotes. Conduct straightforward data analysis on metrics related to workload and operational purchasing tasks
• 20% Monitor and respond to procurement help desk tickets ensuring timely and accurate responses to both internal and external stakeholders. Provide guidance to internal stakeholders on procurement processes, policies and procedures and help to troubleshoot and resolve straightforward errors. Use judgement to elevate complex or unresolved issues to the appropriate team member for further investigation and develop the knowledge to address such issues in the future. Support development of standardized responses, procurement FAQs and be able to produce simple operational and workload reports on tickets.
• 15% Manage procurement driven programs which may include but are not limited to USF vehicles (titles, registration, fleet management), USF print services (managed print services), Inbound shipping programs, Ghost card payments and others. Notify the PPS web administrator of any changes that are needed to web site so information is current.
• 15% General administrative support for public solicitation events including preparation and posting of advertisements, editing of solicitation documents, solicitation setup in USF’s eProcurement system, coordination of meetings and events related to public solicitation and researching and registering potential suppliers ensuring a competitive pool.
• 5% Other projects and duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

Degree Equivalency Clause: Four years of direct experience for a bachelor’s degree.

Senate Bill 1310

• SB 1310: Substitution of Work Experience for Postsecondary Education Requirements
• A public employer may include a postsecondary degree as a baseline requirement only as an alternative to the number of years of direct experience required, not to exceed:
• (a) Two years of direct experience for an associate degree;
• (b) Four years of direct experience for a bachelor’s degree;
• (c) Six years of direct experience for a master’s degree;
• (d) Seven years of direct experience for a professional degree; or
• (e) Nine years of direct experience for a doctoral degree
• Related work experience may not substitute for any required licensure, certification, or registration required for the position of employment as established by the public employer and indicated in the advertised description of the position of employment.
• Minimum Qualifications that require a high school diploma are exempt from SB 1310.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in higher education procurement
• Familiarity with state and university regulations
• Demonstrated ability to work independently
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy in data entry and record keeping
• Proficiency in data analysis and reporting tools including Microsoft Office suite products
• Demonstrated understanding of procurement principles

The University of South Florida is a top-ranked research university serving approximately 50,000 students from across the globe at campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg and USF Health. In 2025, U.S. News & World Report recognized USF with its highest overall ranking in university history, as a top 50 public university for the seventh consecutive year and as one of the top 15 best values among all public universities in the nation. U.S. News also ranks the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine in the highest tier, placing it as one of the top 16 medical schools in the nation and inside the top 10 among public universities. USF is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), a group that includes only the top 3% of universities in the U.S. With an all-time high of $750 million in research funding in 2025 and as a top 20 public university for producing U.S. patents, USF uses innovation to transform lives and shape a better future. The university generates an annual economic impact of nearly $10 billion for the state of Florida. USF’s Division I athletics teams compete in the American Conference. Learn more at www.usf.edu .

About Us

With approximately 16,000 employees, the University of South Florida is one of the largest employers in the Tampa Bay area. We are dedicated to cultivating a talented, engaged and driven workforce that strives to be bold. Employees excel in USF‘s rich academic environment, which fosters their development and advancement. In 2025, Forbes recognized USF as one of Florida’s best large employers, ranked No. 1 among the state’s 12 public universities. Our first-class benefits package includes medical, dental and life insurance plans, retirement plan options, employee and dependent tuition programs, generous leave, and hundreds of employee perks and discounts.

About USF

The University of South Florida is a top-ranked research university serving approximately 50,000 students from across the globe at campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota-Manatee and USF Health. USF is recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a top 50 public university and the best value in Florida. U.S. News also ranks the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine as the No. 1 medical school in Florida and in the highest tier nationwide. USF is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), a group that includes only the top 3% of universities in the U.S. With an all-time high of $738 million in research funding in 2024 and as a top 20 public university for producing U.S. patents, USF uses innovation to transform lives and shape a better future. The university generates an annual economic impact of more than $6 billion. USF’s Division I athletics teams compete in the American Athletic Conference. Learn more at www.usf.edu .

Compliance and Federal Notices

This position may be subject to a Level 1 or Level 2 criminal background check.

Applicants have rights under Federal Employment Laws.

The University of South Florida is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment based on any characteristic protected by law. The University maintains programs for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities in accordance with all applicable federal and state laws.

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Applicants for USF employment are entitled to request reasonable accommodation(s) in the application process. A request is to be made at least five (5) working days prior to the time the accommodation(s) is needed. Visit the Central Human Resources ADA Accommodations webpage for more information on requesting an accommodation during the application/interview process.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The University of South Florida is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment based on any characteristic protected by law. The University maintains affirmative action programs for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities in accordance with all applicable federal and state laws. This job description does not constitute an employment contract.