Senior Buyer

Cooperative Education; Fairfax (VA); Hybrid; USD 89,000 - 98,000; Full time

Job summary

George Mason University is seeking a Senior Buyer in Fairfax, VA, within the Purchasing Department, to independently manage complex public procurements from planning through contract administration. The role involves leading competitive solicitations, strategic sourcing, and high-impact purchases across a diverse portfolio of goods and services.

The candidate will provide procurement guidance to university stakeholders, negotiate terms, and ensure compliance with policies and state law.

Qualifications

• Seven years of full-time professional procurement experience in a public-sector environment.
• Experience as a senior buyer, warranted contracting officer, procurement officer, or equivalent.
• Strong procurement writing, negotiation, and contract administration skills.

Responsibilities

• Plan, develop, administer, evaluate, negotiate, and manage complex procurement contracts and high-value purchasing actions.
• Conduct procurements typically exceeding $200,000 with high institutional visibility or complexity.
• Lead RFPs, IFBs, and other solicitations from planning through award.
• Prepare purchase orders, contract documents, and associated procurement materials.
• Maintain procurement files and ensure pricing and contract administration accuracy.
• Support university departments and stakeholders to balance cost, quality, risk, and compliance.

Skills

Procurement

Contract negotiations

Public procurement

Strategic sourcing

Vendor management

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

eVA

Ellucian Banner

Job description

Department: Fiscal Services

Classification: Procurement Officer 2

Job Category:Classified Staff

Job Type: Full-Time

Work Schedule:Full-time (1.0 FTE, 40 hrs/wk)

Location: Fairfax, VA

Workplace Type:Hybrid Eligible

Sponsorship Eligibility:Not eligible for visa sponsorship

Pay Band:05

Salary:Salary range $89,000 - $97,500, commensurate with education and experience

Criminal Background Check:Yes

Financial Background Check: Yes

About the Department:

George Mason University is Virginia's largest public research institution and serves a diverse community of students, faculty, researchers, and administrative units across multiple campuses. Fiscal Services provides critical financial stewardship and operational support for the university, including procurement, strategic sourcing, accounts payable, travel, and related financial operations. The Purchasing and Accounts Payable Department plays a central role in supporting the university's academic, research, technology, facilities, and administrative missions. The department manages a broad portfolio of procurements while ensuring compliance with the Code of Virginia, university policies, and best practices. Team members work collaboratively with senior university leadership, academic units, researchers, and administrative departments to deliver best-value procurement solutions and strengthen institutional effectiveness.

About the Position:

The Senior Buyer serves as a senior procurement professional within George Mason University's Purchasing Department, and is responsible for independently managing complex public procurements from planning through award and contract administration. This position leads competitive solicitations, strategic sourcing initiatives, contract negotiations, and high-impact purchasing activities for a diverse portfolio of goods and services. The successful candidate will exercise substantial independent judgment, provide expert procurement guidance to university stakeholders, and collaborate with departments across the institution to develop procurement solutions that balance cost, quality, risk, compliance, and operational needs. The Senior Buyer serves as a strategic procurement advisor and, in consultation with their supervisor, manages complex, high-value, and high-visibility procurements from planning through contract execution. This position is ideal for a procurement professional who enjoys managing complex procurements, negotiating contractual terms and conditions, partnering with senior stakeholders, and working in a fast-paced, high-volume environment.

This position reports to the Director of Purchasing and is currently specified as hybrid eligible, with on-site expectations of two to three days per week.

Who Will Be Successful?

The successful candidate will be a self-directed procurement professional requiring minimal supervision; demonstrated professional procurement writing experience capable of producing high-quality solicitation, contract, and award documentation; comfortable advising senior administrators, faculty, researchers, and departmental leadership; experienced negotiating complex contractual terms and conditions; and ability to exercise sound judgment in situations involving competing priorities, compliance requirements, and institutional risk.

Responsibilities:

• Independently plans, develops, administers, evaluates, negotiates, awards, and administers complex procurement contracts and high-value purchasing actions in accordance with applicable law, policy, and delegated authority;
• Conducts complex procurement activities frequently in excess of $200,000 per procurement, including procurements with significant institutional visibility, operational importance, or contractual complexity;
• Applies advanced public procurement knowledge to determine the appropriate procurement method and manage competitive bids, competitive negotiations, sole source procurements, emergency procurements, contract renewals, and related procurement actions within delegated authority;
• Works independently, exercises considerable discretion and judgment, reviews purchase requisitions for accuracy and completeness, advises departments on procurement strategy, and identifies the most appropriate procurement approach;
• Leads RFPs, IFBs, and other solicitations from planning through award, including drafting solicitation documents, managing addenda and evaluation processes, analyzing responses, supporting evaluation committees, negotiating when appropriate, and preparing award documentation;
• Prepares purchase orders, contract documents, negotiation records, cost savings or cost avoidance documentation, and associated procurement file materials in a timely, accurate, and legally defensible manner;
• Executes contracts and purchase orders within delegated signature authority and routes documents for additional approval when required;
• Maintains complete procurement files and reviews, approves, or disapproves purchase order pricing changes and related contract administration matters;
• Conducts and oversees strategic sourcing activities within assigned categories;
• Reviews spending within assigned commodities to identify sourcing opportunities, improve compliance with Mason and state policies, and strengthen use of existing contracts and supplier relationships;
• Leads sourcing activities in partnership with departmental stakeholders to achieve an appropriate balance of service, quality, price, risk mitigation, and operational effectiveness;
• Provides customer service, vendor assistance, contract administration, order expediting, receiving coordination, returns support, invoice-resolution assistance, and problem-solving for complex supplier or stakeholder issues;
• Advises university customers and vendors regarding procurement processes, procedures, policy interpretation, and best practices to reduce cycle time, improve compliance, and enhance service;
• Acts as liaison between suppliers and the university on procurement and contractual matters;
• Assists suppliers in understanding how to conduct business with the university;
• Advises and encourages SWaM vendors to certify with the Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity, where appropriate;
• Provides contract administration for assigned orders and contracts to confirm goods and services are delivered in accordance with contractual requirements and supports university departments, Central Receiving, and Accounts Payable in resolving delivery, order status, receiving, material return, and invoice issues;
• Resolves vendor performance issues, recommends or executes appropriate cure actions, and initiates timely contract renewals, extensions, reconciliations, or rebids;
• Encourages use of SWaM vendors where appropriate and consistent with procurement requirements;
• Develops alternative, reliable, and responsible sources of supply through market research, source lists, supplier engagement, vendor visits, trade shows, exhibits, professional purchasing organizations, and collaboration with other purchasing offices; and
• Encourages participation by small, women-owned, and minority-owned businesses, assists suppliers with certification information as appropriate, and networks with other purchasing offices and universities.

Required Qualifications:

• A minimum of seven years of full-time professional procurement experience in a public-sector environment (including state government, local government, higher education, federal government, public authorities or other governmental entities) serving as a senior buyer, warranted contracting officer, procurement officer, senior acquisition professional, or substantially equivalent procurement role (with delegated authority) with responsibility for independently managing or materially leading procurement actions for goods or services.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in Business, Public Administration, Supply Chain Management, Finance, Contract Management, or a related field. Additional qualifying procurement and contracting experience may be substituted only on a year-for-year basis up to four years;
• Professional procurement, purchasing, acquisition, sourcing, or contracting certification preferred, including VCO, CPPB, CPPO, CPM, CPSM, FAC-C, CFCM, NIGP-CPP, CUPO, or equivalent certification;
• Ten or more years of progressively responsible senior buyer, contracting officer, procurement officer, acquisition, strategic sourcing, or public purchasing experience strongly preferred;
• Experience as a warranted contracting officer or equivalent delegated procurement authority strongly preferred;
• Experience independently managing complex procurements from planning through award and contract administration strongly preferred;
• Experience using eVA, Ellucian Banner, or comparable procurement/financial systems preferred;
• Ability to almost entirely independently run competitive or complex procurements across the procurement lifecycle, including solicitation development, evaluation, negotiation of business or contractual terms and conditions, award, contract issuance, purchase order issuance, or other final procurement processing; and
• Expert in professional procurement writing, including the ability to produce clear, accurate, and complete procurement-related documents.

Posting Open Date: August 12, 2026

Posting Close Date: August 26, 2026

Open Until Filled:No