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Position Summary, Requirements, and Qualifications
Position Summary, Requirements, and Qualifications
Overview
Northern Illinois University is a world-class, research-focused public institution that attracts students from across Illinois, the country and the world. NIU’s vision is to be an engine for innovation to advance social mobility; promote personal, professional and intellectual growth; and transform the world through research, artistry, teaching and outreach. Our mission is to empower students through educational excellence and experiential learning as we pursue knowledge, share our research and artistry, and engage communities for the benefit of the region, state, nation and world.
This position in part of the Materials Management team, which is part of the Facilities Management and Campus Services operations reporting to the Division of Administration and Finance.
Position Summary
The employee in this position is responsible for the preparation and completion of receiving, storing, issuing, recording, returning, and security of all commodities and materials in Central Receiving, Central Stores and the Materials Distribution Center ( MDC ). Individual must process receipts promptly for either warehouse storage or immediate re-delivery. Work requires the use of initiative and judgment in cooperating with vendors, repair technicians, trades, and other personnel to provide a timely flow of all commodities and services in accordance with the needs of the university.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Order Processing
- Fill orders received from university departments and trades.
- Promptly process order forms for entry into the billing charge-back system; pack and label filled orders for pick-up or re-delivery on campus by others.
- Checks stock against shipping authorizations for agreement as to quantities, descriptions, sizes, conditions, and conformation to purchase order.
- Issue stock as requested on requisitions by checking items against stock levels on hand, suggesting substitutes, and noting quantities issued on requisitions.
- Issue stock as requested on the MDC requisition cards by checking items against stock levels on hand, suggesting substitutes, noting quantities issued on the requisition record and obtaining appropriate signatures on special project orders.
Receiving Shipments
- Assists in the receipt, unpacking, storage, sorting and delivery of materials shipped to the university.
- Receive and unload incoming orders from vendors or contract carriers and process orders for warehousing or re-delivery after checking for visible damage and compliance with specifications such as count, grade, weight, and pack.
- Maintains records of receipts, dates when items are received and records of issuance to trades or departments.
- Addresses all delivery issues and works with Central Stores Manager to resolve problems.
- Unpacks, inspects, and returns defective, excessive, broken or incorrect items.
- Performs all shipping functions to insure items are shipped according to carrier specifications.
- Assists customers with tracking/finding where freight is located.
- Assists with managing warehouse space.
- Selects, determines, and applies store‑keeping guidelines, procedures, and methods without specific interpretations from supervisors.
- Records documents in the work order system, listing data such as the contractor, the purchase order number, and the date received.
Referral and Suggestion
- Refers situations involving major deviations from established methods to the Manager and make recommendations suggesting a course of action to be taken.
- Makes suggestions concerning the alignment of services to operating requirements such as recommending the supervisor establish a blanket order with a new vendor as an alternate source for stock and special project items.
- Prepares special reports as required by the Central Stores Manager.
- Seeks advice of Physical Plant trades personnel to ensure compliance with purchase order for regular stock items and special projects and demonstrate the ability to adapt store‑keeping methods to the handling of items, locating reference sources, and providing solutions to problems presented.
- Solves problems with the cooperation of the appropriate Physical Plant trades that requires looking for data in technical catalogs and publications to determine substitution interchange, and compliance with specifications.
- Maintains a library of vendor and manufacturer publications, both out-of-date and current, and have contact time with vendors via phone, fax, and e‑mail.
- Follow‑ups with vendors to assure that resale stock is delivered on time and as specified, noting and resolving any discrepancies or variations.
Warehousing
- Performs warehousing tasks, independently, in connection with checking and tallying special and/or technical items of supply purchased for each shop.
- Stocking items that require special treatment because they deviate from established store‑keeping methods.
- Knowledgeable of stock characterized by the susceptibility to spontaneous combustion, toxicity, fragility, rapid deterioration, contamination, or ease of physical damage.
Reporting
- Prepares necessary reports as needed or required. Maintain SDS book.
- Performs customer service related duties such as serving walk‑in customers, answering phones for the main office or email correspondence.
- Assists university customers with emergency orders for resale stock, and secure all paperwork and authorizations before releasing any stock.
- Other related office duties.
- Reads and interpret work order reports used for stock and inventory record maintenance and reorder stock when required.
- Exercises judgment in estimating amounts of supplies needed for replenishment through the use of these reports, and daily observations of unusual quantities of items issued.
- Manages business archives area and ensure all boxes are stored and logged properly.
- Performs necessary housekeeping tasks as assigned, including but not limited to sweeping, dusting, emptying waste containers and the straightening of work processing areas.
- Maintains security of work areas and inventory by enforcing all building security procedures.
- Operate electric fork lift and narrow aisle reach trucks on a daily basis to achieve required high rack palletized storage.
- Performs basic preventative maintenance/checks on material handling equipment as needed.
- Performs record keeping of forklift checklists for all forklifts on a daily basis.
- Checks Eyewash stations monthly.
Department Relations
- Conduct cyclical counts as established by department for both MDC and Central Stores.
- Work in other departments as needed to complete tasks essential to Campus Services operations.
- Partakes in required training in classes on safety and proper techniques related to the position.
- Perform related duties as assigned and help other departments as needed.
Minimum Required Qualifications (Civil Service)
- High school diploma or equivalent.
- One (1) year (12 months) of work experience comparable to that performed at the Storekeeper I level of this series or in other positions of comparable responsibility.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) (Civil Service)
- Knowledge of the principles and processing for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Skill in considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Ability to compute basic math including addition, subtraction, fractions, multiplication, and division.
- Ability to effectively convey information to others, both verbally and in writing.
- Ability to perform general physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
- Ability to lift up to 50 lbs.
- Ability to