Departmental Buyer

Job Details

PURPOSE : To provide technical assistance in departmental purchasing activities. Responsible for assisting in the purchase of departmental goods and services following established guidelines.

Provides assistance in purchasing supplies, materials, equipment and services. Assures all processes are documented according to federal and state policies and procedures.

Serves as liaison between the department, University Purchasing Office, and vendors to fulfill procurement needs. Performs work in compliance with applicable rules and regulations.

Compiles information and records to prepare purchase orders for procurement of materials. Generates correspondence regarding problems and procedures.

Maintains accurate records. Performs buying / purchasing activities as assigned. Works on special projects as assigned.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS :

Process a high volume of purchasing and accounting documents including purchase orders, payment vouchers, interdepartmental transfers, travel reimbursements and refunds.

Maintain expert knowledge of university policies and procedures, and ensure work is done in a timely manner. Maintain knowledge about departmental accounts.

Serves as liaison between the department, University Purchasing Office, and vendors to fulfill procurement needs : meet with staff to determine the scope of needs, categorize each type of purchase and outline the requirements for each, anticipate needs, assist with purchasing timelines and planning, partner with staff to ensure timely action to fulfill university requirements and meet deadlines.

Keep apprised of purchases and payments until all are resolved.

Approve and post transactions. Maintain and prepare files of backup documentation in accordance with departmental and university requirements.

Reconcile a variety of departmental charges. Perform complex reconciliations for departmental credit cards including departmental procards, IT procard, two sport clubs procards, and up to 52 separate sport clubs travel credit cards.

Ensure university documentation and paperwork requirements have been satisfied .

Download credit card settlement report for daily deposit. Identify any discrepancies between the settlement report and the store sales report, and notify IT via email.

Serve as a backup for deposit preparation including review and reconciliation of daily reports and data entry report generation .

• Assist with supervising and overseeing the work of the accounting student staff. Train and mentor students, oversee their work, and model professional behavior and practices.
• Download credit card settlement report for daily deposit. Identify any discrepancies between the settlement report and the store sales report, and notify IT via email.

Serve as backup for deposit preparation including review and reconciliation of daily reports and data entry report generation.

• Apply sound bookkeeping practices and logic in all phases of work. Review own work for accuracy before submission. Resolve issues that arise relative to the essential functions of the position, involving the manager as required.
• Serve as a contributing staff member in the Business Services area of the Division, exercise a high degree of discretionary effort in all phases of work, maintain effective job manuals and serve on committees.

Perform other tasks as assigned.

Required Qualifications : A Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field, with a minimum of one year of relevant experience and one year of purchasing experience.

The candidate must have strong skills in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, Word, and Outlook. The role requires demonstrated ability to process and reconcile high volumes of purchasing and accounting documents, maintain accurate financial records, and ensure compliance with university policies and procedures.

Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with a proven ability to work effectively as a liaison between departments and vendors, are also essential.

Preferred Qualifications : A Bachelors or Masters degree in accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field is preferred.

More than one year of relevant experience. The ideal candidate will have experience working in a university or higher education environment, with advanced knowledge and experience in university-specific systems such as Workday, Banner, PeopleSoft, or DEFINE (Mainframe) system.

Additionally, experience with process modernization, system implementation, and supervising student staff is highly desirable.

Salary : $50,000

Working Conditions and Other requirements :

Adhere to departmental performance standards. Regular and punctual attendance in the workplace is required, and work overtime hours when necessary.

Comply with departmental and university policies, procedures, and initiatives, as well as all other university and system rules and regulations.

This position is a Campus Security Authority pursuant to the Clery Act and University policy, and a Responsible Employee pursuant to Title IX, SB212, and University policy.

It is a security-sensitive position and classified as non-exempt.

Work is performed in standard office conditions with repetitive use of a keyboard at a workstation. The role requires manual dexterity, lifting and moving, and may involve exposure to alarms, large crowds, dust, and noise (including construction noises).

There is occasional exposure to chemical fumes.

This position requires the ability to work effectively under pressure, both independently and as part of a team, often managing overlapping projects.

The role involves working independently with minimal direction while interacting with a large number of people in a shared office space.

The incumbent must maintain cooperative relationships with staff and participants, communicate clearly in both written and verbal formats, and have direct contact with customers.

Flexibility, accuracy, creative thinking, and initiative are key to success in this role. The position also calls for the ability to follow supervision, adhere to university and divisional policies, organize time and documents efficiently, multitask, and operate within a complex, fast-paced organizational structure.

Additionally, the role involves maintaining professional office attire, making independent decisions, safeguarding confidentiality, demonstrating professionalism, delegating tasks, providing leadership, and supervising others.

Work is in-person on the main campus in Gregory Gym. Hours are Monday Friday, from 8 AM 5 PM.

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 that ALL Required 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 questions presented 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.