Buyer

Required Qualifications (as evidenced by an attached resume)\:  
Bachelor's degree (foreign equivalent or higher) and two (2) years of full-time procurement experience. In lieu of a Bachelor’s degree, an Associate’s degree and four (4) years of directly related full-time experience may be considered. Strong computer skills including experience with Microsoft Word (create and edit documents), and Microsoft Excel (add, manipulate, sort and filter data, etc.).

Preferred Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree (foreign equivalent or higher) in Business, Supply Chain Management, or a similar field. Certified Purchasing or Supply Chain Management credentials. Experience working in a New York State government purchasing department for Higher Education, non-profit, or other local government agency. Experience with eProcurement systems such as Jaggaer (WolfMart), Ariba, Coupa or other applicable procure-to-pay system(s). 

Brief Description of Duties\:  
The Buyer will support the purchasing needs of Stony Brook University researchers, faculty, and support staff. The successful candidate must have excellent writing, reading, and verbal communication skills as they will be responsible for communicating/negotiating with suppliers and internal stakeholders. A detail-oriented and organized individual is essential for this role, as they will be responsible for handling multiple tasks simultaneously, while maintaining schedule requirements. The incumbent must be a problem-solver with a strong work ethic, as well as having the capability to provide superior customer service. The successful candidate should be capable of satisfying end-users’ needs in an effective and timely manner. The incumbent will be expected to comply with all Federal, State, Research Foundation (RF), SUNY, and Stony Brook standards, policies and regulations.
 

• Commodity Purchasing:
  • Negotiate, execute and administer routine and complex commodity purchases as part of the team using Invitation for Bids (IFB’s) and Request for Proposals (RFP’s) (when necessary) leveraging NYS OGS contracts and all related procurement functions including evaluation and selection of suppliers.

• Relationship Building:
  • Build strong relationships/partnerships with the Campus Community and other functional groups to translate their needs (bid specification writing when applicable) into clear product specifications or detailed scopes of work for competitive bidding.  
  • Source potential suppliers to obtain competitive quotations that comply with required specifications.

• Contract Negotiation & Execution:
  • Negotiate and complete the contract execution process using SBU/SUNY standard templates and procedures.  
  • Plan and conduct negotiations to achieve pricing objectives for purchasing commodities for the University.  
  • Document compliance with policy and procedure.

• Purchase Order Coordination:
  • Coordinate and communicate with the appropriate campus departments to facilitate the efficient and timely processing of purchase orders and blanket purchase orders. Monitor and follow-up as needed.  
  • Work closely with other Procurement staff (Accounts Payable, Systems & Operations, and Central Receiving).

• MWBE/SVDOB Utilization:
  • Work to increase utilization of NYS certified Minority and Woman-owned, Veteran-owned and Small Businesses in accordance with SUNY goals.  
  • Increase outreach and build relationships with the Long Island business community.

• Documents & Reports Management:
  • Maintain detailed procurement records, track expiring procurements to anticipate end-user needs.
  • Create reports and maintain records updated on SBU’s WolfMart Contracts+ module.

• Order Expedition & Return:
  • Expedite Purchase Orders, when necessary, resolve issues (i.e., back orders, damaged goods, etc.) and arrange returns as needed. 

• SUNY Fiscal Year-End Procedures:
  • Work with other team members on expediting orders, encumbering/disencumbering funds as needed for SUNY fiscal year-end procedures.

• Equipment Purchase Assistance:
  • Assist the Assistant Director of Strategic Sourcing (Campus & Research Operations or IT Category) with new equipment purchases for major projects.

• Additional Duties & Responsibilities as Assigned:
  • Other duties or projects as assigned as appropriate to rank and departmental mission.

Special Notes:
This is a full-time appointment. FLSA Non-Exempt position, eligible for the overtime provisions of the FLSA.

In addition to the employee's base salary, this position is eligible for $4,000 UUP annual location pay, paid biweekly.

For this position, we are unable to sponsor candidates for work visas.

Resume/CV and cover letter should be included with the online application.

Stony Brook University is committed to excellence in diversity and the creation of an inclusive learning and working environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, familial status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status and all other protected classes under federal or state laws.

If you need a disability-related accommodation, please call the university Office of Equity and Access (OEA) at (631) 632-6280 or visit OEA.

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The starting salary range (or hiring range) to be offered for this position is noted below, it represents SBU’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.