Temporary Business Operations Specialist

Northeastern University•Boston, MA

About The Position

The Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (MIE) seeks a Budget & Operations Specialist to support the department's purchasing, procurement, and student/research staff employment operations. This position serves as a point of contact on procure-to-pay and contract processes for department and research purchases — processing and facilitating purchasing requests with a high level of accuracy and customer service, managing purchase orders and contracts from initiation to completion, and supporting financial operations tied to procurement, including reimbursements, reconciliations, and budget tracking. This position also serves as the department's intake point for hourly student and research staff hiring requests. Reporting to the Business Manager, this role requires strong attention to detail, discretion in handling sensitive financial and personnel information, and the ability to work independently within established university procurement and financial policies.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree required.
Minimum of 2–4 years of progressive administrative experience in a fast-paced office environment; experience in a university or academic setting strongly preferred.
Demonstrated experience serving as a primary point of public contact in a multi-constituent environment (students, faculty, visitors, vendors).
Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams) required.
Demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities, make sound independent decisions, and carry out complex assignments with minimal supervision.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to draft professional correspondence, presentations, and reports on behalf of the department.
Outstanding interpersonal and customer service skills; ability to interact professionally and warmly with individuals at all levels, including students, faculty, senior administrators, and industry guests.
High level of discretion and ability to handle confidential information with professionalism and sound judgment.
Strong organizational skills with attention to detail and follow-through; resourceful and committed to building deep institutional knowledge of department programs, faculty, and university resources.

Nice To Haves

experience in a university or academic setting strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Serve as point of contact for procure-to-pay and contract processes for department purchases.
Process and facilitate purchasing requests with a high level of accuracy and customer service.
Manage purchase orders and contracts from initiation to completion; serve as liaison with the Office of General Counsel and vendors for contract tracking, filing, and negotiation.
Create documentation to capture existing and new procurement workflows; support training for faculty and staff on procurement processes and timelines.
Own reimbursement processing for students and department guests, verifying compliance with university policy and submitting and/or approving transactions through Concur or the CANDEX.
Perform reconciliations and maintain accounting files for audit compliance; analyze and help resolve financial discrepancies.
Review departmental purchasing requests and route them through proper approval processes; support budget tracking and ordering for departmental programs, ensuring grant-funded or restricted-fund orders carry proper authorization.
Serve as the department's intake point for faculty requests to hire student employees, hourly student workers, and research staff.
Collect required hiring documentation, initiate hiring transactions in Workday or the applicable system, and coordinate with the Student Employment Office on timesheet submissions and payroll support; ensure data entry accuracy for budget and tracking systems.
Analyze purchasing and spend data to help identify trends and process improvements.
Support documentation and continuous improvement of procurement processes.
Support special projects and administrative tasks as assigned by the Business Manager.
Processes purchase order, contract, and reimbursement transactions on behalf of the department within established university policy and approval limits. No independent budget authority.