Purchasing - University Assistant

Western Connecticut State University•Danbury, CT

10d•$25 - $25•Onsite

About The Position

Western Connecticut State University (WCSU) is seeking a part-time, 19 hours per week Purchasing University Assistant for its Administrative Services department. WCSU is committed to diversity and inclusion, encouraging applications from various underrepresented groups. The Purchasing Office's mission is to assist the University community in procuring goods and services efficiently and in compliance with state and university guidelines. The University Assistant will provide essential support to the Purchasing Office by managing vendor records, processing purchasing documentation, handling purchase order inquiries, maintaining records, supporting purchasing card functions, conducting spend research, and providing general customer service. This role is primarily supportive and does not involve approving purchases, issuing purchase orders, selecting vendors, negotiating terms, or committing university funds. The position focuses on researching, compiling, organizing, and communicating routine status information.

Requirements

Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, customer service skills, and the ability to maintain accurate records.
Comfortable using email, spreadsheets, shared drives, document management systems, and university systems.
Ability to communicate professionally with faculty, staff, vendors, and other stakeholders while appropriately routing purchasing decisions to authorized personnel.
Associate's degree or higher in Business Administration, Accounting, Public Administration, Office Technology, or a related field.
Two (2) years of administrative, clerical, office support, accounting support, procurement support, records management, customer service, or related experience; or an equivalent combination of college education and experience.
Experience using Microsoft Office applications, including Outlook, Word, and Excel.
Demonstrated ability to maintain accurate records and organize electronic and paper files.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to prioritize multiple assignments, meet deadlines, and maintain confidentiality.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree or higher in Business Administration, Accounting, Public Administration, Office Technology, or a related field.
Experience supporting purchasing, procurement, accounts payable, finance, contract administration, records management, or compliance functions.
Experience working in a college, university, government, or other public-sector environment.
Experience with Banner, Jaggaer, Core-CT, or other enterprise resource planning software.
Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including sorting, filtering, basic formulas, and report generation.
Experience maintaining vendor records, purchasing card documentation, contract files, or audit records.
Familiarity with customer service practices and responding to inquiries from multiple stakeholders.

Responsibilities

Assist with creating, updating, and maintaining vendor profile information, including contact details, tax forms, insurance certificates, diversity documentation, and other required supplier records.
Review vendor and departmental submissions for completeness and route materials to appropriate Purchasing Office staff for review or action.
Maintain electronic and physical purchasing files in accordance with university records retention requirements, including scanning, uploading, indexing, naming, organizing, and archiving documents.
Respond to routine inquiries from departments, vendors, and university stakeholders regarding purchasing procedures, required forms, document status, vendor information, purchase order status, and general office processes.
Check and communicate routine status information related to requisitions, purchase orders, change orders, vendor setups, contract documents, purchasing card records, and pending requests.
Monitor shared purchasing inboxes, maintain inquiry logs, track open items, and route policy questions, exceptions, compliance concerns, or procurement decision matters to authorized purchasing staff.
Assist with researching and compiling spend and category information across university purchasing card activity, purchase orders, vendor records, and related systems.
Prepare routine reports, spreadsheets, summaries, and tracking documents related to purchasing card activity, vendor usage, recurring purchases, departmental spend, open purchase orders, expiring contracts, and missing documentation.
Support purchasing card coordination by tracking receipts, acknowledgments, user lists, training records, reconciliation status, and documentation needed for audit or compliance review.
Assist with contract and renewal tracking by maintaining logs of expiration dates, insurance certificate dates, amendment status, renewal deadlines, and recurring service or subscription information.
Prepare draft responses, status updates, and summaries for review by Purchasing Office staff.
Assist with fiscal year-end preparation, recurring purchase tracking, file cleanup, audit support, and other purchasing office projects as assigned.