Purchasing Specialist

The Purchasing Specialist will have a background in an area of the purchasing request fulfilment process and cost recharge/billing. The position requires someone who is able to work closely with Finance, place orders with suppliers, keep records and support stakeholders with regular updates. Some exposure to ITSM practices and tools will be an advantage. The specialist will work in a team providing global services from a central location and need to be flexible with time to ensure that service level targets are met consistently. 

Key duties and responsibilities include: 

• Fulfils purchasing of goods and services related to the key business support functions (Examples: hardware, software, services, network, cloud, bandwidth, MPLS, IT Security, VoIP).

• Applies billing information in the company’s finance systems.

• Creates and reviews Purchase Orders and verifies accuracy and compliance with financial standards. 

• Acts and advises on opportunities to decrease product costs and/or mitigate risk. 

• May be assigned to contract management, license recording and asset billing tasks. 

• Establishes good working relationships with internal business partners and outside vendors. 

• Experience of global purchasing or procurement would be an advantage. 

• Provides timely support in the fulfilment of purchase requests; provides technology assistance to employees so that they can make the right decisions about pricing, product options and delivery when purchasing goods and services. 

• Processes purchase orders and information requests within service levels using documented procedures. 

• Escalates all business-critical issues and non-standard equipment requests to the business managers and IT Asset Management in a timely manner. 

• Verifies that Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are met and adjusts schedule to accommodate requests. 

• Provides coverage during UK work hours when required. 

• Ensures work assignments are being completed on schedule. 

Key Performance Indicators 

• Meet service level targets for purchasing and delivery of goods and services; 

• Successive improvement in delivering efficiency to the purchasing process; and 

• Efficient communication of service activities to staff and business users. 

CANDIDATE SPECIFICATION:

Essential: 

• Significant experience doing any of Purchasing, Procurement, Contract Management, IT Billing and Asset Management.
• Strong organizational skills with an attention to detail.
• Ability to concurrently navigate multiple systems and tool sets.
• High degree of initiative and ability to work effectively in teams or independently.
• Ability to negotiate and win with suppliers. 

Desirable: 

• Undergraduate degree 
• Technical certification
• Formal or informal training in an ITSM tool
• Prior training in at least one PO system required. 
• ServiceNow experience.
• Analytic skills with good knowledge of Microsoft Excel
• Experience of working in a global organization. 

Personal Attributes: 

• Passionate about technology and learning.
• Ability to balance demands and priorities and think clearly under pressure.
• Attention to detail and a focus on quality.
• Excellent conflict resolution, communication, and collaboration skills.