Purchasing Administrative Associate

Location: Lake Bluff

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** Job Overview
** Mariani Landscape is seeking top talent to join our team as a Purchasing Administrative Associate. This Purchasing Administrative Associate will provide administrative support for the Purchasing department, including inventory maintenance, inventory reporting, plant labels and tags and special projects as they relate to the purchasing function.  This position interacts with a diverse group of external vendors as well as internal contacts at all levels of the organization.
** Responsibilities and Duties
*** Follow company policies, procedures, and work standards.
* Provide administrative support for the Purchasing department, including correspondence and report generation.
* Produce and distribute weekly purchasing and inventory reports and modify as directed.
* Input all material orders and receipts in a timely manner.
* Assist with the tracking of scheduled yard deliveries and available inventory.
* Perform daily data entry in operating system (Aspire), including processing change orders and status updates.
* Maintain current vendor and company price list.
* Maintain records and organize filing and archive systems for the Purchasing department to facilitate efficient retrieval of information.
* Coordinate with Purchasing staff regarding inventory status, invoicing, scheduling, and related matters.
* Work independently and within a team on special and nonrecurring, as well as ongoing projects.
* Ensure efficient process and information flow to meet workload requirements.
* Complete work within appropriate timeframe in order to prevent backlog.
* Evaluate work consistently to determine whether additional steps are needed to meet internal and external expectations.
* Prepare routine correspondence and research information to identify process issues.
* Maintain high standard of quality of all work performed.
* Communicate issues, vendor concerns, or associate matters to the VP of Procurement in a timely manner.
* Participate in weekly departmental and training meetings.
* Complete required paperwork accurately and on time, including timesheets and time-off requests.
* Arrive to work on time and prepared for each workday.
** Non-Essential Duties and Responsibilities
*** Participate in and contribute to Mariani initiatives.
* Provide backup reception and telephone coverage, including signing for front office packages.
* Assist in the orientation/training of new Team Members.
* Assist other team members in the performance of their assignments.
* Recommend process improvements and opportunities to improve service offerings.
* Provide administrative support for snow removal operations as necessary.
* Participate in holiday retail operations as needed.
* Perform other duties as assigned.
** Job Requirements
*** At least 2 years' experience in an administrative support role, preferably in a purchasing environment.
* Previous experience in the landscape industry preferred.
* Demonstrate strong proficiency in Microsoft Word and Excel.
* Knowledge of landscape terminology as demonstrated by work experience.
* Ability to plan, prioritize, and organize a diversified workload.
* Demonstrate flexibility to perform duties wherever volume deems it necessary.
* Minimize non-productive time and fill slow periods with activities that will enable you to prepare to meet the future needs of internal and external clients.
* Demonstrate strong communication skills, both verbal and written, with Mariani associates and vendors on a consistent basis.
* Demonstrate a strong attention to detail.
* Ability to deliver quality results under tight deadlines.
* Ability to successfully and accurately work within the company production software,…