Operations Specialist - req# 33854

The Cancer Center Research Administration (CCRA) Centralized Purchasing unit is a high-volume internal system to accommodate an efficient procurement flow for all order requests from the cancer research laboratories and primary investigators in the Cancer Research Facility (CRF).

The Operations Specialist for Procurement plays a critical role within the CCRA. This position is responsible for overseeing the procurement process, ensuring compliance with university policies, and maintaining efficient purchasing operations to support research activities. The Operations Specialist will be responsible for designing and implementing project plans, developing and maintaining standard operating procedures, and coordinating with multiple departments and teams to ensure effective procurement operations. The Operations Specialist serves as the primary contact for the CCRA Procurement Team and manages all issues associated with procurement for the Cancer Research Facility. The Operations Specialist must pay attention to detail as they will oversee the day-to-day flow of incoming purchasing requests and will be responsible for ongoing purchase follow-up. In this position, they will be required to use customer service etiquette first to the labs/staff/students and investigators that they service, as well as develop interrelationships and partnerships with vendors and other academic-government institutions. In addition, the Operations Specialist must also assume a certain degree of leadership within the procurement team as the point of contact for day-to-day issues that may arise. They will also work in conjunction with the contracts & grants team to make sure that there is grant manager oversight for each purchase.

As a member of the Research Administration team and a leader in our procurement team, they should be extremely familiar with all UNM Purchasing policies and Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements of Federal Awards as well as the CCRA Centralized Purchasing guidelines. They will work in a team environment and lead that team to ensure that purchases are made and received in a timely manner, as well as in accordance with all procurement guidelines. It is also preferable to have an extremely high degree of competency in MS Office, Access, Excel, Adobe and/or other software computer applications.

Experience in:

* Customer service with university departments, vendors, government entities and external institutions

* Procurement processes to include requisitions, payments with purchasing card and follow-up documentation

* UNM purchasing policies and procedures

* Banner, LoboMart, ChromeRiver

Proficiency/Skills:

* Interpersonal skills and the ability to effectively communicate with a wide range of constituents (written and verbal)

* Research issues and problems and solve with acute attention to detail

* MS Office Suite

* Ability to work under pressure and prioritize work assignments

The University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center is the Official Cancer Center of New Mexico and the only National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center in a 500-mile radius. Its 136 board-certified oncology specialty physicians include cancer surgeons in every specialty (abdominal, thoracic, bone and soft tissue, neurosurgery, genitourinary, gynecology, and head and neck cancers), adult and pediatric hematologists/medical oncologists, gynecologic oncologists, and radiation oncologists. They, along with more than 600 other cancer healthcare professionals (nurses, pharmacists, nutritionists, navigators, psychologists and social workers), provide treatment to 65% of New Mexicos cancer patients from all across the state. And they partner with community health systems statewide to provide cancer care closer to home. In 2024 they treated more than 15,000 patients in almost 105,000 ambulatory clinic visits in addition to in-patient hospitalizations at UNM Hospital. A total of 2,075 patients participated in cancer clinical trials to study new cancer treatments that include tests of novel cancer prevention strategies and cancer genome sequencing. The more than 123 cancer research scientists affiliated with the UNM Cancer Center were awarded $38.3 million in federal and private grants and contracts for cancer research projects. Since 2015, the physicians, scientists and staff have provided education and training experiences to more than 750 high school, undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral fellowship students in cancer research and cancer health care delivery.

Website: unmhealth.org/cancer

See the Position Description for additional information.

High school diploma or GED; at least 7 years of experience directly related to the duties and responsibilities specified.

Completed degree(s) from an accredited institution that are above the minimum education requirement may be substituted for experience on a year for year basis.

Experience in:

* Leading and mentoring within a team environment

* Coordinating and organizing team projects

* Making administrative and procedural decisions and judgments

* Implementing policies and procedures

* Coordinating efforts within and between departments to complete tasks

* UNM Financial platforms Banner, My Reports, Chrome River

* LoboMart punchout, pcard and PO purchases

* Purchasing involving a sole source

* Software purchases

* RMM purchasing

Proficiency in:

* Customer service with university departments, vendors and other government entities

* Procurement processes including requisitions, purchase orders, pcard reconciliation

* UNM purchasing policies and procedures

* Banner & Chrome River

* LoboMart punchout, pcard and PO purchases

* Interpersonal skills and the ability to effectively communicate both written and verbal

* Working in a team environment as well as independently

* Strong attention to detail and ability to document notes

* Ability to follow through with issues and projects until completion

* Problem solving abilities and proficiency at researching issues

* Working under pressure and prioritizing

* Organizing data & resources

* Basic computer applications and Windows

* MS office, MS Excel, Adobe Professional, Access Database

Only applications submitted throughthe official UNMJobs site will be accepted. If you are viewing this jobadvertisement on a 3rd party site, pleasevisit UNMJobs to submit an application.

Positions posted with a Staff Type of Regular or Term are eligible for the Veteran Preference Program. See the Veteran Preference Program webpage for additional details.

The University of New Mexico is committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class.

The University of New Mexico requires all regular staff positions successfully pass a pre-employment background check. This may include, but is not limited to, a criminal history background check, New Mexico Department of Health fingerprint screening, New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department fingerprint screening, verification of education credentials, and/or verification of prior employment. For more information about background checks, visit https://policy.unm.edu/university-policies/3000/3280.html. Refer to https://policy.unm.edu/university-policies/3000/3200.html for a definition of Regular Staff.