Purchasing Coordinator (Buyer) Full-time, Monday - Friday Day shift

Organization Overview, Mission, Vision, and Values

Our mission is to improve the health of people in the communities we serve through compassionate, high-quality care, prevention, and wellness education. Washington Regional Medical System is a community-owned, locally governed, non-profit health care system located in Northwest Arkansas in the heart of Fayetteville, which is consistently ranked among the Best Places to live in the country. Our 425-bed medical center has been named the #1 hospital in Arkansas for five consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report. We employ 3,200+ team members and serve the region with over 40 clinic locations, the region's only Level II trauma center, and five Centers of Excellence - the Washington Regional J.B. Hunt Transport Services Neuroscience Institute; Washington Regional Walker Heart Institute; Washington Regional Women and Infants Center; Washington Regional Total Joint Center; and Washington Regional Pat Walker Center for Seniors.

Position Summary

The role of the Purchasing Coordinator (Buyer) reports to the Director of Materials Management. This position serves as a purchasing support function for the healthcare system and assists with the purchasing inventory system, processing and managing purchase orders, and coordinating the purchase of materials, equipment, supplies, and services for departments across the organization. The Purchasing Coordinator (Buyer) supports accurate, timely, and cost-effective procurement activity while maintaining effective communication with internal departments, vendors, and Materials Management leadership.

Essential Job Responsibilities

• Support daily purchasing activities for departments across the healthcare system, including materials, supplies, equipment, and services.
• Assist with the purchasing inventory system by entering, updating, monitoring, and maintaining accurate purchasing and item information.
• Review purchase requisitions and requests for completeness, accuracy, appropriate approvals, pricing, quantity, delivery requirements, and department needs.
• Prepare, process, track, and manage purchase orders in accordance with organizational policies, contract terms, vendor requirements, and department timelines.
• Coordinate with departments, vendors, Finance, Accounts Payable, Receiving, and Materials Management team members to resolve order status issues, discrepancies, backorders, substitutions, invoice concerns, and delivery delays.
• Verify purchases meet required criteria, including pricing, quantity, unit of measure, delivery date, contract compliance, and approved vendor source.
• Reconcile discrepancies related to purchase orders, invoices, receipts, item files, and vendor documentation and escalate unresolved issues to leadership as needed.
• Monitor assigned purchasing activity to support appropriate inventory availability, service continuity, cost control, and timely fulfillment of department needs.
• Assist with review of replacement items, equivalent products, standardization opportunities, and product availability concerns in coordination with Materials Management leadership.
• Maintain effective working relationships with internal customers, external vendors, and cross-functional partners while providing responsive and professional purchasing support.

Qualifications

• Education: High School diploma or GED
• Licensure and Certifications: N/A
• Experience: One year of purchasing, procurement, materials management, inventory control, supply chain, or purchase order processing experience, required. Healthcare purchasing or materials management experience, preferred.

Work Environment: This position will primarily perform work in a standard office and materials management environment, including frequent use of a computer, purchasing inventory system, telephone, and other office equipment. The position may require walking or standing within supply, receiving, warehouse, or department areas and may occasionally require lifting, carrying, pushing, or pulling materials and supplies up to 25 pounds.