Purchase to Pay Assistant (0165-24)

Lancaster University is among the best in the UK. A Top 15 university in UK league tables, we’re also highly ranked in international league tables such as the QS World Rankings. This vacancy is a rare opportunity to join a dynamic team in a unique sector and to help shape and deliver our strategy. Procurement at Lancaster has undergone significant transformation in recent years. The team continues to expand its reach and is forward-thinking in its approach to managing the full range of Purchase to Pay and Source to Contract activity for the University’s non-pay expenditure of around £100m per year. The University has declared a Climate Emergency and set an ambitious target to be Carbon Net Zero by 2035. The Procurement Team play a key role in the delivery of this target.  

The Higher Education (HE) sector purchases an unparalleled range of goods and services. The Procurement team at Lancaster work with world-leading academics and colleagues from other Professional Services areas such as Facilities and Information Systems. A wide variety of categories are managed including Laboratory Supplies & Equipment, Travel, IT, Construction, Maintenance, and Business Support Services. Procurement at Lancaster is a well-established and mature function. We score highly on the sector-wide best practice procurement indicators and set stretch goals to continuously improve. This is a large and ambitious team within a people-focused organisation providing opportunities to progress and develop.  

The role of the procurement team is to manage the university's expenditure with external suppliers. This includes sourcing, tendering, contracting and supplier management. The team is responsible for operational procurement, order processing and invoice payment. The travel team also sit within procurement.

Working closely with other members of the operational procurement team, you will provide a high level of support to our diverse academic and research departments. Your main role will be to undertake the order processing activity including understanding customer needs, processing requisitions and expediting deliveries. You will have effective numeracy, literacy and word processing skills and be able to present information relating to the progress of work.

You will be required to have excellent communication and interpersonal skills.  You will be trained in procurement and will learn to provide procurement advice in accordance with the University's Financial and Procurement Regulations. You need to be a team player and able to work with other colleagues in our travel and accounts payable team, providing assistance during busy periods for any of the three areas of the purchase to pay function.

We offer a comprehensive set of benefits in addition to competitive salaries: final salary pension schemes, work-life balance, training & promotion opportunities, and staff recognition schemes.

Closing Date: 17 Mar 2024

Department: Support - Administrative

Salary: £22,681 to £24,533 (Full time, indefinite)