This position provides expertise in acquiring materials, stewardship of funds, direction in complex problem solving, and communication with customers and vendors. In addition, this position provides insight in the collection maintenance related to new one-time purchases in all formats.

The employee holding this position will have responsibilities in the Resource Acquisitions unit within the Acquisitions and Continuing Resources Department. This department provides access to library collection materials that are critical to the teaching, learning and research missions of the university and its multiple sub components.

Required Qualifications

• Education:

  • High school diploma or GED with 4 years in procurement or bachelor’s degree with 2 years’ experience in procurement

• Experience:

  • Experience working with vendors, publishers, and acquisition methods

• Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities:

  • Knowledge of fund accounting, licensing, and procurement practices.

  • Ability to learn specialized software, such as library service platforms.

  • Strong communication and interpersonal skills for collaborating with colleagues, vendors, and patrons.

  • Excellent customer service skills.

  • Skilled in judgment and decision-making skills including considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

  • Excellent organizational and time-management skills to handle multiple priorities and meet deadlines.

  • Attention to detail

  • Ability to work with diverse audiences

  • Ability to work independently and as a part of a team, demonstrating initiative and problem-solving capabilities.

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis without need now or in the future for sponsorship for employment-based visa status.

Preferred Qualifications

• Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree

• Experience:

  • Experience acquiring materials in libraries

  • Supervisory experience or experience providing work direction.

  • 2 years of experience in a position requiring excellent customer service skills.

• Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities:

  • Demonstrated experience purchasing library collections materials.

  • Demonstrated experience using the Alma library service platform and vendor platforms

  • Demonstrated experience using procurement practices.

  • Skilled in providing work direction and training to others.

Work Location

• Location: Knoxville, TN

• On-site

Compensation and Benefits

• UT market range: 08

• Find more information on the UT Market Range structure here

• Find more information on UT Benefits here

Application Instructions

To express interest, please submit an application with the noted below attachments:

• Resume

• Cover Letter

Management Support:

• Serves as trainer for Resource Acquisitions Specialist staff. Examples of this includes training brand-new staff on the many different processes and procedures involved with ordering materials for the library collection, as well as training current staff on tasks that may be new to the unit and/or new to that individual.

• Uses knowledge and decision-making skills to resolve complex problems with vendors, orders, receiving, and materials, on behalf of their own work and the Resource Acquisitions Specialist staff. Works with vendors to find acceptable solutions for acquiring material promptly and following all university guidelines.

• Provides work direction to Resource Acquisitions Specialist staff when supervisor is unavailable.

• Writes, interprets, and updates workflows and procedures, acting as train the trainer and developing collaborative workflows and procedures to meet the needs of the library and its customers.

Collection Support:

• Tracks, analyzes, evaluates, and supports management of collections resources for compliance, budgeting, and assessment.

• Maintains acquisitions information in the Libraries' integrated library system for data accuracy and preservation.

• Independently determines whether objects need repair and chooses the safest and most effective method of basic repair, referring more complex repairs to the preservationist

• Serves as the expert in one-time acquisitions and oversees this process for the library

• Serves as an expert in the acquisition of films for the library collection

• Independently resolves complex issues such as searching for vendors that will provide hard-to-find materials and finding rights-holders to acquire online and streaming content

• Understands and analyzes library licensing and relevant university policies and how it affects purchases, especially film and score acquisitions

• Monitors special acquisitions processes such as approval plans, claims for missing items, and video purchasing

• Liaises with Digital Media Services for purchasing and licensing for films for classroom use

• Coordinates with Assessment Programs & Collection Strategy and Cataloging on best practices for one-time purchases and projects related to one-time purchases. Makes decisions when it is in their area of responsibility, and notifies appropriate decision-makers when the questions and issues reach beyond their expertise

Purchasing Operator:

• Sources and orders new one-time library collections materials for support of the library’s mission. Serves as the primary orderer for film requests made through OIT's Digital Media Services

• Prepares and submits purchase requisitions for approval through the university's purchasing system.

• Reviews requisition orders to verify accuracy, terminology, and specifications.

• Verifies that materials orders have been filled correctly.

• Independently resolves problems related to purchase options, including vendor selection, quality of materials, acceptable costs, and shipping options to provide effective service and maintain efficient use of the library’s budget.

• Maintains knowledge of all organizational and governmental rules affecting purchases, and provide information about these rules to organization staff members and to vendors.

• Purchases library materials in all formats to support collection needs of library patrons and teaching faculty.

• Serves as a subject-area procurement expert, gaining and applying knowledge related to the publishers, practices, and unique characteristics of the library procurement process for the science subject area of library collection materials

Budget Support:

• Assigns collections funds to purchases to comply with state and endowment requirements.

• Evaluates price for library resource purchases under the guidance of the Assessment Programs & Collection Strategy department.

• Makes decisions about purchases, returns and order cancellations in accordance with university guidelines.

• Reconciles monthly credit card statement for one-time purchases.

• Audits invoices for purchase accuracy and policy compliance.