Procurement Clerks

Description:

Compile information and records to draw up purchase orders for procurement of materials and services.

Tasks

Prepare purchase orders and send copies to suppliers and to departments originating requests.
Determine if inventory quantities are sufficient for needs, ordering more materials when necessary.
Respond to customer and supplier inquiries about order status, changes, or cancellations.
Perform buying duties when necessary.
Contact suppliers in order to schedule or expedite deliveries and to resolve shortages, missed or late deliveries, and other problems.
Review requisition orders in order to verify accuracy, terminology, and specifications.
Prepare, maintain, and review purchasing files, reports and price lists.
Compare prices, specifications, and delivery dates in order to determine the best bid among potential suppliers.
Track the status of requisitions, contracts, and orders.
Calculate costs of orders, and charge or forward invoices to appropriate accounts.

Knowledge

Clerical: Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
Customer and Personal Service: Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
English Language: Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Mathematics: Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Administration and Management: Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Computers and Electronics: Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Production and Processing: Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Economics and Accounting: Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Communications and Media: Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Law and Government: Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

Skills

Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Writing: Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Complex Problem Solving: Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Active Learning: Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

Abilities

Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

Work Activities

Getting Information: Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Interacting With Computers: Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships: Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates: Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Processing Information: Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
Communicating with Persons Outside Organization: Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work: Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events: Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems: Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Performing Administrative Activities: Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.

Work Context

Telephone: How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?
Face-to-Face Discussions: How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled: How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?
Contact With Others: How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?
Electronic Mail: How often do you use electronic mail in this job?
Work With Work Group or Team: How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?
Frequency of Decision Making: How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization?
Structured versus Unstructured Work: To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals?
Deal With External Customers: How important is it to work with external customers or the public in this job?
Freedom to Make Decisions: How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?

Interests

Conventional: Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Enterprising: Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
Realistic: Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Investigative: Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
Artistic: Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.
Social: Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Work Style

Dependability: Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Attention to Detail: Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Integrity: Job requires being honest and ethical.
Independence: Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Adaptability/Flexibility: Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Cooperation: Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Self Control: Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Stress Tolerance: Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
Initiative: Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Concern for Others: Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.

Work Value

Relationships: Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
Independence: Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Support: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Achievement: Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
Working Conditions: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
Recognition: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.

Description:

Tasks

Knowledge

Skills

Abilities

Work Activities

Work Context

Interests

Work Style

Work Value

Related Occupations

Common Lay Titles

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