Purchasing Operations Specialist
Location: US Locations Only; 100% Remote
About Us
DonorsChoose engages the public in public schools by giving people a simple, accountable, and personal way to address educational inequity. In this clip, board member Stephen Colbert tells our story.
To date, teachers at 83% of all the public schools in America have posted classroom project requests on our site. Projects range from paper and markers for a poetry writing unit to violins for a school recital. More than 4 million “citizen philanthropists” have supported such projects, channeling books, field trips, technology, and other resources to more than 40 million students nationwide. In all, we’ve generated $1 billion for learning experiences designed by our country’s most dedicated public school teachers.
GOOD Magazine highlighted us as one of 30 Places We Want to Work, while Fast Company named DonorsChoose one of the 50 Most Innovative Companies in the World—the first time a charity has made this list. Through its dedicated team and culture, DonorsChoose earned recognition as the #1 “Best Nonprofit to Work For” by the Nonprofit Times.
Team Overview
The Fulfillment Operations & Strategy team is responsible for ensuring the resources and experiences teachers request on their projects are purchased and delivered. Our team manages and improves the purchasing operations and systems that ensure the right product or experience arrives at the right place and time. We strive for the same excellence to deliver a box of crayons for an art class as we do to purchase tickets for the planetarium. Along with our colleagues on Finance & Fulfillment, we help to keep our promise to deliver both materials and financial transparency to teachers and donors.
If you are motivated by how we support teachers and are excited to join a team that works hard everyday to make a difference, we want to hear from you!
About the Role
The Purchasing Operations Specialist is directly responsible for helping to purchase and pay for the materials that students and teachers need most. In this role, you’ll:
- Support day to day purchasing operations
- Purchase online materials and track deliveries for teacher customers
- Approve vendor payments and reconcile invoices
- Answer and resolve customer questions about online orders and payments primarily by email and when necessary, by phone
- Collaborate with teammates to deliver on our service-level-agreements to internal and external stakeholders
- Manage time effectively to achieve your individual performance goals
- Ensure efficient purchasing of and payments for materials and experiences
- Balance competing priorities to respond quickly and accurately to new purchasing requests and emails
- Embrace flexibility to support a variety of automated and manual fulfillment operations tasks
- Monitor for trends in the staff and customer experience to make recommendations to improve fulfillment operations
- Actively contribute to maintaining our team culture, which includes a positive and constructive work environment.
About You
Our ideal candidate has one year of comparable experience, specifically in purchasing, accounts payable, or customer service.
This position might be a fit for you if you’re…
- An exceptional communicator, collaborator, and problem-solver; you’re often praised for your organization and attention to detail.
- Comfortable online shopping, using spreadsheets, and have a talent for math
- A do-er; you like to check items off of your to-do list and are ready to help others when they need it without being directed to do so.
- Curious, creative, and open to sharing and learning from mistakes.
- Flexible when needs change and can take a moment to enjoy when good things are happening.
- Team oriented and believe that a successful day is best reflected by accomplishing a collective goal.
- Comfortable working in an online environment and enjoy learning new programs.
The Details
- Location: Remote in CA, FL, GA, IL, IN, MD, MI, NJ, NY, OR, TX, or WI
- Schedule: 40 hours per week (schedules can be flexible Mon – Sun)
- Compensation: Starting at $17/ hour and commensurate with experience
- Benefits: This role is eligible for a competitive benefits package, which includes a rich employer-paid individual and family health, dental, and vision plan; an annual professional development stipend; 15 days paid vacation and 10 paid national holidays.
- DonorsChoose is a fully vaccinated workplace and all new employees, regardless of their work location, will be asked to share proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 within two weeks of their hire date or request an exemption from this policy due to a disability or sincerely held religious belief or practice.
To Apply
Please submit your resume online and answer the application questions. A cover letter is optional and may be addressed to Devyani Shenoy, Senior Manager of Purchasing Operations.
A Final Note
The DonorsChoose team works toward a nation where students in every community have the resources needed for an excellent education. To do this we hire and support a diverse team of the best and the brightest talent available.
We are an organization increasingly representative of the varied races and ethnicities, genders and sexual orientations, religious and political beliefs, and abilities that comprise our nation. DonorsChoose focuses on attracting, retaining, and advancing diverse talent because it makes us more effective, high-performing, creative, and resilient.
If you are passionate about our mission, highly skilled in your field, and looking for a place where you can bring all of yourself to work, we want you.
Location: US Locations Only