POSITION IDENTIFICATION
TITLE Course Materials Buyer
CLASSIFICATION NUMBER 5584
GRADE 13
CLASSIFICATION Nonexempt
IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR Director of the Bookstore
MAJOR ADMINISTRATOR Vice President for Student Affairs
GENERAL FUNCTION
The Course Materials Buyer processes book adoptions, determines the number of textbooks to be purchased from publishers, wholesalers, and end-of-the-semester buyback operations and the mix of new and used textbooks to be purchased. The Course Materials Buyer prepares wantlists and buyback lists, processes purchase orders for textbooks, reviews and adjusts the open-to-buy calculation, and places the orders. The Course Materials Buyer oversees the production of coursepacks and obtains copyright clearances. The Course Materials Buyer provides customer service, processes returns of damaged or incorrectly shipped books, resolves shortages and overages, prepares shelf tags, monitors expiring invoice returns, oversees the book return process, and initiates sending book adoption forms to faculty each semester.
MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE QUALIFICATIONS
Education: A high school diploma or its equivalent is required.
Experience: Two years experience in buying and inventory control is required.
Skills: An understanding of inventory control is required. Familiarity with word processing, spreadsheet, and database applications is required. The ability to develop knowledge of, respect for, and skills to engage with those of other cultures or backgrounds is required.
Other: Occasional lifting of up to fifty pounds is required.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Assures that the bookstore has the correct textbooks in the correct quantities obtained in the most cost-effective manner by initiating the book adoption process with faculty, processing book adoptions, monitoring and preparing shelf tags, and compiling wantlists and buyback lists.
2. Assumes responsibility for purchasing all academic textbooks and materials by utilizing open-to-buy figures, generating purchase orders, checking book availability with the publishers, processing pre-pay forms as needed, and working with the publisher’s and bookstore’s accounting departments to resolve discrepancies.
3. Coordinates the production of custom coursepacks by obtaining information from the instructor about the contents and preferred packaging of the coursepack, whether the content is on file, new, or revised, and whether it is original or copyrighted, obtaining copyright clearance when necessary, determining the quantity needed, arranging for printing and assembly, and calculating the price to be charged.
4. Helps to ensure the efficient management of textbook inventory by understanding publishers return policies, identifying damaged or incorrectly shipped books and shortages or overages, monitoring the expiring invoice report to determine the titles that have potential for return, verifying quantities to be returned, and obtaining return authorization.
5. Assists customers in locating and purchasing books by working on the sales floor during peak times and assisting customers to locate textbooks, helping customers obtain books they are unable to find, investigating the status of books, and assisting customers complete special orders.
6. Supports the overall operation of the bookstore by providing store opening duties and Customer Service counter coverage on an intermittent basis, participating in annual storewide inventory as well as end of semester textbook inventory, assisting with Buyback periods, shipping books to students, and maintaining and initiating budget transfers for Telecourse components, Distance Learning materials, and Missouri State Online materials.
7. Contributes to a work environment that encourages knowledge of, respect for, and development of skills to engage with those of other cultures or backgrounds.
8. Maintains competency in current skills and develops new skills as the job requires by attending training and/or courses as required by the Director of the Bookstore.
9. Contributes to the overall success of the bookstore by performing all other duties as assigned.
SUPERVISION
The Course Materials Buyer is supervised by the Director of the Bookstore and regularly supervises student workers.
OFFICE OF HUMAN RESOURCES
REVISED JANUARY 2017
