Grants administrator vs senior purchasing agent

The differences between grants administrators and senior purchasing agents can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a grants administrator and a senior purchasing agent. Additionally, a senior purchasing agent has an average salary of $73,386, which is higher than the $49,206 average annual salary of a grants administrator.

The top three skills for a grants administrator include grants management, financial reports and pre-award. The most important skills for a senior purchasing agent are purchase orders, project management, and supplier relationships.

Grants administrator vs senior purchasing agent overview

	Grants Administrator	Senior Purchasing Agent
Yearly salary	$49,206	$73,386
Hourly rate	$23.66	$35.28
Growth rate	6%	-6%
Number of jobs	60,227	43,833
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	6	6

What does a grants administrator do?

A grants administrator is responsible for approving financial and administrative assistance to employees and the organization provided that they submit the required documents and application for project development and processes. Grants administrators determine the eligibility of programs to calculate payments, generate financial reports and transactions, and coordinate with the management team for project implementation. They also follow strict procedures and protocols to ensure that the budget adheres to internal guidelines and requirements. A grants administrator must have excellent communication and analytical skills to review proposals and legal documents.

What does a senior purchasing agent do?

Senior Purchasing Agents are experienced employees in the company's purchasing department. They oversee the purchase requisitions of the employees. They validate requests, ensure that the requestors followed company guidelines, check the availability of the items with the chosen supplier, and forward the purchase order to the supplier. Upon fulfillment of the request, Senior Purchasing Agents check the deliveries, ensure that the items are complete and correct, forward the items to the requestor, and process the payment for the supplier. Senior Purchasing agents also prepare reports, spot trends in employee or department purchases, and create recommendations based on observations. They are also expected to form good working relationships with suppliers.

Grants administrator vs senior purchasing agent salary

Grants administrators and senior purchasing agents have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Grants Administrator	Senior Purchasing Agent
Average salary	$49,206	$73,386
Salary range	Between $38,000 And $62,000	Between $52,000 And $103,000
Highest paying City	New Brunswick, NJ	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	New York
Best paying company	Children's Hospital Colorado	Levi Strauss & Co.
Best paying industry	Health Care	Energy

Differences between grants administrator and senior purchasing agent education

There are a few differences between a grants administrator and a senior purchasing agent in terms of educational background:

	Grants Administrator	Senior Purchasing Agent
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Grants administrator vs senior purchasing agent demographics

Here are the differences between grants administrators' and senior purchasing agents' demographics:

	Grants Administrator	Senior Purchasing Agent
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 28.2% Female, 71.8%	Male, 57.7% Female, 42.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 7.7% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 7.7% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between grants administrator and senior purchasing agent duties and responsibilities

Grants administrator example responsibilities.

Establish operating policies and procedures and attain SNF Medicare certification.
Update faculty regarding new federal sponsor (NIH and NSF) policies and regulations.
Verify compliance documents (IRB, IACUC, internal documents) with RVL and PCRO on inter-institutional agreements.
Organize and prepare grant applications for submission to NIH and private foundations.
Submit research relate regulatory and annual reports, including IRB applications and updates, annual reports, and the like.
Serve as technical resource for grant recipients with knowledge of federal regulations and guidelines; OMB circulars A110 and A122.

Senior purchasing agent example responsibilities.

Manage patterns for older, obsolete OEM part outsource production to locally foundries.
Interact within an ERP system environment and manage various reporting tools to support operations and control the flow of information.
Manage subcontracts activity including RFQ analysis, major negotiations and construction of complex subcontracting orders and milestones.
Provide management for warehousing, transportation, documentation requirements, cost analysis, third-party logistics, and reverse logistics.
Help create new purchasing procurement program base on customer forecasting and JIT programs (KANBAN).
Update & maintain ERP system part master data including new item creation, discontinuations and site planning changes.

Grants administrator vs senior purchasing agent skills

Common grants administrator skills

Grants Management, 11%
Financial Reports, 6%
Pre-award, 6%
Customer Service, 5%
Research Administration, 5%
Principal Investigators, 5%

Common senior purchasing agent skills

Purchase Orders, 8%
Project Management, 6%
Supplier Relationships, 6%
Strategic Sourcing, 5%
Customer Service, 5%
Continuous Improvement, 5%

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Grants Administrator
Grants Administrator vs Senior Purchasing Agent

Updated January 8, 2025

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