What does a procurement administrator do?
Procurement administrators support their procurement teams by performing general administrative duties and ordering equipment and materials for their projects. Working in this position involves organizing and making purchase orders, keeping records updated, storing documents, and solving order issues. A procurement administrator needs excellent organization skills, people skills, math skills, and should know his/her way around word documents and spreadsheets. Procurement Administrators based in the United States make an estimated annual salary of around $45,775 or $22 per hour, but this amount changes depending on the state, country, or the company they are working for.
Procurement administrator responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real procurement administrator resumes:
- Manage various accounts with downstream product supply from orders to delivery, logistics and inventory management.
- Review RFQ and RFP, reviewing for completeness and necessary information to obtain competitive quotes.
- Direct the development and administration of standard contracts and solicitations, including RFP, IFB and RFQ formats.
- Conduct commercial negotiations on pricing, scope of supply, terms and conditions and logistics.
- Evaluate supplier proposals submit in response to RFP, and develop the corresponding recommendations for awards.
- Develop local RFP's, obtain and analyze quotations, negotiate total cost elements for maintenance commodities.
- Core functions include ordering goods and services, setting up new vendors in the ERP system, and customer service.
- Authore comprehensive training curriculum and authoritative manual distribute across the enterprise on PeopleSoft procedures, processes, and functionalities.
- Prepare and present reports detailing compliance review findings and solutions to GSA's senior-level executives and organizational acquisition operations directors.
- Support major procurement functions with increasing responsibilities involving multiple commercial and DOD projects simultaneously with domestic and international suppliers.
Procurement administrator skills and personality traits
We calculated that 27% of Procurement Administrators are proficient in Purchase Orders, Data Entry, and Logistics. They’re also known for soft skills such as Organizational skills, Communication skills, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Procurement Administrators that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Purchase Orders, 27%
Created purchase orders needed to replenish printer paper supplies for Distribution warehouses nationwide.
- Data Entry, 9%
Completed data entry, tracked shipments and maintained the purchase order tracking system.
- Logistics, 6%
Managed various accounts with downstream product supply from orders to delivery, logistics and inventory management.
- Procurement Process, 6%
Developed and implemented internal procurement process and launched to over 40 branch offices nationwide.
- Vendor Relationships, 6%
Arbitrated claims or complaints while maintaining productive vendor relationships.
- Bid Proposals, 3%
Obtained and analyzed quotes from suppliers for the procurement of goods and services and to support bid proposals.
Most procurement administrators use their skills in "purchase orders," "data entry," and "logistics" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential procurement administrator responsibilities here:
Organizational skills. The most essential soft skill for a procurement administrator to carry out their responsibilities is organizational skills. This skill is important for the role because "financial clerks must be able to arrange files so they can find them quickly and efficiently." Additionally, a procurement administrator resume shows how their duties depend on organizational skills: "prepared and presented reports detailing compliance review findings and solutions to gsa's senior-level executives and organizational acquisition operations directors. "
Communication skills. Many procurement administrator duties rely on communication skills. "financial clerks should be able to explain policies and procedures to colleagues and customers.," so a procurement administrator will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways procurement administrator responsibilities rely on communication skills: "initiated communications with warehouse and traffic and coordinated delivery schedules. "
Math skills. procurement administrators are also known for math skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to procurement administrator responsibilities, because "the job duties of financial clerks includes calculating charges and updating financial records." A procurement administrator resume example shows how math skills is used in the workplace: "calculated/reported payroll statistics for financial reports, management review, government documents. "
The three companies that hire the most procurement administrators are:
- CACI International2 procurement administrators jobs
- Tyson Foods2 procurement administrators jobs
- Research Foundation of The City University of New York2 procurement administrators jobs
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Compare different procurement administrators
Procurement administrator vs. Purchasing department clerk
A procurement officer is primarily in charge of overseeing the procurement of supplies and equipment for an organization, prioritizing cost-efficiency and quality. It is their duty to manage the company's supply inventory, compile and analyze procurement requests, develop purchase plans, handle purchase procedures, and maintain records of all transactions, producing reports regularly. They must also liaise and negotiate with vendors and suppliers, building positive relationships with them. Furthermore, as a procurement officer, it is essential to lead the procurement team, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a procurement administrator are more likely to require skills like "logistics," "procurement process," "vendor relationships," and "procurement system." On the other hand, a job as a purchasing department clerk requires skills like "expedite," "computer system," "surgery," and "fax machines." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Purchasing department clerks tend to reach similar levels of education than procurement administrators. In fact, purchasing department clerks are 2.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Procurement administrator vs. Procurement officer
Administrators are administrative professionals who oversee the whole office or department. They manage office activities and supervise administrative functions in the office. They work the office calendar and oversee the appointment-setting process. They coordinate office events and ensure that all preparations are made and that there are no conflicting schedules. They also maintain a database of external providers of various office needs. Administrators also oversee office supplies and prepare purchase requisitions. They also manage janitorial services and other functions that are related to the maintenance of the physical office space. Administrators ensure that all fixtures and equipment in the office are functioning well and have no problems.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that procurement administrator responsibilities requires skills like "data entry," "vendor relationships," "bid proposals," and "procurement system." But a procurement officer might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "purchase requisitions," "procurement procedures," "contract administration," and "financial reports."
Procurement officers may earn a higher salary than procurement administrators, but procurement officers earn the most pay in the retail industry with an average salary of $74,267. On the other hand, procurement administrators receive higher pay in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $51,572.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Procurement officers tend to reach similar levels of education than procurement administrators. In fact, they're 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Procurement administrator vs. Administrator
Contract administrators create and manage legal contracts from which the company participates. They ensure that all entities to the contract will accomplish their obligations, as indicated in the contract. They usually work for larger organizations that might be involved with different or highly complex contracts. These organizations spread across a range of industries, including government, construction, and healthcare. Their responsibilities include addressing any conflicts of questions regarding the contract, analyzing the possible risks posed by contracts, and working alongside the legal and procurement teams.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a procurement administrator is likely to be skilled in "purchase orders," "logistics," "procurement process," and "vendor relationships," while a typical administrator is skilled in "customer service," "troubleshoot," "payroll," and "financial reports."
Administrators make a very good living in the manufacturing industry with an average annual salary of $78,798. On the other hand, procurement administrators are paid the highest salary in the health care industry, with average annual pay of $51,572.administrators typically earn similar educational levels compared to procurement administrators. Specifically, they're 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.9% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Procurement administrator vs. Contracts administrator
Types of procurement administrator
Updated January 8, 2025
