Purchasing Coordinator

Accentuate Staffing is assisting with a major pharmaceutical company in Durham who is seeking a highly organized Purchasing Coordinator for a contract assignment running through February 2027.

This position will provide administrative and purchasing support to the Manufacturing Operations team during a period of significant growth and increased activity. As new facilities and campus operations are added, the volume of vendor contracts, purchase orders, blanket purchase orders, and not-to-exceed agreements continues to increase.

The Purchasing Coordinator will manage the daily intake and status tracking of purchase order requests while supporting the renewal and updating of vendor contracts related to manufacturing operations, preventive maintenance, engineering, and facilities services. This individual will help the department prepare and process approximately 200 blanket purchase orders and not-to-exceed agreements, allowing team members to remain focused on critical operational priorities.

The successful candidate will be detail-oriented, responsive, and comfortable supporting more than 90 employees across multiple departments within Manufacturing Operations. This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced administrative professional with purchase order and vendor-management experience to contribute within a fast-paced pharmaceutical manufacturing environment.

Responsibilities:

Purchase Order and Contract Support

• Receive, review, and process purchase order requests for Manufacturing, Packaging, Warehouse, Engineering and Maintenance, Operational Technology, and Facilities departments.
• Ensure purchase order requests contain complete and accurate information before submitting them for approval and processing.
• Monitor purchase order activity and provide timely status updates to requestors and department stakeholders.
• Assist with the preparation, renewal, updating, and tracking of vendor contracts supporting manufacturing, preventive maintenance, facilities, engineering, and related operational services.
• Support the processing and tracking of approximately 200 blanket purchase orders and not-to-exceed agreements.
• Maintain accurate logs of purchase orders, blanket purchase orders, not-to-exceed agreements, contract renewals, expiration dates, approvals, and outstanding action items.
• Follow up with requestors, approvers, Procurement, Finance, and vendors to resolve missing information, processing delays, or discrepancies.
• Help ensure purchasing requests are completed accurately and within required timelines.
• Place inventory, office supply, operational supply, and other departmental orders as needed.

Vendor Administration

• Facilitate the onboarding of new vendors and suppliers by collecting required documentation and coordinating internal approval steps.
• Communicate with vendors regarding onboarding requirements, qualifications, documentation, purchase orders, and contract-related information.
• Maintain and update the department’s vendor and supplier qualification tracker in Smartsheet .
• Monitor vendor qualification status, required documentation, approval dates, renewals, and expiration dates.
• Follow up with vendors and internal stakeholders to obtain incomplete or expired documentation.
• Maintain positive, professional relationships with suppliers and internal business partners.
• Escalate vendor qualification, documentation, or purchasing concerns to the appropriate department representative.

Records and Database Management

• Create and maintain complete electronic purchasing and contract files using M-Files .
• Ensure purchase orders, agreements, vendor records, approvals, correspondence, and supporting documentation are filed accurately and consistently.
• Maintain departmental databases and tracking systems for purchase orders, facilities requests, telephone information, vendor records, and related operational activities.
• Perform routine data audits to verify that records are complete, accurate, and current.
• Update spreadsheets, trackers, and databases promptly as requests progress through the purchasing and approval process.
• Protect confidential company, vendor, financial, and operational information.

Manufacturing Operations Support

• Provide day-to-day administrative support to multiple departments within Manufacturing Operations.
• Coordinate activities and communications among Manufacturing, Packaging, Warehouse, Engineering and Maintenance, Operational Technology, Facilities, Procurement, Finance, and external vendors.
• Respond to questions regarding purchasing requests, vendor status, documentation, and departmental processes.
• Monitor shared inboxes, request queues, spreadsheets, and tracking tools to ensure requests are acknowledged and addressed promptly.
• Assist with scheduling meetings, preparing reports, organizing documentation, and following up on action items.
• Anticipate administrative needs and identify opportunities to improve the accuracy and efficiency of departmental processes.
• Maintain effective working relationships with more than 90 cross-functional team members.

Requirements:

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Three to five years of administrative, purchasing, procurement support, office coordination, or related professional experience.
• Prior experience creating, processing, tracking, or reconciling purchase orders.
• Experience maintaining vendor records, purchasing files, databases, spreadsheets, or similar business documentation.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, Outlook, Word, and Teams.
• Strong organizational skills and exceptional attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple requests, priorities, and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to follow established procedures and maintain accurate, audit-ready documentation.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Professional and responsive customer-service approach when working with employees, vendors, and cross-functional partners.
• Ability to work independently while contributing effectively within a collaborative team environment.
• Ability to handle confidential and business-sensitive information appropriately.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting manufacturing, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, life sciences, engineering, maintenance, or facilities operations.
• Experience supporting the renewal or administration of vendor and service contracts.
• Experience with blanket purchase orders, not-to-exceed agreements, purchase requisitions, and vendor onboarding.
• Experience using Smartsheet to maintain trackers, workflows, or vendor qualification records.
• Experience using M-Files or another electronic document-management system.
• Familiarity with regulated manufacturing environments and documentation practices.
• Experience supporting a large, cross-functional department or multiple operational teams.