FT Assistant Buyer (Academic Success/Library)

Salary: $60,170.64 - $72,172.56 Annually
Job Type: Full Time
Job Number: Assistant Buyer-25
Closing: 10/27/2025 11:59 PM Pacific
Location: Norwalk, CA
Department: Assistant Buyer-25
Division: Academic Success

Description

Equity and Diversity
The District is strongly committed to achieving staff diversity and the principles of equal opportunity employment. The District encourages a diverse pool of applicants and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, religion, marital status, disability, or sexual orientation in any of its policies, procedures or practices. In fact, the college encourages applications from all segments of qualified people.

Closing Date
This position will close on October 27th, 2025 at 11:59 PM (or when 150 applications are received, whichever occurs sooner).

College Profile
Cerritos College is ranked 14th among the top 100 schools with the highest Hispanic enrollment in the United States by the United States Department of Education. Cerritos College serves as a comprehensive community college for southeastern Los Angeles County. Communities within the college's district include Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, La Mirada, Norwalk, and portions of Bell Gardens, Lakewood, Long Beach, Santa Fe Springs and South Gate. Cerritos College offers degrees and certificates in more than 180 areas of study in nine divisions. Enrollment currently averages 20,000 students. Visit Cerritos College online at http://www.cerritos.edu.

Department Profile
The Cerritos College Library is dedicated to advancing student success through equitable access to information and resources. We invite positive, creative professionals to join our inclusive team and deliver high-quality service in library acquisitions. The Library Assistant Buyer will coordinate the ordering and purchasing of library resources and assist in other library operations when needed.

Summary
Performs administrative, technical, and administrative support duties in support of purchasing functions such as ordering from alternate existing sources, inventory, and records.

Distinguishing Career Features
The Assistant Buyer requires knowledge and training in initiating, processing, and reviewing orders from established vendors. The Assistant Buyer provides support to Buyers or other professionals by procuring pre-selected goods and services, making substitutions, and conducting research of price and availability.

Job Duties

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Receives and reviews incoming requisitions. Converts requisitions to purchase orders. Assigns vendor codes. Composes and sends letters of confirmation and tax withholding forms to new vendors.
• Participates in the acquisition of materials. Identifies sources, orders, and may recommend current and retrospective acquisition needs. Researches distributor indices and inventories, and other resources for acquisitions.
• Places orders for a variety of supplies, books, and other materials. Verifies that payments are commensurate with receipt of purchased and received items.
• Receives new materials (supplies, parts, books, media, etc.), enters into system, prepares for and enters into circulation, inventory, or for immediate use. Provides location numbering to library materials and enters onto an automated library record system using a personal computer.
• Prepares purchase orders for a variety of administrative services, supplies, and equipment including service contracts. Maintains records of transactions and use of equipment and services.
• Assists end-users with problems associated with generating computer-aided requisitions and purchase orders. Orients and explains the steps needed to produce purchase orders.
• Pre-encumbers requisitions and encumbers each purchase order processed by accessing information from and onto an automated purchasing and financial system. Sends information to the accounting department for payment.
• Organizes vendor files containing contact information, delivery, cost, and quality performance, and other information that supports ordering. Accesses existing data files and prepares lists of vendors, professional associations, advertising sources, and other categories to support the bid announcement process.
• Maintains active files of all purchasing contracts, ensuring that balances reflect completed transactions, work-in-progress, and anticipated needs.
• Facilitates inventory returned to vendors.
• Receives forms from the warehouse that verify distribution of supplies and other merchandise to departments. Verifies that costs and quantities match to original records. Tabulates, prepares summary forms, and remits for accounting.
• Assists Buyers in obtaining price and delivery estimates from existing and approved vendors on routine items.
• May assist with receiving of merchandise to the District warehouse and/or directs shippers to the proper location, notifying others of delivery.
• Participates in year-end inventories by input and reconciling of recorded versus physical differences. Documents transactions in order to support annual audits.
• Performs a variety of clerical responsibilities in support of the purchasing function. Types memos for communication to vendors.
• Maintains currency of knowledge and skills related to the duties and responsibilities.
Performs other related duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

Education and Experience
The position requires a high school diploma or equivalent and 3 years of production oriented clerical and record keeping experience, preferably in a purchasing or distribution environment also involving contracts and inventory control.

Preferred Qualifications

• At least 1-year experience working in a library environment.
• Hands-on experience with Alma (Ex Libris) library management system, with knowledge of Alma's acquisitions module.
• Experience in procurement of library materials (books, electronic resources, subscriptions).
• Experience monitoring budgets, encumbrances, and fund allocations.

Supplemental Information


Knowledge and Skills
The position requires a working knowledge of procedures used in contracting for the purchasing of supplies, furniture, and stationary equipment. Requires a basic knowledge of the specification development process. Requires working knowledge of data entry requirements for automated purchasing systems. Requires working knowledge of the district's purchasing policies and procedures. Requires a basic knowledge of inventory management, including economic reorder points, accounting and inventory. Must be familiar with modern office methods, practices and equipment pertinent to purchasing. Requires sufficient communication skills to convey technical information to other departments and vendors.

Abilities
Must be able to plan and prioritize work to meet schedules and timelines. Requires the ability to use a personal computer to access and enter information onto established data entry screens, format and produce typewritten documents, and lookup information stored on databases or internet. Must be able to learn, interpret and rules, policies, and procedures affecting District purchasing operations. Must be able to maintain detailed and accurate records. Must be able to communicate courteously with contacts within and outside of the College. Requires the ability to work cooperatively and productively with others.

Physical Abilities
The position incumbent must be able to function indoors in an office environment engaged in work of primarily a sedentary nature. Requires ambulatory ability to sit for extended periods of time, to utilize microcomputers and peripheral equipment, accomplish other desktop work, and to move to various campus locations. Requires the ability to use near vision to read printed materials. Requires auditory ability to carry on conversations in person and over the phone. Requires the ability to retrieve work materials from overhead, waist, and ground level files. Requires manual and finger dexterity to write, use a pointing device and keyboard at an advanced rate, operate microcomputer, and to operate other standardized office equipment, almost constantly requiring repetitive motions.

Licenses and Certificates
May require a valid driver's license.

Working Conditions
Work is performed indoors where minimal safety considerations exist.

Salary/Fringe Benefits

Grade 29 on District Classified Salary Schedule ($5,014.22 - $6,014.38 /month).

Health and welfare benefits include District contribution for medical/dental/vision benefits and employee life insurance ($50,000). (Cash in lieu option available on medical insurance.)

Participation in the Public Employee's Retirement System that is also integrated with Social Security.

Selection Procedure
After the application closing date, a search committee will review and invite the most qualified applicants for an interview. As these are highly competitive positions, meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee an interview. If you have questions or would like to follow-up regarding your application, please contact Human Resources at HR@Cerritos.edu as search committee members are unable to discuss specific recruitments.

Conditions of Employment

This is a full-time, 12-calendar month classified position.

This is primarily a daytime position, however, the individual in this position will be expected to work at least one evening until library closing each week, and at least one Saturday per month during the regular Fall and Spring semesters.

The library's current hours are 8:30am - 8pm Monday through Thursday, 8:30am - 3pm Friday, and 10am - 3pm Saturday. These hours are subject to change.

Initial placement of employees on Classified Salary schedule is at Step 1. After six months of successful probationary employment, employee is placed at Step 2.

Employment is to be effective as soon as possible following completion of the selection process.

Individual who is offered employment shall be required to obtain fingerprints for a criminal history clearance through the State Department of Justice and remit the required fee for processing the fingerprints, Federal Bureau of Investigation (no fee if obtained at Cerritos College Campus Police Station), produce an original social security card, and submit negative TB test results (must be within the past four years or within the last 60 days if not previously employed in a school district in California) before employment.

Proof of eligibility to work in the United States and signing of loyalty oath per Government Codes 3100-3109.

Candidates must be able to provide proof of California residency prior to employment.

** Please note - the District does not provide for immigration sponsorships such as H1B Visas.

Application Procedures
Application materials must be submitted by the closing date. Applicants who need special services or facilities due to disability in order to apply or interview for this position must notify Human Resources at the time of application or at least 72 hours prior to the closing date or date of a scheduled interview.
It is the applicant's responsibility to provide copies of all transcript(s) verifying all educational degree(s) and/or coursework required for the position. Transcripts must be from regionally accredited institutions. A foreign transcript must be evaluated by a NACES certified agency. The website address is www.naces.org.

Required Documents

• Cover Letter
  
• Resume/Curriculum Vitae

To apply, visit https://www.schooljobs.com/careers/cerritosedu/jobs/5093543/ft-assistant-buyer-academic-success-library

The District ensures that all qualified applicants for employment and employees have full and equal access to employment opportunity, and are not subjected to discrimination in any program or activity of the District on the basis of national origin, religion, age, sex or gender, race, color, medical condition, ancestry, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, physical or mental disability, or because he or she is perceived to have one or more of the foregoing characteristics, or based on association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics. .jeid-e0166e5a513f6d4aad13d49c2f96fab2