Vendor Relations and Data Specialist

About the Role The Vendor Relations and Data Specialist provides entry-level professional support for supplier maintenance and related purchasing activities within the University's centralized purchasing shared services. This role serves as the primary resource for maintaining supplier records in the PACE system to enable compliant and efficient purchasing and direct payment processes. What You'll Do

• Maintain and update supplier records in PACE to support purchasing and direct payment activities, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and compliance with University requirements.
• Handle confidential supplier information, including PII and payment-related data, in accordance with University policies, internal control standards, and applicable regulations.
• Support supplier onboarding and maintenance activities associated with requisition-to-PO purchasing processes.
• Serve as a functional subject matter resource for supplier maintenance within PACE, including understanding system capabilities, configuration limitations and known process challenges.
• Review supplier requests and supporting documentation to ensure required information is complete, accurate, and appropriately validated prior to system entry.
• Participate in supplier data validation, audit and cleanup efforts to improve data integrity, reduce risk and strengthen internal controls.
• Prepare requisitions for conversion into purchase orders for decentralized departments outside of Campus Services and Digital Technology, including ensuring appropriate documentation of supplier selection, payment requirements, and vendor instructions.
• Review requisitions submitted by decentralized units for completeness What We're Looking For
• Interest in supplier data management and requisition-to-PO purchasing processes; ability to learn and grow in a centralized/shared services environment.
• Ability to handle confidential information, including PII and payment-related data, in accordance with policies and controls.
• Familiarity with or willingness to learn the PACE supplier maintenance system and related process concepts.
• Strong attention to detail, data integrity, and adherence to internal controls and regulations.
• Effective communication and collaboration with decentralized units and cross-functional teams.