Cooperative Purchasing Specialist

Position Summary

Join a team where your work directly influences the success of libraries and cultural organizations across Wisconsin. As our Cooperative Purchasing Specialist, you’ll play a key role in managing member needs and vendor relationships within our close-knit, mission-driven nonprofit. Whether you’re presenting to a group of librarians or navigating a complex license agreement, you will bring a high-touch customer service ethic and an adaptable, motivated attitude to our 14-person team. If you’re passionate about supporting Wisconsin’s libraries and cultural organizations, you’ll find a home here.

Key Responsibilities

Member Relations

• Provide professional, timely, and mission-aligned service that strengthens member relationships
• Educate new members on Cooperative Purchasing program benefits
• Serve as a primary contact for Cooperative Purchasing participants, ensuring all inquiries are handled with exceptional care and a member-first mindset
• Maintain and update member records in the membership database (CRM)
• Support renewals, confirmations, and routine member correspondence
• Represent WiLS at local and national conferences

Subscription Management

• Request and negotiate prices from vendors, deliver prices to members, follow up on product quotes to members, deliver orders or cancellations to vendors
• Inform members about electronic resources, providing information on new and existing products
• Identify and correct errors or variances in subscriptions and follow up with vendors and members as needed

CRM Management

• Coordinate routine maintenance of the CRM and member portal
• Oversee annual process of CRM enhancements and suggest development needs

Administrative and Team Logistics

• Support monthly vendor demonstrations and other vendor promotion
• Maintain membership and communications lists
• Design, monitor, and revise internal workflows to improve efficiency and effectiveness
• Facilitate documentation review and updates
• Assist with team meeting agendas and assignments

Vendor Relations

• Manage annual check-ins with vendors
• Review and update licenses and partnership agreements with vendors

Additional Responsibilities

• Willingness to work well with colleagues, be flexible, patient, have a great sense of humor, and to do whatever it takes to provide the best possible service to our members and partners.
• Willingness to employ your unique genius wherever needed.
• Opportunity to designate up to 2% of work time to pro-bono activities.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in any field of study that supports the organizational and interpersonal skills necessary to support our members. We value diverse educational backgrounds and the unique perspectives they bring to our team.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience in libraries, cultural organizations, member-serving organizations, or related fields.
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office, specifically Word and Excel, as well as Google products.
• Access to high-speed internet and the ability to work remotely

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with library or cultural organization operations and services including e-resources such as academic databases or other online content
• Experience in a K12 school or library setting
• Experience in a nonprofit, membership-based organization, or small office environment
• Experience with CRM or membership databases

General Skills and Knowledge

• Strong interpersonal and customer service skills, especially with organizational members
• Ability to present complex information in a clear, engaging way in writing and verbally
• Ability to creatively manage and improve processes, workflows, and systems
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and adaptable
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a small, fast-paced team
• Technologically literate with an enthusiasm to learn new systems
• Discretion in handling confidential financial and organizational information
• Ability to work independently with minimal direction/supervision
• Alignment with WiLS’ mission of supporting libraries and cultural organizations, and our organizational values

Travel & Commuting Requirements

• We are a remote team with a local heart. Because our staff travels frequently to support our partners across Wisconsin, we are seeking candidates who live in-state or within a commutable distance.
• Reliable transportation for statewide travel (mileage reimbursement provided in accordance with organizational policy, if applicable)