The Purchasing Manager plays a critical role as a school-wide service partner supporting our international organization. This position will work directly with our worldwide locations managing all purchasing requirements and related transportation/shipping logistics, the NOLS online store, and mailroom functions. 

The role is focused on driving continuous improvement in purchasing processes, negotiating and managing bulk purchase agreements for equipment, gear, supplies, and corporate travel discount programs. This position also supports our NOLS Partnerships Director in managing inventory to optimize NOLS retail sales online and at our global branch locations. 

Reporting directly to the Chief Financial Officer, this position partners with the Finance function to ensure controls are in place around inventory management and supports our monthly and annual reporting processes. The Purchasing Manager will lead a small team including the Purchasing Coordinator and Mailroom Clerk. 

Key Information

• Please upload your cover letter and resume as one PDF document when you are prompted to upload your CV/resume.

• Application Deadline: Open Until Filled

• Target Start Date: Immediately

• Location: NOLS Headquarters in Lander, WY

• Questions: Please contact peopleteam@nols.edu

What does a Purchasing Manager do?

• Responsible for purchasing schoolwide equipment, office supplies, and more.

• Communicates regularly with vendors, customers, internal branch staff, and Finance.

• Supervises, hires, trains, supports, and evaluates purchasing, online store and mailroom roles.  Coordinates workloads for effective cross-training and back up.

• Prepares and oversees annual budgets for Purchasing departments.

• Projects product needs for the online store & location transfers to ensure sufficient inventory.

• Annual physical inventory count and reporting. 

• Receives product orders for online store and international locations.

• Responsible for scheduling international shipments and preparing customs paperwork. 

• Educates NOLS staff and external contacts on procedures.

• Shared responsibility for managing day to day operations of the NOLS warehouse - Cirque Center. 

• Other duties as assigned.

What makes a great Purchasing Manager at NOLS? 

We are looking for people who share our values and are keen to learn and develop their expertise. We are looking for candidates with the skills listed below. We expect to provide training and development support in some of the areas.

• Previous experience in purchasing and online retail sales, prefer a minimum of 1 year of managerial experience. 

• Budget planning and management.

• Ability to work closely in a team/group setting

• Maintains positive and productive relationships with internal and external audiences.

• Must be able to balance multiple priorities and work independently.

• Must be proficient with spreadsheet applications and retail store applications.

• Requires strong supervision, organizational, computer, communication and analytical skills.

• Experience with Microsoft Business Central and Shopify software preferred but not required. 

• Knowledge of or NOLS experience preferred.

• Forklift Certification preferred.

How to Apply

It’s super easy! Just enter your email and click the “start your application” button at the top of the screen and upload your cover letter and resume as one PDF document when you are prompted to upload your CV/resume.

At NOLS we use the Applied platform for our recruitment. The Applied platform will ask you some demographic questions before you start your application. We at NOLS never see the responses to these demographic questions with your application. We only see summary statistics to help us check if our candidate pool is balanced and if everyone has an equal chance to get hired irrespective of their background. If you prefer, you can easily opt out of answering these questions.

Who is NOLS?

NOLS is a nonprofit global wilderness school that strives to be the leading source and teacher of wilderness skills and leadership that serve people and the environment. Our community—staff, students, trustees, and alumni—shares a commitment to wilderness, education, leadership, safety, community, and excellence. 

We believe that anyone can be a leader; it is our role to provide the environment and training to help people discover their full potential. We do that in classrooms close to home and in remote wilderness areas around the world. We are an organization with heart, expertise, and wildness, and these qualities help us support powerful, authentic experiences.

Why is NOLS a great place to work?

• We have locations in seven U.S. states, and six countries; and courses in all 50 U.S. states and over 10 countries.

• We have fantastic employee discounts on top outdoor gear brands

• We offer discounts on NOLS Courses for you and your family

• All employees can benefit of free outdoor equipment rental" at our various locations

• Insurance Coverage: Medical, dental, and vision benefits are available at a special NOLS rate to seasonal employees. Full-time employees are eligible for benefits package. 

• Wellness Time: Accrued leave that may be used for many HR-approved reasons throughout the season.

• Employee Assistance Program: Access to counselors that are available 24/7 to assist employees with work-life balance concerns.

Additional Information

Please note in order to ensure pay transparency and pay equity the range posted is non-negotiable. If you are unwilling to accept an offer within the posted range, please review our other opportunities to see if one better aligns with your salary expectations.

• A criminal background check is required from all NOLS employees.

• NOLS participates in e-verify for U.S. employees, Certificado de Antecedentes for Chilean or Mexican employees, and other relevant employment verification systems based on location.

• Current NOLS employees please note it is NOLS policy to conduct an internal reference check with People Team and/or your current supervisor as part of the reference check process. If you have any questions or concerns about this process please contact peopleteam@nols.edu.

NOLS does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, genetics information, disability unrelated to job or admission requirements, or status as a protected veteran. The school’s nondiscrimination policy applies to all phases of its employment process.

Reasonable accommodations may be requested for disability; limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition; religion; and domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or harassment by emailing peopleteam@nols.edu with your request.