Acquisition Assistant Responsibilities

Who is an acquisition assistant and what are the acquisition assistant responsibilities?

The answer to the first part of the question is pretty simple. Acquisition assistant is a member of the acquisition team who performs various administrative tasks on behalf of the acquisition team. Acquisition assistant is also responsible for the preliminary research before the actual process of acquisition takes place. Acquisition is a broad term that covers purchase of goods, assets, processes, patents, copyright, and possession of any other service and also a stake in an organization or takeover of the organization.

Acquisition assistants work in different industries and sectors such as FMCG, Information Technology Services, Educational Institutes, Defense Organizations, etc. With such a varied scope for employment, the acquisition assistant responsibilities also differ. However, the nature of the job remains the same and so do the scope of responsibilities.

The acquisition analyst working in any sector will perform the following job duties:

• Provide necessary assistance to the acquisition manager, analysts and other members of the acquisition team
• Plan and support the acquisition process through detailed research
• Place orders to the vendors
• Acquire the orders, examine the goods and other materials and return any damaged material to the vendor
• Prepare and maintain records of purchase and payments and preserve receipts for future reference
• Provide accurate figures for the amount spent on acquisition to the finance department
• Categorize and store goods and materials

To elaborate further on acquisition assistant responsibilities, we can take the example of an acquisition analyst working in a library. This person will perform the following tasks on a routine basis:

• Maintain records of books, magazines and other journals in the library
• Sort and arrange the new stock according to author, content or genre of the book
• Prepare digital records regarding the arrangement of books and enter the information of the person issuing the book from the library
• Communicate the requirements to the vendors and place orders
• Receive the order and check whether the stock received is in a proper condition
• Return damaged or torn books to the vendor and ask for replacement
• Repair torn books or send the books to the binder

Alternatively, a web acquisition assistant can be assigned with the followed duties:

• Work with the Web Acquisition Manager for strategy development and implementation to achieve optimum traffic on the website
• Act as a representative of the acquisition team as and when needed
• Monitor the performance of the website and present weekly and monthly reports to the Web Acquisition Manager
• Perform other administrative tasks

Skills of an Acquisition Assistant

An acquisition assistant must be dedicated to provide excellent customer service. He should also be adaptable to work in a team or independently, as the case may be. Observation and communication skills are also important for acquisition assistants. Whether he works in IT industry or not, an acquisition assistant is expected to have sound technical knowledge of modern business applications used for preparing records and presentations.

Becoming an Acquisition Assistant

You can enter into this profession with a bachelor's or associate degree in business management, although individuals with high school diploma can also work as an acquisition assistant. Individuals who would like to work as a web acquisition assistant will be required to have a degree in computer science or information systems.

Career Scope for Acquisition Assistant

Acquisition assistants can earn up to $67,000 annually. The salary may vary with the sector you work in. Acquisition assistants can also become an Acquisition Manager in the long run if they continue to work sincerely and efficiently.

The acquisition assistant responsibilities are constant and variable as you can see in the description provided above. As you join an organization, you will be assigned a specific set of responsibilities and as you continue to learn and gain experience, you can always go out of your way and perform more responsibilities in order to prove your efficiency and dedication towards the organization.