Central Procurement Specialist III - Senior

Work Place Flexibility: Hybrid 

Legal Entity: Entergy Services, LLC 

**This position may be filled as a Central Procurement Specialist III or Sr. depending on qualifications.**

**Position opened for: S29176, S29177,  S29178**

Job Purpose

The Central Procurement Specialist is responsible for the procurement of materials and goods to meet the demands of the business utilizing advanced supply chain and purchasing knowledge and experience. The role operates autonomously but may require minimal supervision or assistance in areas where the knowledge or experiences of the specialist have not been fully developed. The specialist executes progressively more complex and variable scopes of work and understands the distinctions between catalogue and non-catalogue spending, utilizing Entergy’s purchasing processes, systems and tools to execute activities. The role develops purchasing options to meet the demands of the business and interacts with business stakeholders, suppliers and other Supply Chain (SC) teams. The specialist assesses each material request to utilize the most appropriate sourcing channel, identify the appropriate method of delivery, understand the commercial terms and conditions to ensure accuracy in cost and volumes, provide reporting, tracking, and expediting as required. These duties shall be performed in a manner that ensures materials are obtained in the most cost effective, efficient, and strategic method with strict adherence to Entergy’s policies, procedures, and core values.

Key interfaces for this position are internal business customers such as business units, Tax, Finance, Risk Management, Safety, Legal, and external suppliers. Within SC, common interfaces for this role are other Procurement Operations departments, site Procurement, Category Management, Supplier Diversity, Capital Projects & Decommissioning and Warehousing and Inventory Management.

Job Duties/Responsibilities

• Actively promote strong safety behaviors and ensure the team always puts safety first;
• Utilize key tools, programs, and proactive field visits to assure standards and behaviors;
• Monitor and influence suppliers to proactively identify any safety concerns.
• Perform storm role duties as assigned through the Storm Assignment Management System (SAMS) and/or the nuclear Emergency Response Organization (ERO)
• Apply the principles and practices of plan, strategize, source and perform to each request;
• Process Request for Quotations (RFQ). Coordinate with stakeholders to ensure all specifications, material descriptions, schedule requirements, and quality and quantity requirements are clearly defined and accurate;
• Resolve invoice mismatches for Over, Short, Damaged, or Discrepant issues, etc.;
• Identify and evaluate new and current sources of supply, including diverse suppliers, seeking the most competitive and advantageous offering to Entergy;
• Work with Legal and Tax to insure deviations from standard purchase order language are within Entergy’s legal and risk tolerance levels, and are approved and documented;
• Create Purchase Orders for execution and issuance, tracking of order status, and expediting when required;
• Ensure Nuclear Safety Related suppliers are active and approved for use for the requested materials on the Quality Supplier List (QSL);
• Ensure requested material has been reviewed by the appropriate Engineering personnel to ensure purchases will meet all applicable site and regulatory requirements.
• Deliver and document savings to Entergy through competitive bidding (RFQs), direct negotiations, cost avoidance, etc.
• Execute thorough purchase order documents for issuance to suppliers;
• Ensure favorable terms and conditions with appropriate quality, schedule, and cost considerations are established, and that are in adherence to Procurement Procedures.
• Develop and maintain relationships with stakeholders to ensure SC is addressing material needs pro-actively and in the most beneficial way for Entergy;
• Establish/maintain professional relationships with suppliers/partners, based on the highest ethical business practices as set forth in the Standards of Conduct and Integrity and Entergy's Supply Chain Policies.
• Act as a Central Procurement Group point of contact with stakeholders and suppliers;
• Maintain open communications between suppliers, stakeholders and within SC to ensure that prompt, accurate, and complete information is provided.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Minimum education and experiencerequired of the position

• Central Procurement Specialist III: Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Accounting, Engineering, Legal, or other related discipline and minimum 5+ years of combined material purchasing, supplier contracting, vendor management, or other related supply chain experience OR in lieu of a degree, minimum 9+ years of material purchasing, supplier contracting, vendor management, or other related supply chain experience.

• Central Procurement Specialist Sr: Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Accounting, Engineering, Legal, or other related discipline and minimum 9+ years of combined material purchasing, supplier contracting, vendor management, or other related supply chain experience OR in lieu of a degree, minimum 13+ years of material purchasing, supplier contracting, vendor management, or other related supply chain experience.
  • Minimum 3+ years of energy industry experience

Preferred:

• Prior procurement experience in support of the energy industry
• SC Certification from an industry accreditation organization such as CPSM, APICS, etc.

Knowledge/Skills
Technical

• Advanced understanding and application of How Entergy Buys and Pays (HEBAP) guidelines;
• Proficient in the interpretation and application of policies/procedures and processes, governance and delegations of authority (DOA), and external laws and regulations;
• Knowledge and application of commercial management processes (plan, strategy, source and perform); including supplier diversity, safety metrics and tools;
• Advanced ability to perform buying actions for complex purchase orders; deep understanding of all options to purchase materials and the alternate buying channels;
• Deep knowledge of the materials purchasing requirements, guidelines and procedures across the enterprise fleet (Nuclear, Power Gen., etc.); ability to advise other SC staff;
• Advanced knowledge and application of the end-to-end purchasing process from approved material requisitions handling through purchase order (PO) placement and confirmation (expediting), to PO modification, to PO close out;
• Skillful application of negotiation strategies and concepts to materials purchasing; support supplier commercial negotiations;
• Basic knowledge/skills in the concepts/tools to understand market conditions and derive competitive insights from the data;
• Proficient in resolving most invoice exceptions for PO’s placed; escalate those exceptions that require special analysis or activity to resolve;
• Skillful practice and deep knowledge in computer applications and source-to-settlement electronic platform/system to complete purchasing activities;
• Skilful application of relationship management between clients, other supply chain specialists, vendors and other third parties for each purchase order; manage business and supplier queries related to purchase-to-pay activities;
• Highly proficient in understanding and applying document management and control standards; including management and maintenance of filing systems (hard copy and electronic);
• Deep understanding of opportunities to improve business performance.
• The legal basis of contractual requirements for materials contracts;
• Negotiates simple agreements, under supervision

Professional

• Skillful application of project management principles to ensure systematic, thorough completion of each assignment, identifying critical pathways and risks to delivery;
• Skillful application of commercial skills and financial acumen, understanding the key business drivers and impact to Entergy on outcomes;
• Skillful application of data analysis methods/techniques to provide detailed reports and insights; propose conclusions, use data trends and present in meaningful ways;
• Ability to coach other supply chain personnel in technical tools and techniques;
• Skillful at internal and external stakeholder communications; operates independently with stakeholders; apply influencing skills to develop best outcomes for Entergy;
• Skillful at building relationships and networks with all stakeholders; including with suppliers;
• Strong understanding of how to effectively manage the costs of the business;
• Strong communication skills in presenting concise/relevant information to stakeholders.

Primary Location: Texas-The Woodlands Texas : The Woodlands
Arkansas : Little Rock 
Job Function: Corporate
FLSA Status: Professional 
Relocation Option: No Relocation Offered
Union description/code: NON BARGAINING UNIT 
Number of Openings: 1
Req ID: 124210
Travel Percentage:Up to 25%

An Equal Opportunity Employer, Minority/Female/Disability/Vets. Please click here to view the EEI page, or see statements below.

EEO Statement: The Entergy System of Companies provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty, or status as a protected veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws. The Entergy System of Companies complies with applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment including, but not limited to, recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training. 
The Entergy System of Companies expressly prohibits any form of unlawful employee harassment based on race, color, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status. Improper interference with the ability of the Entergy System of Company employees to perform their expected job duties is absolutely not tolerated.

Accessibility: Entergy provides reasonable accommodations for online applicants. Requests for a reasonable accommodation may be made orally or in writing by an applicant, employee, or third party on his or her behalf. If you are an individual with a disability and you are in need of an accommodation for the recruiting process please click here and provide your name, contact number, the accommodation requested and the requisition number that you are requesting the accommodation for. Employee Services will contact you regarding your request.

Additional Responsibilities: As a provider of essential services, Entergy expects its employees to be available to work additional hours, to work in alternate locations, and/or to perform additional duties in connection with storms, outages, emergencies, or other situations as deemed necessary by the company. Exempt employees may not be paid overtime associated with such duties.

Entergy Pay Transparency Policy Statement: The Entergy System of Companies (the Company) will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the Company’s legal duty to furnish information.  41 CFR 60-1.35(c). Equal Opportunity and Pay Transparency.

Pay Transparency Notice:

Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision (dol.gov)

The non-confidential portions of the affirmative action program for individuals with disabilities and protected veterans shall be available for inspection upon request by any employee or applicant for employment.  Please contact HRCompliance@entergy.com to schedule a time to review the affirmative action plan during regular office hours.

WORKING CONDITIONS:
As a provider of essential services, Entergy expects its employees to be available to work additional hours, to work in alternate locations, and/or to perform additional duties in connection with storms, outages, emergencies, or other situations as deemed necessary by the company. Exempt employees may not be paid overtime associated with such duties.

Please note: Authorization to work in the United States is a precondition to employment in this position. Entergy will not sponsor candidates for work visas for this position.