Central Procurement Specialist I-III

Entergy Corporation; Hammond (LA); Hybrid; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Entergy Hammond, LA seeks a Central Procurement Specialist to manage material purchasing and supplier contracts, ensuring cost efficiency and compliance with HE BAP policies. You will interact with business units, Tax, Finance and Legal, developing sourcing options, issuing RFQs, and expediting purchase orders in a hybrid work setup.

The role requires strong negotiation, data analysis, and supplier relationship skills, with a focus on governance, risk management, and cost optimization within

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field or 4+ years purchasing experience.
• Experience with supplier contracting and vendor management.
• Ability to coordinate with legal and tax for compliant PO language.
• Experience with RFQ processes and negotiations.
• Strong knowledge of Entergy procurement policies.

Responsibilities

• Procure materials and goods aligning with business needs and Entergy policies.
• Develop purchasing options and assess supplier capabilities.
• Create and issue Purchase Orders; track status and expediting as needed.
• Coordinate with stakeholders to define specifications, schedules and quality.
• Support cost savings initiatives through competitive bidding and negotiations.
• Ensure Nuclear/critical suppliers are approved on the QSL where applicable.
• Collaborate with Legal, Tax, and Engineering to maintain compliant PO terms.

Skills

HEBAP adherence

Supplier negotiation

Stakeholder communication

Data analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

Contract management

PO processing

Sourcing strategy

Education

Bachelor’s degree in related field

4+ years purchasing experience

5+ years supply chain experience (III)

Tools

PO systems

Vendor management systems

Source-to-settlement platform

Job description

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Location: Hammond, Louisiana, United States

Company: Entergy

Posting End Date: 08/12/2026

Work Place Flexibility: Hybrid

**Position opened for: S24019 & S29180**

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

Education, Experience and/or Certification.

• Central Procurement Specialist I: Bachelor’s degree in supply chain, Business, Accounting, Engineering, Legal, or other related discipline OR in lieu of, a minimum 4 years of combined material purchasing, supplier contracting, vendor management, other related supply chain or business experience
• Central Procurement Specialist II: Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Accounting, Engineering, Legal, or other related discipline and minimum 2+ years of combined material purchasing, supplier contracting, vendor management, or other related supply chain experience OR in lieu of a degree, minimum 6+ years of material purchasing, supplier contracting, vendor management, or other related supply chain experience.
• 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.

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; escape 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;

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: Louisiana - Hammond
Job Function: Corporate
FLSA Status: [[customString3]]
Relocation Option: No Relocation Offered
Union description/code: [[customString5]]
Number of Openings: 1
Req ID: 124254
Travel Percentage: Up to 25%

An Equal Opportunity Employer, Minority/Female/Disability/Vets.

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.