Job Title: Category Management Specialist

Work Place Flexibility: Hybrid 

Legal Entity: Entergy Services, Inc.-ESI (OLD) 

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.

Note: This is a hybrid role, working in office 3 days a week. The position can be based in New Orleans, LA, The Woodlands, TX, Little Rock, AR, or Jackson, MS. Those outside the area will be required to relocate; relocation assistance is not available for this posting.  This position will be assigned as a Category Management Specialist II, III, or Senior based on education, relevent experience, and success at the Category Management Level. 

Summary

The Senior Category Management Specialist utilizes significant supply chain, category management and contracting knowledge and experience to implement Supplier Commercial Excellence for an assigned collection of categories. The role is Supply Chain’s single point of contact and strategic lead for a given category or categories and supports the placement of Entergy’s multi-billion-dollar third party spend into the appropriate supply markets.  The position is responsible for the utilization of the standard Category Management process of Plan-Strategy-Source-Perform across assigned categories and will operate across multiple cross-functional teams to leverage end-to-end value for an assigned portfolio of spend. The senior staff specialist operates autonomously, without supervision, and in certain instances provides oversight, support, guidance, and training in the technical and professional skills areas to other category management specialists. The role is recognized inside supply chain as a subject matter technical adviser on category management, strategic sourcing, contract strategy, methodology, analysis, and contract provisions. The primary objective of the role is to create value through the supply chain in terms of safety, cost, risk mitigation and enhanced supplier performance, safety.

Key interfaces for this position are internal business customers such as a business unit, Tax, Finance, Risk Management, Safety, Human Resources, Legal, external suppliers and industry organizations. Within supply chain, common interfaces for this role are Procurement Operations, Capital Projects & Decommissioning and Warehousing and Inventory Management, Safety, and Supplier Diversity.

Duties

• Safety/Human Performance:
  • 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.
• Incident Response: Perform storm role duties as assigned through the Storm Assignment Management System (SAMS).
• Category Strategy: Develop and execute category and subcategory strategies, checklist, manage spend and regularly track market trends, Ability to work strategically and tactically to deliver positive business results.
• Category Processes: Systematic process to review commercial, process, technical, risk management and sustainability strategies for product categories and subcategories.
• Supplier Management: Supplier management strategy in place, linked with supplier segment, category strategies, and Vendor Management Optimization System (VMOS), with business reviews to ensure supplier performance.
• Supplier Base: Supplier portfolio is regularly reviewed based on price/performance and cost structure comparison.
• Optimization: Recurrent effort to bundle purchasing and to forecast demand across departments/business units.
• Customer Engagement: Ability influence and work across Cross-functional teams and levels in the organization to optimize supply-chain, redesign-to cost and make-or-buy strategies.

Minimum Requirements

Minimum education required of the position

Bachelor’s degree in supply chain, business, accounting, engineering, legal, or other related discipline.

Minimum Experience required of the position

• Category Management Specialist, II:
  • 2+ years of combined supplier contracting, vendor management, or other related supply chain experience OR in lieu of a degree, minimum 6+ years of supplier contracting, vendor management, or other related supply chain experience.
• Category Management Specialist, III:
  • 3+ years of category management, strategic sourcing, or other related supply chain experience OR in lieu of a degree, minimum 6+ years of category management, strategic sourcing, or other related supply chain experience.
• Senior Category Management Specialist:
  • 5+ years of category management, strategic sourcing, or other related supply chain experience OR in lieu of a degree, minimum 8+ years of category management, strategic sourcing, or other related supply chain experience.
• Minimum 2+ years’ energy industry supply chain experience in category management or strategic sourcing

Minimum knowledge, skills, and abilities required of the position

Technical

• Deep understanding of Entergy’s business model and key interfaces across the business and supply chain.
• Masterful application of strategic and creative thinking to produce a range of solutions to problems, anticipating changes in the business environment, and making data driven decisions.
• Deep proficiency and ability to provide innovative solutions in category management processes; including supplier diversity, safety metrics and tools; category strategies are used as exemplars across supply chain.
• Deep understanding of supplier relationship/vendor management principles and practices.
• Mastery in the application of pre-award and post-award contract management processes; integrate business unit specific knowledge; identify and mitigate contractual, market and supplier risks to Entergy.
• Proficient in coaching/applying the development and implementation of sourcing strategies; strategies are used as exemplars across supply chain.
• Deep understanding of the capacity and cost structure of existing suppliers.
• Extensive application in developing detailed RFx price breakdowns and deconstructing vendor pricing models to support financial analysis and bid comparison.
• Proficiency in the ability to extract data and applying market intelligence to assess supply market status and evolution.
• Deep expertise in developing “cost to serve” for customers; coaches/guides others.
• Highly proficient in creating clear strategies to develop supplier bases; strategies are used as exemplars across supply chain.
• Extensive knowledge in creating negotiation strategies and leading supplier negotiations that support operational excellence through safety, price, quality, service and innovation; strategies are used as exemplars across supply chain.
• Extensive knowledge of business and supply chain operations within Entergy; including Entergy’s purchasing and payment policies; experience and knowledge of supply chain systems and processes.
• Highly proficient influencing skills to promote effective demand planning across business units, functions and supply chain (zero-based purchasing, pro-active purchase planning and hedging).

Professional

• Masterful application of project management principles to ensure systematic, thorough completion of multiple projects/priorities, identifying critical pathways and risks to delivery.
• Deep expertise in the application of commercial skills and financial acumen to category management, with the inclusion of key business drivers and impact to Entergy on outcomes.
• Insightful business analytical skills to provide detailed reports with commentary based on data analysis; interpret data and propose conclusions, using trends in data.
• Ability to communicate autonomously with category management stakeholders, including executive level, delivering key messages concisely, supported by relevant data, influencing skills to develop best outcomes.
• Proficient at building broad relationships and effective networks with all stakeholders.
• Deep understanding of change management relative to category management solutions for the business.
• Deep knowledge to effectively manage the costs of the business; understand the impact of contract terms on Entergy cost structure.

Any certificates, licenses, etc. required of the position

Preferred: Certification from an industry accreditation organization such as CPSM, APICS, etc.

Primary Location: Louisiana-New Orleans Louisiana : New Orleans || Arkansas : Little Rock || Mississippi : Jackson || Texas : The Woodlands 
Job Function: Professional
FLSA Status: Professional 
Relocation Option: No Relocation Offered
Union description/code: NON BARGAINING UNIT 
Number of Openings: 1
Req ID: 118476
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.