Procurement Specialist

Job Description: Procurement Specialist

Position summary

HES provides custodial, facilities maintenance and grounds services to K-12 school districts, higher education institutions and select Commercial customers across six national regions. This role supports Operations in those regions and reports to the Procurement Lead. It is one of five roles on the procurement team and also backs up start-up ordering during the June to September onboarding peak.

The Procurement Specialist owns HES's subcontractor and trades sourcing, from vetting and onboarding new subcontractors to maintaining the preferred vendor list (PVL) and resolving vendor issues for trades and subcontract work.

Key responsibilities

Subcontractor onboarding

• Review each Operations request for a new subcontractor and check whether an existing vendor already covers that area and service; recommend the existing vendor when one does.
• Escalate requests with no existing vendor to the Procurement Lead for approval to proceed.
• Collect vendor documentation and coordinate with Legal on certificate of insurance (COI) coverage and subcontract agreement terms.
• Forward the completed vendor package to the Procurement Lead for final approval, then support vendor setup in Coupa and Winteam with Accounts Payable and the Coupa Admin.

Sourcing and vendor management

• Maintain the PVL for trades and subcontract services and run RFPs for those categories.
• Resolve vendor issues for trades and subcontractors escalated by sites, keeping the Procurement Lead informed.
• Review vendor price changes and prepare them for Procurement Lead approval.
• Provide input on new vendor approvals and on item requests that need a trades or subcontract vendor.

Team support

• Cross-trained on start-up orders and helps cover peak onboarding periods (June through September).
• Liaison with legal department to keep subcontractor records, agreements and COIs current.

Qualifications

Required

• Three or more years in procurement, subcontract management or vendor management; a bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
• Experience running RFPs, comparing bids and negotiating pricing and terms.
• Working knowledge of insurance requirements (COIs) and subcontract agreements.
• Strong organization and follow-through on document collection and approvals.
• Clear written and verbal communication with field operations, legal and finance teams.

Preferred

• Background in facilities services, janitorial, grounds or construction trades.
• Experience with K-12 or higher education customers.
• Experience with Coupa or a comparable procurement system, and with an ERP such as Winteam.
• Familiarity with vendor compliance requirements for work on school campuses.

Working conditions

• Office-based with occasional travel to regions or customer sites; the exact travel expectation is to be confirmed.
• Workload peaks from June through September, when new customers onboard on June 1, July 1, August 1 and September 1.
• Fiscal year runs July through June.

#Integrity20261

HES is a premier national provider of facilities management services focused 100% on educational institutions. Headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, HES builds best-in-class programs for custodial, maintenance, grounds, and landscaping services. With hundreds of years of combined facilities experience, the HES leadership team is comprised of results-oriented, hands-on executives and facilities experts who give school facilities their full attention. Whether for a grounds and landscaping program, custodial services, or maintenance solutions, HES will change the way you look at facilities management.

Founded in 1972, HES has a proven track record of working successfully and exclusively in the educational environment, maintaining a singular focus on facilities management, undistracted by competing priorities. HES has earned the trust of over 150 education partners across 29 states. We employ 13,000 dedicated team members and maintain more than 200 million square feet daily.