Global Enterprise Software Category Leader, anywhere in the U.S.-Filled

Are you an IT Global Sourcing Executive interested in playing a major role in driving the success of centralizing global sourcing and contracting in a way that is unprecedented in the history of the business world?  Are you interested in joining the leadership of a newly created entity within a multi-billion-dollar telecom, mobile services provider, and IT services company that is doing just that?  If so, you need to read on. 

Our client has begun the integration and reorganization of their 950 global operating companies into a unified global brand with the mission of constructing a worldwide support structure that promotes global operations and provides all customers with access to more services and greater efficiencies, as well as strengthens the our client’s brand globally.  Our client is tasked with aggregating the spend and demand across all of their 950 global operating companies.  No one of comparable size is doing this.  While still in its infancy, our client has already been incredibly successful and will double in size in the next year.  They are looking for an Enterprise Software Category Leader to lead and continue to build a growing global team of Software Category Directors and Category Managers. 

In this newly created role of Global IT Category Leader for Enterprise Software, you will be establishing global sourcing and partnership strategies for this multi-billion-dollar spend category while leading a team of experienced Category Directors and Category Managers.  You will be analyzing category market conditions, competitive landscapes, customer requirements, pricing trends and benchmarks to create world-class sourcing and relationship strategies.  You will be designing and implementing cost savings, business value and revenue acceleration projects across all regions and our client’s operating companies.  You will be reviewing, assessing, and negotiating contracts, global terms and conditions, price/cost schemes, and rebate programs across a variety of different software models.  As a self-assured, competitive, and independent decision-maker, you will be able to produce high quality, organized and repeatable results in a fast-paced environment requiring rapid shifts in priorities.

Our client is a savings company.  The #1 KPI for how people are measured is by how much they save.  Our client has not historically tried to save money on their spend, so our client exists to change that through scale, scope, and innovation!   

Fast forward a year.  What will you be doing? 

You are the strategic thought leader in the Global Enterprise Software Category.  Your credibility has demanded the highest visibility of any global sourcing category by our client’s global operating executives and the C-Suite of their software vendors.  You have developed close ties and are working daily with their operating companies and their Global IT Strategy Team on their purchases and projects.  You have strong relationships with their software vendors and have completed some global framework agreements.  You are progressing in the execution of your strategy to complete more global frameworks over the next 12 months.  You understand all models of software procurement (e.g., on-premise, cloud-based, SaaS, subscriptions, etc.) and how they charge.  You continue to self-educate on changes within software vendors’ licensing models in terms of contracts, order forms, and accounting and revenue recognition rules, etc.  You are the voice our operating company executives trust on how to mitigate risk across software contracts and software asset management programs.  You have a seat at the table.  You are fully integrated within the team, the company, and the culture of our client.  You are viewed as a respected leader.  You are successful and happy.

How will you get there? 

30 days:

  • You will complete onboarding and orientation, learning processes and systems and tools

  • You will shadow VP of IT and the rest of the Global Sourcing Team

  • You will begin partnering with financial modeling analysts

  • You will study vendors and spend ques

  • You will start to identify gaps in your team

90 days:

  • You are confident in your ability to identify more savings opportunities

  • You have fully staffed your team

  • You have created strategic plans to accelerate contract negotiations

6 months:

  • You now know the major operating companies of our client

  • You are culturally absorbed into the company

  • You have an established stakeholders list

  • You are operating independently

  • You have established trust with internal executives and working on projects together

  • You have created buying guides for the top software vendors in the category

  • You have created a contracting “best practices” guidebook for your team and for their Operating companies

What you will need:

  • Bachelor’s degree; MBA a plus.

  • 10+ years of global contract experience in strategic sourcing and/or category management in the Enterprise Software sector; 5+ years in a leadership role equivalent to Director level within a Fortune 500 company.

  • Executive presence with in-depth experience working with the C-suite of top software vendors (e,g., SAP, Oracle, Salesforce, ServiceNow, VMWare, etc.).

  • An emotionally intelligent self-starter who takes initiative and is passionate about software sourcing; a constant learner who self-educates in the continuously changing world of software contracting.

  • Experience in spend motions of Sell To (internal use), Sell With (managed services), and Sell Through (resale).

  • Ability to build high-performing teams in a rapidly growing environment.

  • World-class negotiator; results-oriented; highly organized; strong communication skills.

  • Demonstrated success in building trusted relationships with internal and external executives.

  • Ability to travel up 25-50%. 

Our client is a global publicly traded company and the top 2 in the world for what they do. Specializing in global sourcing, our client will bring together the procurement volume of each group company and engage in centralized price negotiations and the execution of comprehensive agreements with global vendors for network, hardware, software, and services purchased in common by each group company. These activities will improve the presence of the client group in the global market, formalize their strategic partnerships, reduce the group's total costs, and provide lower-priced, innovative services to their clients.

They are an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.

Kim Frost