Role: Global IT Category Manager - Enterprise Software

Location: Utrecht/Amersfoort

Hybrid Working: 2 days office, 3 days' work from home

Salary: Competitive + bonus & package

**Legal right to work in NL required**

Excellent opportunity to join one of the leading manufacturing companies that are going from strength to strength and expanding/increasing profits.

Excitingly, the company is at the start of an IT procurement transformation and needs a skilled category manager to further integrate procurement into the business, build key stakeholder relationships (with extensive executive exposure) and create strategic plans for the short, medium and long-term.

This role focuses on the core enterprise software packages such as Microsoft, WIPRO, Verizon ServiceNow and CapGemini. Positively, the client is not looking for someone to come in and negotiate the last 2% off the price, instead, they're looking for someone who has the vision and experience to develop this global category and build strong relationships and functionality across both IT and the business.

Progression opportunities to Director.

Areas of responsibility:

• Develop and unlock the value of strategic partnerships like Microsoft, Wipro, ServiceNow and Verizon

• Vendor consolidation

• Deep category expertise, vendor and contract management for complex IT vendors, services and contracts.

• Complex environment of Infrastructure, Service Desk / Service Management, S2C, End User, Application and Security (IT/OT) Services

• Managing high-value contracts with critical platforms and services with substantial risk to business continuity.

• Guiding business and IT leadership in achieving maximal value and lowest risk out of (new) relationships with vendors

• Support clusters as Centre of Excellence which need to manage the strategy of the longtail of non-strategic vendors and contracts in their domains in close corporation with IT organization and other offices within procurement

• Guiding business, operations and IT in contracting and managing suppliers in the ETS domain.

Experience:

• 7+ years of relevant working experience (IT contract, sourcing, vendor management; managing big IT (services) suppliers)

• Knowledge/experience within IT domain or other related comparable domains.

• Good knowledge and broad understanding of the global supplier market, and integrated service management, including cybersecurity

• Ability to build, manage and maintain strong relationships with strategic partners to achieve agreed business objectives; ensure regular, coordinated interaction

• Excellent and effective communication skills - both verbal and written in English (Dutch a bonus)

• Understanding IT (service) cost drivers and the ability to drive a continuous cost optimization effort

• Expert in translating IT platform objectives into the right contract/service setup

• Ability to coordinate between Architecture and planning, Service Development and Service Management in terms of supplier/ partner relationships to deliver cost reduction and maximum value from key third-party contracts

• Excellent negotiating skills

If interested, please apply ASAP.