IT Services Category Expert (H/F)

AXA; Paris; Sur place; EUR 60 000 - 100 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

An established industry player is seeking an IT Services Category Expert to drive procurement strategies and vendor management. This role involves negotiating Global Master Services Agreements, managing vendor relationships, and optimizing procurement processes to deliver value and savings. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in IT Services procurement, strong negotiation skills, and a collaborative spirit. Join a dynamic team that values innovation and strategic thinking, and contribute to the transformation of IT Services across a global organization.

Qualifications

• Over 8 years in Procurement with at least 3 years in IT Services.
• Fluency in English; additional European languages a plus.

Responsabilités

• Manage contract lifecycle and engage with business areas to optimize benefits.
• Lead procurement projects including RFI, RFP, and negotiations.

Connaissances

Negotiation

Influence

Category Strategy Design

Understanding of IT Evolution

Knowledge of IT Services Pricing

Formation

Master’s Degree in Procurement

MBA

Description du poste

Major Objectives

The IT Services team, composed of Senior Sourcing Experts, is responsible for:

1. Setting the Group Procurement strategy for IT Services with internal IT stakeholders (Technology Office, Product Owners, Support functions), considering business needs, market trends, and risks. The strategy aims to deliver benefits in cost, innovation, and service support, with appropriate risk management, and includes key contract renewals.
2. Challenging needs through constructive dialogue with requesters.
3. Defining and driving negotiation strategies involving internal stakeholders, including AXA Senior Executives.
4. Connecting with the AXA Entities’ IT Services Buyers community to ensure transparency and support local projects.
5. Maintaining awareness of market and vendor trends, detecting disruptions, and managing risks and opportunities.
6. Developing and maintaining key vendor partnerships.

Scope of the Role

The scope includes:

1. Managing AXA Group Operations’ IT Services needs, including RFI, RFP, renewals, negotiations, and stakeholder and supplier management.
2. Negotiating and implementing Global Master Services Agreements with major IT vendors for all AXA Group Entities.
3. Vendor Management for IT Services vendors.
4. Defining and implementing category strategies, and engaging the IT Services community across AXA Entities.

Key priorities involve:

1. Reducing the number of MSAs with global vendors and ensuring Entity engagement under the Group MSA.
2. Restructuring the IT Services rate card.
3. Reviewing and defining KPIs for the Global Preferred Supplier List.
4. Leveraging consolidated sourcing pipelines.
5. Sharing market trends and supplier insights, including AI/GenAI impacts.

Position Mission & Main Activities

The IT Services Category Expert’s main responsibilities are:

1. Ensuring upstream procurement involvement with IT stakeholders to deliver value, savings, and risk mitigation.
2. Managing the contract lifecycle proactively.
3. Challenging needs and engaging in dialogue with business areas to optimize benefits, including recommending alternatives.
4. Running procurement projects (RFI, RFP, negotiations, etc.).
5. Defining negotiation strategies and involving stakeholders, including AXA executives.
6. Leading contractual negotiations, ensuring compliance with legal, privacy, security, and resilience standards.
7. Sharing negotiated deal information across the procurement network to promote adherence.
8. Developing new market opportunities and fostering healthy vendor competition.
9. Leading Vendor Management activities at Group or local levels, including executive reviews.
10. Participating in strategy development for the IT Services category.
11. Implementing cost reduction levers and supporting IT transformation initiatives.

Skills and Experience

Technical and professional skills include negotiation, influence, category and sourcing strategy design, understanding of IT evolution, and knowledge of IT Services pricing and contractual models. Fluency in English is required, with additional European languages a plus.

Soft skills encompass communication, teamwork, collaboration, results orientation, creativity, leadership engagement, and adaptability to an international environment.

Experience required includes a Master’s Degree in Procurement or an MBA, over 8 years in Procurement with at least 3 years in IT Services, and exposure to large, multi-country organizations.