WFS Head IT Procurement

Woolworths Financial Services; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 1 000 000 - 1 500 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial services provider based in Cape Town is looking for a Head: IT Procurement. The role focuses on managing complex IT supplier relationships and ensuring compliance with sourcing policies. Ideal candidates will possess extensive supplier and contract management experience, along with strategic planning skills. Responsibilities include leading supplier strategies, managing cross-functional collaborations, and ensuring risk mitigation across the procurement lifecycle. This position offers competitive benefits and opportunities for professional growth.

Qualifications

• Must have at least 10 years of Supplier and Contract Management experience.
• Minimum 5-7 years of IT experience required.
• Experience in the financial services industry (banking) is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Manage IT portfolios of third-party suppliers to enhance service delivery.
• Ensure compliance with third-party risk and sourcing-related policies.
• Develop strategies with suppliers that deliver quantifiable benefits.

Skills

Procurement processes

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Strategic Planning

Supplier Management

Education

Relevant bachelor’s degree or equivalent NQF Level 6

Business Management or related post-graduate qualification

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft PowerPoint

Coupa

Job description

Woolworths Financial Services | Full time

WFS Head: IT Procurement

Cape Town, South Africa | Posted on 01/20/2026

Woolworths Financial Services, or WFS as it is better known, is a Joint Venture with Absa Bank, that supports the Woolworths retail business by providing in‑store credit in the form of the Woolworths StoreCard and offering value‑added services including credit cards, personal loans and short‑term insurance as well as life insurance linked to other products.

Main Purpose

The Head: IT Procurement is responsible for the active management of the IT portfolio of managed third‑party suppliers who provide high‑value, high‑risk, complex, and regulated services to WFS. The managed supplier portfolio could be delivering a range of IT products (hardware or software) or IT services (consulting, application development, infrastructure, etc.) across multiple business units and requires proficiency in IT technical skills.

A critical component of the role is to create and maintain strong relationships with both internal stakeholders and suppliers, ensuring seamless collaboration across the supply lifecycle. This includes mitigating risk by keeping all supplier assurance and due diligence activities current. The role also entails facilitating regular supplier service review meetings and tracking supplier performance against key performance indicators (KPIs) and service‑level agreements (SLAs). As the first point of contact for any escalations, this position ensures that timely and effective resolutions to supplier issues are addressed, fostering continuous improvement and alignment with business objectives.

As a highly visible commercial leader, the Head: IT Procurement will:

• Understand IT vendor spending by category and supplier profile.
• Conduct market research, benchmarks, and analysis required to extract or increase value.
• Build strong and trusted relationships with senior stakeholders within and outside the organisation.
• Leverage suitable tools and platforms, including Coupa and the Supplier Management SharePoint, to increase IT supplier portfolio visibility, improve cross‑functional collaboration and sharing of best practices.
• Monitor markets and strategic suppliers through a variety of sources, to gather insights and intelligence into potential risks and opportunities; to elevate issues and make recommendations to the Accountable Executive and Heads of function.
• Ensure ongoing management and review of contractual terms and conditions to preserve and optimise commercial value.
• Champion innovation and continuous improvement that will help drive the delivery of key strategic priorities.

The Head: IT Procurement owns and must understand the end‑to‑end contractual, commercial, and operational working relationships with IT suppliers to ensure that contractual commitments are delivered across the business unit and, where applicable, across the Absa Group. They may also hold an internal management role (where applicable) tasked with the leadership and development of junior resources.

The incumbent will be required to work in collaboration with the Sourcing supplier risk management team to focus on the uniform embedment of supplier management controls, assist in the development and execution of commercial solutions targeted to realise significant value for the business unit and the organisation, whilst creating alignment with the service, market, supplier and procurement strategies.

Key Responsibilities

Key Outputs

Supplier Strategies

Implement individual suppliers and IT supplier portfolio strategies through a combination of demand planning, strategic alignment, sourcing alignment, risk mitigation, and ongoing supplier management, which –

• Promotes supplier segmentation in order to focus on those relationships that are most critical in fostering collaborative partnerships for improved performance, risk mitigation, and innovation.
• Guides business on how they should interact with suppliers to maximise value and achieve mutual success.
• Directs the engagement approach and interactions with managed suppliers to achieve business goals.
• Reduces costs and improves efficiencies.

Commercial Delivery

• Lead the post‑contract development of the managed third‑party suppliers’ contract and commercial strategies.
• Encourage partnership with managed third‑party suppliers’ innovative and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Focus on demand management to promote the development of strategic partnerships and value release opportunities.
• Review business drivers and translate into value‑adding strategies to meet stakeholder requirements.
• Work with suppliers to develop strategies that deliver quantifiable benefits to the business.
• Assist with the delivery of targeted benefits to cover cost reduction, cost avoidance, quality, service, innovation, and revenue generation financial deliverables as agreed and must contribute to growth and strategy.
• Obtain and cascade relevant information and data analytics to conduct reviews that drive the improvement of business objectives.
• Review samples of paid invoices on an ongoing basis to ensure that the process of invoice validation is in place and operational.

Relationship Management

• Strategically plan and manage all interactions with managed IT third‑party supplier organisations to maximise the value of those interactions.
• Outline an annual activity plan to address the end‑to‑end supplier management processes.
• Compile and review an engagement model for each of the suppliers, including an escalation process.
• Act as an interface for the suppliers/performance partners to provide services to the business effectively in line with supply obligations.
• Assist Management in delivering alignment between business objectives and strategy with the specific supplier.
• Take part in cross‑functional sourcing activities relating to the managed supplier portfolio to promote adherence to the sourcing lifecycle processes for effective supplier management.
• Manage supply dependencies and interactions effectively up to senior level internally throughout the supply chain, with clients, colleagues, and with external suppliers.
• Manage matrix relationships across the IT‑related supplier portfolio to promote synergetic cross‑functional collaboration (as well as with JV partners).

Risk Management and Compliance

• Deliver compliance with the third‑party risk and sourcing‑related policies and standards.
• Ensure that periodic risk assessments and supplier reviews are conducted, as well as implement appropriate remedial actions on behalf of the Accountable Executive.
• Ensure ongoing review of and management of supplier risk controls, including concentration risk (and dependency on a single supplier) and other third‑party risks.
• Ensure that an annual Financial Stability assessment is performed with the assistance of the Sourcing Specialist and that any exceptions are escalated to the Accountable Executive for approval.
• Instruct and assist suppliers to adhere to Business Continuity Management (BCM) requirements.
• Ensure appropriate engagement of internal legal resources to meet business and sourcing requirements.
• Identify and escalated risks associated with service delivery, systems, product, and resource planning for timely resolution.
• Process data accurately for BU/supplier and ensure compliance with Records Management implemented processes.
• Understand and manage risks and risk events (incidents) relevant to the Role.
• Undertake mandatory proactive assurance and authentication of all procurement arrangements that are business critical, complex, multi‑year, high value, high risk, and material, including monitoring of procurement arrangements that require regulatory approval.
• Conduct control obligations assurance activities to ensure that all controls, processes, documentation and procedures are reviewed regularly and adhered to by the suppliers.

Contract Management

• Ensure that supplier contracts are drafted correctly in line with the third‑party risk and sourcing‑related policy and standards.
• Manage the contract for compliance with all obligations, including the supplier control obligations (SCOs).
• Direct the completion of the product/ service risk segmentation (assessment) periodically, where there is a material change to services or a new supplier to determine whether the contract requires a change of active supplier management.
• Ensure that supplier contracts comply with applicable regulatory requirements by ensuring their timely review on an annual basis in conjunction with the business area, sourcing, and the supplier.
• Ensure that managed suppliers’ contracts are renewed on time where applicable.

Performance / Service Delivery

• Ensure that supplier contracts include a properly defined scope of services and measures of performance, such as service levels, commercial structures, and payment methodologies.
• Schedule and participate in formal Supplier Relationship Management Reviews across all business needs, including cost management, development, technology road‑mapping, productivity, etc.
• Ensure that all managed supplier contracts are renewed on time.

Analysis and Reporting

• Produce accurate daily/weekly/monthly supplier and business performance reports/dashboards for submission to relevant stakeholders as per the business unit or supplier requirements.
• Document and store all evidence of supplier management activities and control requirements in a central supplier management repository/ShareFile.
• Participate in the Group supplier management community forums.

Requirements

Qualifications and Experience

Minimum

• Relevant bachelor’s degree or equivalent NQF Level 6.
• Business Management or related post‑graduate qualification.

Additional Minimum

• Experience in the financial services industry (banking).
• At least 10 years of Supplier and Contract Management experience.
• 5‑7 years IT experience.

Preferred

• Knowledge of IT commodities.
• Understanding of the end‑to‑end sourcing and post‑contract management process.
• Understanding of the terms and conditions of supply contracts, including GFAs, SFAs, VAs and FOOs.
• Ability to draft stakeholder correspondence.

Knowledge and Skills

• Excellent understanding of procurement processes, IT industry, and highly complex suppliers.
• Advanced analytical skills.
• Advanced business application skills (e.g., Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint) and supply chain modelling skills.
• Drive the embedment of supplier management toolsets and processes.
• Strategic Planning and Implementation.
• Facilitation of workshops and meetings.
• Advanced communication skills, including presentation and negotiation abilities.
• Detail‑oriented in all operations.
• Able to meet deadlines and communicate delays.
• A proactive thinker, anticipating the needs of all departments and suppliers.
• Able to identify and solve problems quickly and efficiently.
• Able to juggle and prioritise multiple tasks and projects daily.
• Comfortable working independently, but is also able to take direction as well.
• Ability to independently draft supplier‑related documentation.