Head of IT Vendor and Procurement Management

The Head of IT Vendor and Procurement Management is accountable for establishing and leading the enterprise capability that governs how IT vendors are selected, onboarded, managed, measured, renewed, exited and commercially optimised across Dis-Chem. Reporting to the Group CIO, this role ensures that technology sourcing, vendor performance, contract governance, procurement execution and commercial decision-making are aligned to business outcomes, enterprise architecture, security requirements, risk appetite, financial discipline and Group Procurement policies.

The role acts as the single point of accountability within IT for vendor lifecycle management, IT procurement governance, technology sourcing discipline, commercial performance and vendor value realisation. It partners closely with IT Infra and Ops, Legal, Finance, Enterprise Architecture, Security, Risk, platform heads and business stakeholders to ensure IT sourcing decisions are transparent, compliant, commercially sound and strategically aligned.

This role ensures that vendor relationships are managed as strategic assets rather than transactional purchasing events. It creates visibility of technology spend, vendor performance, contract obligations, commercial risk, renewal exposure, third-party dependencies and value delivery across the IT portfolio.

Responsibilities Vendor strategy and lifecycle management

• Define and lead the IT vendor management strategy, operating model, standards and governance practices across the CIO organisation.
• Segment vendors by strategic importance, business criticality, spend, risk, operational dependency and innovation potential.
• Establish clear vendor lifecycle practices covering vendor selection, due diligence, onboarding, relationship management, performance management, renewal, rationalisation, transition and exit.
• Maintain visibility of strategic vendors, preferred suppliers, tactical vendors and high-risk vendor dependencies.
• Ensure vendor strategies are aligned to Dis-Chem’s enterprise architecture direction, platform roadmaps, security requirements, commercial priorities and operating-model principles.

Vendor performance and relationship governance

• Establish and manage vendor performance frameworks, including SLAs, KPIs, service credits, scorecards, governance forums, QBRs and escalation paths.
• Ensure strategic vendors are managed through clear governance cadences with documented performance outcomes, issues, risks, decisions and improvement actions.
• Monitor vendor delivery, service quality, responsiveness, contractual adherence, value contribution and stakeholder satisfaction.
• Drive corrective action where vendors underperform against contractual, service, delivery, security or commercial commitments.
• Act as the senior IT escalation point for vendor performance, relationship, commercial and contractual issues.

IT procurement and sourcing governance

• Lead IT procurement and sourcing activities in partnership ensuring compliance with procurement policy, governance standards and regulatory requirements.
• Plan and execute IT sourcing processes, including RFIs, RFPs, tenders, market scans, proposal evaluations and commercial negotiations.
• Ensure sourcing strategies are informed by prioritised demand, platform roadmaps, enterprise architecture, security standards, business value, total cost of ownership and vendor market capability.
• Coordinate evaluation of vendor proposals, balancing cost, capability, risk, delivery confidence, strategic fit and long-term value.
• Prevent shadow procurement and fragmented vendor engagement by enforcing clear decision rights, process discipline and procurement governance.

Contract and commercial management

• Lead commercial negotiation for IT contracts, renewals, extensions,…