Senior Technology Sourcing Manager, SaaS Category

Summary

The Technology Category Sourcing Manager will be responsible for the procurement and category strategy around a range of technology-related products to enable GWRE internal functions and the build/support of customer facing products. This role involves working closely with various business functions and regions to ensure efficient sourcing strategies and negotiation techniques are utilized on high value strategic contracts. Candidates are expected to achieve cost-effective, risk mitigated contracts with Guidewire’s top suppliers while managing the commercial aspects of the strategic relationships.

The ideal candidate will have a strong background in strategic sourcing within the technology category/sector, negotiations, contract management, and supplier and business relationship management.

• Manage, review, and negotiate a portfolio of technology contracts, focusing on software, cloud infrastructure, AI, and any associated professional/consulting services.
• Apply strategic sourcing best practices and category insights to negotiate and execute contracts.
• Conduct complex technology sourcing events (RFXs) to determine optimal suppliers and solutions for business stakeholders through objective evaluation.
• Experience managing contracts, negotiations, and executive readouts for mid to large size deals.

• Use and improve standard contracting templates and language to ensure compliance with company standards and Legal stakeholders.
• Manage the lifecycle of key supplier contracts, ensuring risk mitigation and value creation.
• Ability to independently review and redline commercial terms, flag risks, business terms and SLAs. Obtain business, legal and other relevant input to mutually resolve with Guidewire’s best interest.

• Build and maintain relationships with a range of business requesters/stakeholders across functions and regions including executive leadership within Guidewire.
• Manage assigned supplier relationships and associated risks throughout their lifecycle.
• Apply supplier performance assessment programs to track trends and identify areas for improvement with strategic supplier partnerships.

• Implement and execute category strategies and plans.
• Identify and deliver new opportunities for value creation, cost reduction, cost avoidance, risk reduction and supplier relationships.
• Co-Develop category strategies, plans, and benchmarks that align with company objectives and maximize category spend and value with the Technology Category & Procurement Leadership.

• Utilize data analytics tools and procurement software to analyze procurement data, identify trends, and generate reports that provide actionable insights for decision-making.
• Partner with stakeholders on scenario analysis for usage based contracts to provide a data driven approach to forecasting and contract execution.
• Use Zip, Zylo, Coupa, Google, Slack and relevant AI technologies to collaborate and efficiently execute job related tasks.

• Collaborate with stakeholders to identify, develop, and implement best practices, standardized procedures, and process improvements across procurement activities with emphasis on leveraging AI and automation.
• Take ownership for team initiatives that further align processes, data, and technology to procurement strategy to achieve future state capabilities and related outcomes.
• Provide input to training and procurement best practices documentation for the team, approvers and requestors.
• Contribute to playbooks with standardized tools and templates, and knowledge collateral.

• Monitor and enforce procurement policies, procedures, and compliance with relevant regulations and standards. Escalate areas of concern before they become company risks.
• Collaborate with legal and other business stakeholders to align on strategic compliance and risk management actions.

At Guidewire, we foster a culture of curiosity, innovation, and responsible use of AI—empowering our teams to continuously leverage emerging technologies and data-driven…