Manager: IT Vendor and Software Asset Management at Discovery Limited

Job Purpose

• The Manager of IT vendor and software asset management performs contract management, performance management, relationship management and risk management with IT vendors. He or she owns and must understand contractual, commercial, and operational working relationships with vendors to ensure that contractual commitments are delivered across IT. They formulate and implement Software Asset Management policies, practices, and tools in order to optimally manage all software assets and licenses of the enterprise. Ensure that the software is always licensed optimally in order minimise legal and financial exposure to the organisation.

Areas of responsibility may include but not limited to

Process

IT Vendor Relationship Management

• Develop and lead the IT vendor management strategy, ensuring that IT vendors are delivering maximum value through their services.
• Classify, rationalize and optimize the vendor portfolio, and concentrate efforts on managing the most strategic vendors.
• Create procedures for contract, performance, relationship and risk management.
• Manage relationships with vendors for cost-effectiveness, build a main vendor repository to ensure effective contract management and vendor relationships.
• Perform overall contract operations oversight for performance management, which includes benchmarking and SLAs.
• Provide an issue escalation path and resolve vendor performance disputes.
• Maintain a calendar of important deliverables that each vendor must deliver to and ensure that these are carried out in time and of acceptable quality.
• Draft and manage on IT Budget together with Finance, Procurement, Executives, and any other relevant stakeholders.
• Receive, review and administer the authorization of IT related invoices, ensuring that IT vendors accounts are settled in-line with established guidelines within agreed timelines.
• Track and report actual spend against the contract and budget, to provide good financial control and summarise commercial performance.
• Ensure that a Contract Database is established, and appropriate tooling is evaluated, selected and implemented to aide in the automation of and maturing of the Vendor Management process.
• Ensure that a service level credit (penalty) process is in place, in conjunction with relevant stakeholders (Service Owner, Legal, Finance, Procurement etc.), as are a mechanism by which penalties are imposed on suppliers if actual supplier performance fails to meet the performance standards set in the service level agreements and contracts.
• Partake in the Release Management process to ensure that all new releases have an agreed service level and related contracts required for the operational success and compliance of the solution.
   

Software Asset Management

• Establish a software asset management framework and process.  
• Maintain a register of all licensed software that is procured and used across Discovery Bank. 
• Accurately track software deployment and licence usage across the enterprise (end user, server, network, storage, management, application etc.)
• Manage interactions with software vendors and ensure that all obligations are carried out on time and minimise any exposure to the organisation (anniversary dates, license renewal dates and obligations, license audits, true-up engagements etc.)
• Ensure that all licensed software in use in the business is adequately licensed and minimise financial and legal exposure to the business.
• Establish and lead an awareness regime on software license management and acceptable usage policies for software.
• Ensure that all technical teams are aware of their obligation of ensuring that only authorised software is used in the environment and are aware of the probable legal, contractual and financial implications of using unlicensed and unauthorised software.
• Ensure that a Software Asset Management toolset is evaluated, selected, and implemented to aide in the automation and maturing of the Vendor Management process.
• Partake in the Change and Release processes and ensure that changes and releases have considered their impact on software licensing prior to implementation.
   

IT Asset and Configuration Management

• Defining and owning the IT Asset and Configuration Management processes in line with ITIL and industry standard best practices.
• Defining and delivering the IT Asset and Configuration Management strategy including tooling proposition.
• Governing and ensuring compliance to the processes
• Identifying key risks associated to asset and configuration management and supporting the relevant service owner to resolve/mitigate accordingly.
• Stay abreast of trends in asset and configuration management including management, technologies, sourcing, policies, procedures, and other external changes that could have an impact on IT assets.
• Conduct routine audits on CMDB and actual environment to ensure accuracy.
   

Leadership

• Use quality monitoring data management systems to compile and track performance at team and individual level. Provides actionable data to various internal support groups as needed.
• Establish the right organizational structure and provide for staff development.
• Work with internal colleagues to ensure they have the appropriate information and knowledge at hand to be successful in what they do.
• Direct, control, coordinate & optimise resources to meet established objectives & deliver agreed results within the defined functional areas.
• Provide periodic reports on performance against plan & progress on medium-term initiatives & use to realign operating plan and objectives appropriately.
• Use insights & knowledge gained from high level reports to conduct abstract, conceptual & comparative analysis to define functional strategy.
• Proactively identify interconnected problems, develop and model alternative solutions as well as contingency plans to resolve value chain conflicts.
• Continuously identify areas of improvement that will enhance efficiency.
   

GOVERNANCE

• Ensure the consolidation of the risk profile for the area of accountability, manage critical risks and ensure feedback integration.

PEOPLE

• Communicate strategic context that guide best practice, foster an environment of continuous learning and improved employee engagement levels.

FINANCE

• Implement effective financial control, management of costs and corporate governance in area of accountability.

CLIENT

• Define and influence relationships and service level agreements made with internal and external stakeholders.
• Build and maintain relationships with stakeholders to ensure integrated approaches in pursuit of collective goals.
   

Personal Attributes and Skills

• Expert knowledge of IT vendor or supplier relationship management processes, practices, and techniques,
• Expert knowledge of complex software licensing models of major software manufacturers e.g., SAP, Microsoft, BMC, etc.
• Knowledge of Customer Service Techniques,
• Knowledge of ICT Environment,
• Strong knowledge of IT Service Management processes (Incident, Change, Release, Software Asset Management, etc.) as well as experience with Discovery tools
• Ability to engage at all levels of seniority (including Executive Management)
• Decisiveness and Influencing Others
• Effective Business Communication
• Functional Policies and Procedures
• Managerial Budgeting
• Planning, Management and Measurement
• Strategic Planning and Reporting
• Ability to carry out assigned tasks independently with little supervision
• Excellent at performing multiple tasks at the same time without erring
   

Education and Experience

• Relevant Tertiary Qualification
• With at least 8 years’ experience, of which 3 to 4 years at management or supervisory level
• Five years plus experience working with a CMDB and the specific business services that it supports
• Five years or more ITSM tool experience, ServiceNow experience will be advantageous.
• IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) certification
• Software Asset Management certification
• Proven experience on managing SAM and Contracts in an enterprise environment.