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Blue Shield of California · 1 month ago

Sourcing Specialist, Principal - Information Technology and Health Solutions

California, United States

Full-time

Hybrid

Lead/Staff

10+ years exp

Blue Shield of California is seeking a Sourcing Specialist Principal to join their Global Business Services team. In this role, you will provide sourcing strategy and advice to support operational business initiatives while leading complex sourcing initiatives and negotiations for technology and product deals.

Financial ServicesHealth InsuranceNon Profit

Responsibilities

Be responsible for the overall prioritization, quality and delivery of strategic sourcing initiatives to support Blue Shield’s and Care1st’s culture of affordability

Act as a trusted advisor and provide leadership through sourcing strategy advice and consultation to best achieve the business strategy and culture of affordability objectives

Provide guidance to Business partners and seek alignment to influence spend and cost savings/total cost of ownership through supplier rationalization and driving economies of scale

Be a liaison with business users and SMEs to understand requirements and priorities of the field, provide input for requirements to ensure upon business model

Validate key inputs and assumptions built into quantitative and qualitative analysis and/or financial models

Lead, structure and guide Business partners on complex sourcing initiatives

Contribute to the analysis of complex situations, identify risks and contribute to the development of risk mitigation ideas

Ensure sourcing principles and best practices are incorporated into the initiatives

Present status, track process implementation results and issue identification/resolution effectively to management

Remain informed and engaged throughout project lifecycle

Lead end‑to‑end contracting for complex technology and product deals (often $5M–$100M+), including MSAs/CSAs, Order Forms, SOWs, Amendments, Change Orders, and negotiation playbooks; drive best‑value outcomes across price, risk, service levels, and innovation

Own negotiation strategy: develop BATNAs, should‑cost/TCO models, and multi‑round RFx/auction strategies; run competitive events and down‑selects with clear decision frameworks

Structure commercial models that balance agility and control (e.g., output‑/outcome‑based pricing, ramp/elastic capacity, milestone & acceptance, indexed rate cards, usage tiers, EDPs, reservations/commit models for cloud)

Partner with Legal, Privacy, Security, Finance, Risk, Compliance, and IT to close issues quickly (IP/data rights, privacy & data protection, security schedules, regulatory addenda, BAAs/DPAs, service levels/credits, termination/transition assistance, subcontracting, open‑source/SBOM, audit/controls)

Guide stakeholders through intake to signature: ensure complete business requirements, strong SOWs, and adherence to required pre‑approvals and documentation

Reduce cycle time and risk by applying standard templates, clause libraries, and redline best practices; escalate and resolve blockers rapidly

Qualification

Strategic sourcingContract negotiationSupplier relationship managementAnalytical skillsProblem-solving skillsProject management

Required

Requires a minimum of 10 years of prior relevant experience in strategic sourcing/contracting

Requires a minimum of 7 years negotiating technology agreements (SaaS, data services, managed services/outsourcing, healthcare services) with direct ownership of deals in the multi‑million‑dollar range

Requires mastery level knowledge of Sourcing/Supplier Relationship Management area typically obtained through advanced education combined with experience. May have deep knowledge of project management

Requires excellent analytical and problem-solving skills