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Airbus Aircraft · 3 days ago

Digital NA Strategic Sourcing and Vendor Performance Manager

Herndon, VA

Full-time

Onsite

Senior Level, Lead/Staff

10+ years exp

Airbus is committed to providing reasonable accommodations as an Equal Opportunity Employer. The Digital NA Strategic Sourcing and Vendor Performance Manager is responsible for owning the strategy, performance, and regional harmonization of the digital vendor ecosystem for Digital North America, acting as the primary Digital business partner to the North American Procurement team.

Aviation & Aerospace

No H1B

Responsibilities

Serve as the lead Digital-side authority for North America on all global vendor agreements and Digital-related procurement policies, as well as software asset management (SAM) principles

Liaise directly with Central Digital Governance and Procurement teams to maintain a deep understanding of the portfolio of existing Master Service Agreements (MSAs) and preferred supplier lists

Drive the harmonization of all North American Digital contracts. Proactively review new and existing regional agreements to ensure they are executed as SOWs or Service Orders under the established European global contracts wherever possible

Lead MFT teams to provide regional technical and business requirements in collaboration with back to European teams to influence future global contract negotiations, ensuring North American needs are met

Lead the regional management of software licensing (e.g., perpetual, subscription, Enterprise License Agreements - ELAs) to identify consolidation opportunities and ensure compliance with global SAM policies

Lead analysis of Digital licence and supplier spend data to identify opportunities for consolidation, cost reduction, and process improvements

Spearhead commercial and contractual negotiations with key digital suppliers. Secure best-in-class terms focusing on scalability, innovation, risk mitigation, and long-term value, not just initial cost

Collaborate with Legal and Digital Security to ensure all regional agreements adhere to global standards for data privacy, liability, and information security as well as Export Control and ITAR regulations

Act as the primary IT subject matter expert and strategic partner to the North American Procurement team

Translate the Airbus Digital North America technical roadmap (e.g., Cloud, AI, Data, software) into a forward-looking vendor strategy

Drive efforts for technical requirements, scopes of work (SOWs), and critical Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for new Digital initiatives

Collaborate with the NA Procurement team, who will lead the commercial RFPs and negotiation process. This role will own the technical evaluation of supplier proposals, assessing them for architectural fit, technical merit, and long-term value

Provide the final IT recommendation for supplier selection to Procurement and business stakeholders

Own the post-contract supplier relationship from a Digital operations and performance perspective

Drive value, mitigate risks, optimize total cost of ownership (TCO), and ensure that our Digital vendor partnerships align with the company's strategic and technological objectives

Establish and manage a formal Vendor Performance Management (VPM) program, in addition to monitoring software license utilization, consumption, and audit compliance

Define, track, and report on vendor scorecards, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and adherence to contractual SLAs, ensuring suppliers meet both service and software compliance obligations

Develop and maintain dashboards to track and report on key metrics, including cost savings, spend under management, and vendor performance

Lead and chair Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) focusing on technical performance, service delivery, risk management, software asset optimization, and innovation

Act as the primary Digital escalation point for vendor performance issues, driving suppliers toward root cause analysis, corrective action plans, and continuous improvement

Other Duties As Assigned

Qualification

Software Asset Management (SAM)Digital Vendor ManagementData AnalyticsCloud TechnologiesCybersecurityIT Service Management (ITSM)Technical Documentation AnalysisVendor Performance ManagementProject ManagementAnalytical MindsetStakeholder ManagementBilingual FrenchBilingual EnglishStrategic ThinkingCommunicationCustomer Oriented Mindset

Required

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Business Administration, or a related field

Minimum of 10+ years of experience in an IT environment, with at least 5+ years focused on IT Service Management (ITSM), performance analysis, or process improvement

Minimum of 8-10 years in a senior IT role such as IT Vendor Management, IT Strategy, Software Asset Management (SAM), or Technical Program Management

Demonstrable experience managing relationships and performance for major enterprise software suppliers (e.g., Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, Siemens, Dassault Systèmes) as well as key digital/cloud providers (AWS, Google, etc.)

Proven experience working in a large, global, matrixed organization, with specific experience collaborating with European headquarters or business units

Analytical Mindset: Exceptional analytical, quantitative, and problem-solving skills with a keen attention to detail

Strategic Thinking: Ability to see the bigger picture and connect IT performance metrics to strategic business outcomes

Experience in large scale, high risk, or strategic project sourcing, with a background in a procurement environment in a large global enterprise

Demonstrated experience in managing issues, scope and quality while bringing projects to successful completion within the cost and time requirements

Cost conscious and cost reduction / optimization mindset

Knowledge of Business Case Analysis & Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Approach

Excellent “maneuvering' skills in a demanding, multi-functional and multinational environment

Excellent Communication Bilingual (spoken and written) in French, English and Networking skills are essential and a strong ability to influence

Customer oriented mindset, adaptive

Understanding of complex enterprise software licensing models (ELA, subscription, consumption-based, perpetual) and SAM principles

Technical knowledge of modern IT stacks (Cloud, SaaS, PaaS, AI, Data)

Strong understanding of IT contract structures, SLAs, SOWs, and software audit processes

Ability to partner effectively with technical (Architects, Engineers) and non-technical (Procurement, Legal, Finance) teams

Excellent stakeholder management abilities

Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to present complex technical and data-driven topics to non-technical and executive audiences

Influence & Collaboration: Proven ability to lead through influence, build consensus, and work collaboratively across diverse teams and leadership levels

Facilitation: Strong facilitation skills to lead productive meetings and workshops aimed at problem-solving and decision-making

Data Analysis & Visualization: Expertise in data analysis and reporting tools like Qlik Sense, Google Studio, Tableau

Technology ecosystem understanding: must grasp how various IT components-hardware, software, and services-interact and integrate within the company's overall technology framework

Knowledge of IT categories: understanding of a wide range of technology categories, including: Software (enterprise applications, SaaS, etc.), Hardware (servers, networking equipment, user devices), Telecommunications, Data centers and cloud services

IT infrastructure concepts: Familiarity with IT infrastructure principles, such as network architecture, security protocols, and data storage, enables them to evaluate vendor solutions on a technical level

Technical documentation analysis: The ability to read and comprehend technical specifications is vital for comparing different products and ensuring they meet internal requirements