For our newly established sourcing unit, we are seeking a Head of Procurement at Swiss Life Asset Managers who will additionally act as Senior Category Manager IT Services. In this key leadership role, you will build and lead the procurement / sourcing function as a central function for IT and business services procurement, driving cross-entity sourcing and category strategies. You will manage end-to-end sourcing processes, negotiations, and supplier relationships, while partnering closely with IT, Finance, Legal, Risk, IT Security, Data Protection and Compliance. At the same time, you will shape and establish a modern sourcing organization, defining professional, sustainable, and value-driven sourcing standards across the entire IT and Non-IT portfolio. You will also lead a distributed team, including nearshore resources, and act as a trusted advisor to senior management on complex sourcing and outsourcing decisions.

Responsibilities


Experience

Benefits

Head of Procurement – IT Category Management (m/f/d)

Zürich

Full time

For our newly established sourcing unit, we are seeking a Head of Procurement at Swiss Life Asset Managers who will additionally act as Senior Category Manager IT Services.
In this key leadership role, you will build and lead the procurement / sourcing function as a central function for IT and business services procurement, driving cross-entity sourcing and category strategies. You will manage end-to-end sourcing processes, negotiations, and supplier relationships, while partnering closely with IT, Finance, Legal, Risk, IT Security, Data Protection and Compliance.
At the same time, you will shape and establish a modern sourcing organization, defining professional, sustainable, and value-driven sourcing standards across the entire IT and Non-IT portfolio. You will also lead a distributed team, including nearshore resources, and act as a trusted advisor to senior management on complex sourcing and outsourcing decisions.

Responsibilities

  • Function Leadership & Team Management
  • Lead and develop the strategic and operational sourcing function, including distributed onshore and nearshore team members
  • Build Strategic Sourcing as a central function for IT and business related sourcing, driving cross-entity alignment, governance standards and category strategies
  • Develop, implement, and monitor category strategies across IT and Non-IT categories
  • Drive the professionalization and continuous improvement of sourcing processes, tools, reporting and service delivery
  • Ensure consistent application of sourcing standards, category strategies and governance requirements across entities and teams

  • IT Category Management & Strategic Sourcing
  • Own and further develop category strategies for IT, IT Services, software, cloud/SaaS, infrastructure and related business or non-IT spend areas where assigned
  • Act as Senior IT Category Manager, shaping vendor strategy for IT Services and driving sustainable value creation, risk mitigation and supplier performance
  • Lead end-to-end sourcing processes, including market analysis, tenders, negotiations, supplier selection, supplier relationships for strategic and complex engagements
  • Oversee and continuously improve procurement services, including sourcing pipeline transparency, saving tracking and value reporting
  • Drive the professionalization and optimization of procurement processes, with a strong focus on IT integration, supplier management, and compliance requirements
  • Establish and develop a systematic supplier management framework, including performance management and long-term partnership development
  • Collaborate closely with project managers and business stakeholders to successfully deliver complex sourcing and outsourcing initiatives
  • Monitor market and technology trends and advise senior management, particularly in IT, on complex make-or-buy scenarios
  • Ensure alignment with regulatory requirements, TPRM standards, and governance functions (Legal, Risk, Compliance, Data Protection, IT Security)
  • Promote innovative sourcing solutions that contribute to long-term business success

Experience

  • University degree in Business Administration, Business Informatics, Law, or a comparable qualification
  • 5+ years of experience in strategic sourcing and procurement leadership, ideally within the financial services industry
  • Proven people leadership experience, including managing international and distributed onshore/nearshore teams
  • Proven track record of building, maturing or leading strategic sourcing and category management functions
  • Strong business orientation with the ability to link sourcing strategies to organizational value creation
  • Deep understanding of IT categories, including IT Services, software, cloud/SaaS infrastructure and managed services ecosystems
  • Good working knowledge of contract structures, legal frameworks, and standard contractual terminology; able to coordinate effectively with Legal, Risk, Compliance, Data Protection, IT Security and TPRM functions
  • Excellent communication and negotiation skills with a confident and professional presence when engaging senior management, business stakeholders, and suppliers

Only direct applications will be considered for this vacancy and we do not accept dossiers from recruitment agencies.

Benefits

Working conditions

Working conditions Our employees are our most valuable asset. At Swiss Life Asset Managers, we place particular emphasis on compensating them fairly and in line with the market. In addition to the basic salary, compensation consists of a bonus based on the company's success and personal performance. Full-time employees are entitled to at least 25 days off per year. We celebrate service anniversaries every five years.

Remote Working from Abroad

Remote Working from Abroad With our Remote Working from Abroad offering, we enable our employees to work from Abroad for a specific number of days per year

Grow with us

Grow with us For us, all employees are talents whom we want to promote in the best possible way. With this aim in mind, we have founded our own AM Academy, through which we provide our employees with a broad range of training opportunities. We also support them with external training and development.

Family

Family At Swiss Life Asset Managers we want to meet the needs of young families. We therefore offer female employees six months' maternity leave, of which at least 16 weeks are on full pay. Male employees can take three weeks' paternity leave. We recognise the value of caring and offer a wide range of childcare and family support services.

Flexibility

Flexibility We address the individual needs of our employees and aim to create optimal framework conditions. Employees of Swiss Life Asset Managers can work with their manager to determine the right working model for them (e.g. flexible working hours, mobile office, time-out models).

Health & wellbeing

Health & wellbeing The health and wellbeing of our employees is particularly important to us. To this end, we offer a sports club in Switzerland with an attractive offer. Our canteen in the main building offers fresh and balanced meals every day. Social Care Consulting offers confidential and personal support in the event of restrictions due to operational, health, personal or financial issues.

Discounts

Discounts Working at Swiss Life Asset Managers has many advantages. We offer our employees attractive discounts in the following areas: Swiss Life investment products; mortgages and financial planning; conditions for venturers; public transport; Reka cheques and meals allowances.

Pension and social benefits

Pension and social benefits We are there for our employees – in any case. We offer above-average benefits in the event of accident and illness. We also guarantee a discount of 65% on the premium contribution for pillar 3 life insurance and pay an average of 70% employer's contributions to the pension fund (savings and risk contributions).

Benefits

Contact

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Our Location

Zürich

Swiss Life Asset Managers

We are a leading European asset manager and institutional real estate asset manager with multiple locations in Europe.

With a strong client focus, here at Swiss Life Asset Managers, success is driven by expecting the unexpected, prioritising sustainability and inclusion, fully investing in our jobs and people, and being on the lookout for new business opportunities – all since 1857.

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