Senior Software Buyer

Overview Passionate about tech and negotiations? Lead strategic software sourcing, drive vendor relationships, and shape innovative IT solutions in a global environment. If you thrive in complex negotiations and want to make an impact, join us About AXA As a world-leading insurance company, we act for human progress by protecting what matters. With 153,000 employees in 54 countries working for 105 million customers, we’ve created a truly dynamic and vibrant community. Inclusion and diversity link closely with our values, and together we’re nurturing a culture of respect, for each other, for our customers and the communities around us. Join AXA and you’ll feel like you belong, are included and can thrive. You’ll be able to shape the way you work and truly grow your potential as you seek out new opportunities, push boundaries and benefit people in critical moments of their lives. This is your chance to build the tomorrow you want. Know you can. About the entity AXA is becoming a sustainable tech‑led company and at AXA Group Operations we are one of the major catalysts for this transformation. We set the tone by triggering and empowering the evolution of our insurance business model through technology and innovation, driving its concrete implementation globally at speed, with a high quality of advisory and execution. We are present across 17 countries with committed, highly qualified teams. We leverage technology, data, sourcing, security and investment allocation in a global way, but also achieve economies of scale and synergies when necessary. At AXA Group Operations, we want to be recognized in three fields of action: State‑of‑the‑art Data Technology to drive customer experience State‑of‑the‑art Procurement & Sourcing to drive efficiency and better manage risks High‑Performing Global Team for stronger partnerships with AXA entities Where will you be in the organization? You will join the Group Procurement & Sourcing division. Our mission is to increase AXA Group competitiveness by optimizing the end‑to‑end Procurement cycle of external spend (excluding Insurance procurement), while building a high performance and risk‑managed supplier base. We have a global and entity Procurement presence with two different mandates. The division As Group, we: Leverage our purchasing power through global deals & key supplier relationship management Define & share vendor risk framework & outsourcing policies Provide and manage global Procurement tools Drive responsible Procurement across AXA Engage the Procurement community As Group Operations (GO) support function, we: Optimize the external spend by managing categories and suppliers, and challenging the demand to support AXA GO strategy Implement vendor risk framework and policies at AXA GO Develop and use local & global Procurement tools Develop responsible Procurement at AXA GO The department / team The Software Category Team is made of 7 senior people located in France, specialized in software purchase and who also manage the global relationship with certain key software vendors. About the job As a Senior Software Buyer, your main objectives are: Set the strategy for software contracts in partnership with internal stakeholders (IT, Product Owners, Chapter, etc.) and the Sourcing Business Partners; challenge business needs, market trends and risks; deliver benefits in cost, innovation and service support; anticipate key contract renewals. Challenge the needs in a constructive dialogue with internal requesters and the Sourcing Business Partner. Define the negotiation strategy and drive it while involving internal stakeholders including AXA Senior Executive. Link with the community of software Buyers; ensure proper links with the Opco procurement team to develop transparency and support local projects. Ensure constant market knowledge and vendor trends, detect disruption and mitigate risks. Main responsibilities Ensure upstream procurement involvement within IT stakeholders via Sourcing Business Partners or through the network of AXA Companies buyers to deliver value, save costs and minimize risk exposure. Proactively manage contract lifecycle: renegotiation, alternative solutions, compliance etc. Challenge needs and have a dialog with business areas to set the right conditions to optimise benefits. Gather needs across AXA Services and AXA Group for massification to get best deals for the AXA Group. Define negotiation strategy with internal stakeholders and involve AXA Executives. Drive contractual negotiations with vendors and internal stakeholders (Legal, Compliance, Data Privacy, Security, Resilience). Support/personal advise for other AXA Company buyers in pull mode. Provide the Procurement network group‑wide with key information about negotiated deals and promote these deals for company adherence. Drive the development of new market opportunities (new suppliers, technologies, substitution products etc.) to create healthy competition. Lead Vendor Management at global level or local AXA services level; align with Vendor Management framework and organize executive review meetings. Collaborate with the CESAME team to capture risks in pricing models and deployment and build compliance. Support CESAME in case of audit to mitigate and negotiate. Participate in the elaboration of the strategy for the SW Category, involving internal stakeholders and Sourcing Business Partners. Propose and implement levers for reducing or avoiding costs through vendor competition. Actively support the IT community in their everyday transformation. Expected skills & experience We are looking for someone with the following experience and skills. Experience Master Degree in Procurement or MBA level Significant experience (>10 years) in IT Procurement with at least 3‑5 years in software negotiations Exposure to large, multi‑country company Technical skills Negotiation skills, including with monopolistic‑like vendors Ability to design / articulate negotiation strategies Broad understanding of IT evolution especially on software (move from on‑premise to SaaS, cloud computing impacts licenses etc.) Deep knowledge of software pricing models (software metrics, SLA for SaaS solutions) Knowledge of key software contractual clauses and stakes Awareness of Software Asset Management and deployment English – Fluent speaking and writing; another European language is a plus Soft skills / transversal skills Good communication and teamwork to work in agile mode and across IT experts community Excellent collaboration Strong colleagues/internal customers & business focus, result orientation Creative mindset to innovate and challenge to deliver competitive deals Ability to work with leadership team on top of overall IT community Ability to work in constant international environment What we offer We bring together the expertise, cultural diversity and creativity of over 8,000 employees worldwide and we’re committed to equal opportunities in all aspects of employment (gender, LGBT+, disabled persons, or people of different origins) and to promoting Diversity & Inclusion by creating a work environment where all employees are treated with dignity and respect, and where individual differences are valued. #J-18808-Ljbffr