Principal Specialist – Technology Sourcing Lead

Job Summary

The Principal Specialist – Technology Sourcing & Financial Governance plays a strategic and operational leadership role within the Technology Division. This role is responsible for managing the end-to-end sourcing lifecycle, overseeing the technology budget, and driving cost optimization. The role also ensures financial accuracy, vendor performance, and full compliance with procurement and audit policies. This individual acts as a bridge between Finance, Procurement, and IT stakeholders to ensure fiscal discipline and timely delivery of sourcing needs.

Key Areas of Responsibilities

1. Strategic Sourcing and Financial Management (50%)

• Lead the annual technology budgeting cycle, driving year-over-year improvements in accuracy and accountability.

• Identify cost-saving opportunities, cost avoidance strategies, and enhance financial discipline across the Technology Division.

• Collaborate with IT managers to align technology stack lifecycle planning with financial projections.

• Perform financial forecasting, variance analysis between budget and actuals, investigating discrepancies and implementing corrective actions and develop mechanisms to monitor spending trends and KPIs.

• Drive strategic procurement planning, including contract renewal timelines and procurement pipeline forecasting.

• Partner with Finance to ensure proper accounting code usage, compliance with financial standards, and zero audit findings.

• Provide insights and recommendations to optimize IT spend and improve long-term budget predictability.

• Enhance financial reporting dashboards for real-time visibility into spending trends

2. Sourcing Operations & Compliance (50%)

• Oversee daily operations for procurement, PO issuance, invoice tracking, payment processing, and resolving budget-related issues promptly.

• Ensure complete compliance with procurement policies and finance practices with zero tolerance for audit deviations.

• Maintain accurate tracking of vendor contracts, license agreements, renewals, and service levels.

• Monitor vendor adherence to SLAs, conduct performance reviews with IT stakeholders and Procurement, and recommend blacklisting where necessary.

Manage contract renewals proactively to avoid service disruptions and negotiate commercial terms tactfully to achieve optimal value without compromising delivery timelines or quality.

• Maintain organized sourcing records and procurement documentation to support transparent audit trails.

• Continuously enhance sourcing processes and automate routine operations to increase team efficiency.

3. Team Leadership

• Manage and coach a team of 2 to 3 sourcing professionals.

• Promote a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and cross-functional collaboration.

• Train and guide the team on best practices in IT procurement, cost control, and policy compliance.

Qualifications

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in information technology, Finance, Business Administration, or equivalent.

• 5–10 years of experience in a technology-intensive organization, preferably in the financial services sector.

• Expertise in technology procurement, vendor management, and financial planning.

• Strong understanding of IT operations, infrastructure, security, and lifecycle management.

• Proven track record in budgeting, cost control, and vendor negotiations.

Technical Skills

• Advanced skills in Excel and familiarity with procurement tools (e.g., SAP, Coupa, Ariba).

• Proficient in cost modeling, financial dashboards, and spend analysis.

• Deep knowledge of procurement governance, contract law, and audit compliance requirements.

• Commercial sensitivity and insight, strong communication and negotiation ability, can promote mutual agreement and mutual benefit.

• Strong project management ability and method, excellent organization and coordination ability, and excellent project / initiative delivery.

Soft Skills:

• Excellent negotiation, communication, and stakeholder management skills.

• Strategic thinker with strong problem-solving and analytical abilities.

• High level of integrity, attention to detail, and organizational discipline.

• Fluency in English is required; other languages are a plus.