At Principal, we invest in what matters. And building talented teams is where it all begins. We’re drawn to people who bring unique perspectives, passion, and expertise to help us advance the financial security and well-being of our customers, transform our growing business, and drive positive change in the communities where we live and work.

When we invest in you, and you invest in us, great things happen.

About the role

We are seeking a motivated self-starter with IT category expertise and global experience, with comfort operating in ambiguous and differing environments to drive global solutions forward. The focus will be on working with local and international  groups of stakeholders in various APAC locations to drive optimization in procurement strategies for new supplier relationship as well as optimizing  current contracts in place through bidding facilitation and re-negotiation of existing contracts. You should bring a can-do attitude, along with a strategic mindset to the role. You will need to develop relationships and partner with business leadership and category leadership to inform and drive the approach for future state. You will also partner closely with cross functional teams to drive additional visibility, enable process standardization, and create ongoing efficiency in future state processes.

As a Manager, Strategic Sourcing you'll help us transform the way our teams deliver value to our business partners. We are seeking highly motivated professionals who can encourage innovative solutions that bring value to the enterprise. You will work closely with key stakeholders to develop effective negotiation and cost reduction strategies, through dynamic requirements that are tied to strategic level business objectives.

Job Responsibilities

Category Management

• Coach and influence internal and external leaders and teams to promote best practices in category management and achieve business results.
• Formulate and execute robust category strategies for IT and investment operations related sourcing to align with business objectives as well as enterprise category strategies.
• Define and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) for category performance and supplier effectiveness.
• Work to drive TCO analysis, and category strategy evaluations for local, regional, and global enterprise solutions from information technology, to consulting, to investment operations related spend.
• Work with various teams around the enterprise to develop and document processes and approaches for various global requests across multiple categories.

Sourcing and Supplier Management

• Lead supply & demand planning, RFx, supplier selection, contract review and negotiation.
• Put in place master service agreements and local statements of work for global, regional and local suppliers.
• Collaborate with internal leaders to develop procurement requirements. Direct and execute on all aspects of strategic sourcing for medium-to-high complexity (dollar and risk) third-party needs, through negotiation of a variety of agreements.
• Support teams from around Asia Pacific with sourcing and supplier management expertise, connection to enterprise teams, and consulting on various requests.
• Establish and manage long-term strategic relationships with key suppliers to secure favorable terms and high-quality service.
• Develop and implement supplier performance management programs to drive continuous improvement and innovation.

Value Optimization

• Leverage internal data and market intelligence to inform new and innovative approaches to assessing spend and driving expense reductions.
• Conduct spend analysis to identify trends, anomalies, and opportunities for consolidation and cost reduction, regionally and globally.

Risk Management / Compliance

• Assess and mitigate risks associated with supplier performance, market volatility, and geopolitical factors.
• Ensure compliance with company policies, legal requirements, and ethical standards in all procurement activities.
• Support audit, compliance, and risk management efforts.
• Facilitate conversations with information security, risk, compliance, and other stakeholders to ensure global solutions are meeting both local and global requirements.

• Ability to provide prompt, courteous and excellent service at an acceptable cost to all customers; operate in an ethical manner in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations, the company's Corporate Code of Ethics, employee handbook, applicable compliance and operations policies and procedures, and other policies of the company. Possess a high degree of integrity and actively cooperate and interact with all entities of the Principal Financial Group.
• Bachelor’s degree in business, Supply Chain Management, Finance, or a related field/discipline. Professional certification (e.g., CIPS, CPSM) is an added advantage.
• Minimum 7 years of end-to-end strategic sourcing experience within the IT and/or investment operations related categories, with a proven track record of successful procurement initiatives. Good expertise in category management, strategic sourcing, and supplier lifecycle management.
• Experience in the Southeast Asia (SEA) region and relevant experience in the Financial Services industry are an added advantage.
• Proficient in procurement software and tools (e.g. Coupa, SAP Ariba, Oracle etc) and solid working knowledge with Microsoft Office tools are a must, especially in Excel and PowerPoint.
• A data-driven individual with solid critical thinking, business and financial acumen, as well as strong bias for action.
• Aptitude for independently solving problems, develop and maintain relationship with both internal and external stakeholders.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence and collaborate with stakeholders at all levels.
• Ability to multi-task and juggle many competing demands in an ambiguous environment, and work independently.