Vendor Management & Software Governance Specialist

Role Summary: We are looking for an experienced Vendor Management & Software Governance Specialist to manage software procurement requests from initial intake through vendor evaluation, licensing analysis, security coordination, commercial review, contracting support, and purchasing handoff. The role requires a commercially aware and process-driven professional who can work effectively with business stakeholders, software vendors, Security, Finance, Legal, Procurement, and IT Operations. The specialist will provide analysis, coordination, recommendations, and governance reporting, while final approval and purchasing authority remain with the client.

Key Responsibilities: Review software requests and validate the business need, users, timeline, ownership, and budget context. Check for approved alternatives and reusable licenses before initiating new purchases. Lead vendor discussions and collect functional, licensing, security, support, migration, and commercial information. Compare software editions, licensing tiers, product capabilities, and pricing options. Recommend the minimum suitable and compliant software tier. Support vendor negotiations, pricing comparisons, renewals, and commercial discussions. Coordinate vendor-security reviews, including SSO, access controls, audit logging, and security evidence. Track Legal, Finance, Procurement, Security, and IT Operations approvals and dependencies. Support Ramp or similar purchasing workflows. Assess options for migrating personal or individual software accounts to enterprise-managed arrangements. Maintain request, vendor, approval, risk, action, and dependency trackers. Produce weekly operational reports and monthly governance summaries. Identify opportunities for license reuse, consolidation, cost avoidance, and process improvement.

Required Skills and Experience: 7+ years of experience in software procurement, SaaS vendor management, technology sourcing, IT asset management, procurement operations, or software governance. Strong understanding of SaaS licensing models, subscription tiers, pricing structures, renewals, and commercial terms. Experience managing software vendors through evaluation, negotiation, contracting, and purchasing processes. Working knowledge of enterprise-security concepts such as SSO, identity and access controls, audit logging, and vendor-security assessments. Experience coordinating with Security, Finance, Legal, Procurement, IT Operations, and business teams. Strong stakeholder management, vendor communication, documentation, tracking, and follow-through skills. Ability to prepare clear vendor comparisons, commercial recommendations, and executive-ready reports. Availability to work during U.S. business hours.

Preferred Skills: Experience with Ramp, Service Now, or similar procurement, intake, ticketing, and service-catalog platforms. Exposure to Software Asset Management, SaaS Management, IT Financial Management, or vendor-risk workflows. Experience with license optimization, software-catalog management, account consolidation, or license migration. Certifications such as CSAM, ITIL Foundation, CIPS, CPSM, or equivalent are advantageous.

Ideal Candidate: A commercially aware, detail-oriented, and process-driven professional who can independently manage multiple software requests and vendors. The candidate should be confident in vendor discussions, disciplined in governance and documentation, and capable of presenting clear, evidence-based recommendations without overstepping client approval authority.