Strategic Sourcing Manager

Your Role

The IT Contracting – Global Business Services team supports the acquisition of technology products and services across the enterprise including the software and services the IT organization requires in order to support the business of our family of companies. In this role you will use your business acumen, negotiation expertise and knowledge of contracting and technology to support the business of our family of companies through engaging with a diverse range of suppliers and internal stakeholders.

Our leadership model is about developing great leaders at all levels and creating opportunities for our people to grow – personally, professionally, and financially. We are looking for leaders that are energized by creative and critical thinking, building and sustaining high-performing teams, getting results the right way, and fostering continuous learning.

Your Work

In this role, you will:

• Act as a trusted advisor by providing sourcing strategy and consultation to support business and IT objectives across transactional, operational, and strategic initiatives
• Partner with business stakeholders to influence spend and drive cost savings through supplier rationalization, demand management, and economies of scale
• Assess supply markets and industry trends to identify best-fit sources for goods and services, balancing cost, capability, risk, and innovation
• Lead supplier selection and qualification through competitive sourcing processes (RFx, auctions) with clear evaluation criteria and governance
• Advance supplier diversity by promoting engagement with small, disadvantaged, and minority-owned businesses
• Facilitate supplier risk management, due diligence, onboarding, and compliance in collaboration with cross‑functional partners
• Lead end‑to‑end contracting for complex technology and product deals ($5M–$100M+), including MSAs/CSAs, SOWs, Order Forms, Amendments, and Change Orders
• Own negotiation strategy, including BATNAs, should‑cost/TCO models, and multi‑round sourcing events, to deliver best‑value outcomes across price, risk, service levels, and innovation
• Structure and negotiate flexible commercial models (e.g., outcome‑based pricing, elastic capacity, milestone‑based delivery, indexed rate cards, cloud commit and reservation models)
• Support the IT organization by timely negotiating software and services agreements that enable the enterprise’s cloud and digital transformation
• Partner with Legal, Privacy, Security, Finance, Risk, Compliance, and IT to resolve contractual issues related to IP, data protection, security, regulatory requirements, and service levels
• Guide stakeholders from intake through signature, ensuring strong requirements, well‑defined SOWs, and adherence to required approvals and documentation
• Reduce cycle time and risk through use of standard templates, clause libraries, and disciplined redlining, while escalating and resolving blockers as needed

Your Knowledge and Experience

• Requires a bachelor's degree or equivalent experience
• Requires a minimum of 7 years of prior relevant experience in strategic sourcing/contracting
• 5 years negotiating technology agreements (SaaS, data services, managed services/outsourcing, healthcare services) with direct ownership of deals in the multi-million-dollar range highly desired
• Requires ability to work in a fast-track environment, with multi-tasking skills
• Requires excellent writing and communication skills which are reflected in translating requirements into well drafted contracts
• Ability to communicate and collaborate with fellow Blue Shield employees at all levels
• Knowledge of technology trends, particularly as they relate to SaaS agreements
Desire to continuously learn as technology evolves

Hybrid
This role requires employees to be in-office based on our hybrid workplace model, balancing purposeful in-person collaboration with flexibility. For most teams, this means coming into the office two days each week.

Employees living more than 50 miles from an office location will work with their manager to determine in-office time based on business need.

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ABOUT THE TEAM
About Blue Shield of California and the Ascendiun Family of Companies

As of January 2025, Blue Shield of California became a subsidiary of Ascendiun. Ascendiun is a nonprofit corporate entity that is the parent to a family of organizations including Blue Shield of California and its subsidiary, Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan; Altais, a clinical services company; and Stellarus, a company designed to scale healthcare solutions. Together, these organizations are referred to as the Ascendiun Family of Companies.

At Ascendiun, we believe in a brighter future for healthcare. As the parent to a family of four innovative healthcare companies, we’re reimagining what’s possible. Ascendiun is guided by the goal of transforming a dysfunctional American health care system into one worthy of our family and friends and sustainably affordable for everyone.

To achieve our mission, we foster an environment where all employees can thrive and contribute fully to address the needs of the various communities we serve. We are committed to creating and maintaining a supportive workplace that upholds our values and advances our goals.

Our Values:

• Honest . We hold ourselves to the highest ethical and integrity standards. We build trust by doing what we say we're going to do and by acknowledging and correcting where we fall short.
• Human . We strive to listen and communicate effectively, and showing empathy by understanding others’ perspectives.
• Courageous . We stand up for what we believe in and are committed to the hard work necessary to achieve our ambitious goals.

Our Workplace Model:

We believe in fostering a workplace environment that balances purposeful in-person collaboration with flexibility - providing clear expectations while respecting the diverse needs of our workforce. Our workplace model is designed around intentional in-person interaction, collaboration, connection, creativity and flexibility:

• For most teams, this means coming into the office two days per week.

• Employees living more than 50 miles from an office location, out of state employees, and employees in certain member-facing roles should work with their manager to determine in-office time based on business need.

• For employees with medical conditions that may impact their ability to work in-office, we are committed to engaging in an interactive process and providing reasonable accommodations to ensure their work environment is conducive to their success and well-being.

The Company reserves the right to require more presence in the office based on business needs, and requirements are subject to change with periodic reviews.

Physical Requirements:

Office Environment - roles involving part to full time schedule in Office Environment. Based in our physical offices and work from home office/deskwork - Activity level: Sedentary, frequency most of work day.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

External hires must pass a background check/drug screen. Qualified applicants with arrest records and/or conviction records will be considered for employment in a manner consistent with Federal, State and local laws, including but not limited to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regards to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status or disability status and any other classification protected by Federal, State and local laws.