Informa is a leading international events, intelligence and scholarly research group.

We’re the specialist’s specialist. Through hundreds of powerful brands, we work with businesses and professionals in specialist markets, providing the connections, intelligence and opportunities that help customers grow, do business, make breakthroughs and take better informed decisions.

Informa is listed on London Stock Exchange and a member of FTSE 100, with over 11,000 colleagues working in more than 30 countries.

Informa’s divisions include: Informa Connect, Informa Intelligence, Informa Markets, Informa Tech, Taylor & Francis and Global Support.

Global Support is Informa's sixth division, with major hubs in the United Kingdom, United States, Hong Kong and Singapore as well as several smaller locations.  As the team behind the teams, Global Support colleagues provide shared, efficient business services and function-specific expertise to each of Informa's operating divisions, enabling our commercial teams to focus on their markets and customers.

About Group Technology – Strategic Context

Informa is a successful and diverse FTSE 100 business that has been built over the past twenty years through a mix of organic growth and acquisition. The Group has needed to transform itself post-COVID-19 to increase digital capability and the mix of revenues, with the expectation that far higher proportions of revenue are derived from new digital products and through the sales of all products through digital channels.

Equally, as a contemporary B2B provider of solutions and services, we anticipate the need to enable customer touchpoints through digitalising processes that are currently offline, and through shaping and establishing a digital ecosystem over the next 5 years, whilst firmly establishing our position within it, thereby providing our B2B customers with end-to-end go-to-market solutions. This has resulted in a group-wide programme, GAP II, which is focused on a digital acceleration programme and associated investment.

Group Technology

·       Global Support is Informa's sixth division, with major service hubs in the United Kingdom, the United States, Hong Kong, and Singapore as well as several smaller locations.  As the team behind the teams, Global Support colleagues provide shared, efficient business services and function-specific expertise to each of Informa's operating divisions, enabling our commercial teams to focus on their markets and customers.

·       Group Technology is a key function within Global Support, comprising c.250 Colleagues with responsibility for the day to day running and management of the key enterprise technology disciplines that underpin day to day business operations across 5 divisions, including Information Security, Service Management, Enterprise Architecture, Digital Workplace, ERP, Cloud and Infrastructure and CRM &Commerce Services.  Additionally, the team provides development and support capability for a significant number of shared customer facing platforms that support the delivery of media, content and event products and services. 

·       Informa is now evolving its’ operating model to enable our businesses to leverage the value from our data, our customer relationships and our market-leading brands. For this, it requires significantly different technology capabilities.

·       Group Technology is embarking on a clear roadmap for the modernisation of legacy services whilst developing new platforms, solutions and techniques that transform the department into an enabler of reliable, scalable and secure services that support Informa’s digital agenda and diverse customer landscape.

·       We recognise the need for change and we have a good understanding of where we want to get to.  We want to take an ageing, fragmented technology landscape and a technology operating model that served us well in years past and fully modernise them: enable flexibility, agility and digital growth through a modular, microservices-based architecture and through a refreshed, upskilled and fully empowered team.  However, we also recognise we don’t know all the answers on how to get there.  We need people to help us shape, solve problems and deliver this change agenda.

·       As we embark on the improvement journey, it is essential that Group Technology is seen as a trusted partner, working ever more closely with the business to increase agility and efficiency, whilst also increasing standardisation and economies of scale.

·       To enable this change we’re investing in a transformation programme – Project Leap and as part of this we’ve co-created,  and are now aligning behind, a new Group Technology Purpose:

To accelerate Informa’s digital transformation by providing customer-centric, scalable, secure solutions in partnership with the business.

We have 3 Top Priorities for the coming year, each with a programme of associated change to improve our operations and increase the delivery of value to our business stakeholders.

·       People First

·       Operational Efficiency

·       Delivery Effectiveness

·       We adopt a Balanced Working policy that supports colleagues in taking a task-based approach to their working location – allowing time at home for focused work, individual tasks and virtual meetings. We also value team connection and collaboration highly, so encourage visits to the office to meet in-person, to collaborate, for coaching/learning and work as teams. 

·       We embrace and respect individuality, difference and diversity.  We know our personal limitations and, whilst we celebrate personal learning and growth, we also look to others to complement our thinking. As such, we believe in the strength of teams and in enabling every team member to contribute.  We like people to speak up, take responsibility for their actions and ‘muck in’ to support their colleagues.

·       If you want to be part of a team driving tangible change in a dynamic organisation that doesn’t stand still, this could be the team – and the company to join.

Role & Team Profile

We’ve recently launched guiding Principles in support of our Purpose and Priorities, and are embedding these into our everyday work.

Successful candidates will be ready to live by these Customer-focused, collaborative and growth-focused, principles.

1.     Think Customer

2.     Smarter, Simpler Planning

3.     One Unified Team

4.     Clear, Candid & Committed

5.     Everyone Welcome & Supported.

This role will report to the Head of GT Procurement

GT Procurement Manager Job Description Summary

The successful candidate will be a self-starter, detail oriented, strong written/verbal communication skills, customer service oriented, and have the ability to interpret, review and high-level negotiate technology related contracts in relation to software, hardware, telecommunications and other IT equipment and services. Experience and aspirations in areas of SaaS, cloud optimisation and modernisation, the use of Coupa, ERP transformation, data and digital transformation would all be beneficial.

As an IT Procurement Manager, You Will

·       Identify and lead improvement projects through supplier consolidation, service delivery improvements, process efficiencies, procurement policies and training interventions.

·       Support the development and delivery of a procurement strategy. Track and report on the initiatives that are identified as part of the strategy and/or 3 Year plan.

• Responsible for managing IT agreements across software, hardware, telecommunications and other IT related equipment and services.
• Initially manage IT procurement categories covering, software, and IT professional services then seek to expand the capability into other IT categories
• Partner with IT Teams and other departments to negotiate terms with vendors, to mitigate risk and maximize price efficiencies.

·       Develop Supplier relationships

·       Lead vendor selection and RFI / RFP processes; negotiate terms and conditions by working closely with stakeholders and Group functions.

·       Work closely with IT and Finance departments to ensure that invoicing and payment occur on a timely and accurate basis.

• Work closely with finance to ensure that contracts negotiated are in line with IT budgets and savings opportunities identified and achieved.
• Conduct high-level negotiation of pricing to leverage volume purchasing and achieve highest cost savings
• Deep understanding of contract commercial clauses and has a capacity to redefine terms which could be favourable to Informa. Involving IT Business owners, legal, data protection, service management and any other relevant teams.
• Proactively monitor when the terms of agreements are nearing expiration. Discuss on-going requirements with IT Management.
• Serve as a point reference to interpret the terms of the agreement, addressing any questions that may arise.
• Develop and maintain central tracking and reporting mechanism for all contracts and agreements within the responsibility of IT Procurement ensuring annual renewals are completed.
• Maintain files of supporting documentation including original paper documentation as required.
• Build strong relationships within all areas of the business to promote collaboration.

A Team Player – you understand the basics tenants of being a great teammate including proper time management, communication and attendance

Knowledge & Qualifications

• A Bachelor’s degree.
• 5-7 years of IT Procurement/Sourcing support experience.
• Must have understanding of software licensing and IT networks and infrastructure, data center technology, end user, mobile, web and social media technology and terms.
• Deep and well-established negotiation and influencing skills in all areas of vendor/supplier management.
• Must have extensive IT/IS, ideally in Software and Software Subscriptions Contracts
• End-to-end procurement experience, strong SRM/VM experience essential
• Recognised professional qualification (e.g. CIPS) preferred
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to explain technical contractual aspects to senior leaders within and external to the IT Organization.
• Knowledge of working in global business environment with sound understanding of global process and transactional flows
• Able to demonstrate IT expertise and knowledge of data presentation e.g. use of databases, reports, Excel spreadsheets etc.
• Excellent customer service, decision-making, and organizational skills.

Why work for Informa?

·       Flexible working environment

·       Learning and Development plan to assist with your career development

·       25 days annual leave plus bank holidays, 4 days for volunteering and a day off for your Birthday

·       Central office in Blackfriars, close to mainline and Underground stations, an onsite gym and restaurant, and a variety of amenities nearby

·       Opportunity to work with market-leading products across the Lloyd’s List group of services

·       Other flexible benefits include Healthcare, Cycle to Work scheme and Season Ticket Loans

·       5% Pension match and Life assurance

·       Share-Match options - become a shareholder

·       Regular Social Events and Networking opportunities across Informa