Business Consultant for Software Contract Management Job in Pasadena, California US

Business Consultant for Software Contract Management

The Business Consultant position reports to the SMO Contract Manager. The Business Consultant is responsible for assisting with the management of in-scope contracts throughout their lifecycle, including contract updates for service level agreements, inventory, technical standards, scope changes and any other contract modifications as needed. The Business Consultant will ensure accurate tracking of contract deliverables, renewal dates, pricing, schedules, amendments, and revisions. Essential Functions: Contract Management: - Manage the IBM Technology Products Agreement for Software negotiated effective 2012: o Understand the scope agreement for IBM Software products and licensing metrics from each of those products o Track and report on Software licensing entitlement and consumption of licenses in the environment o Work across the IT organization to understand demand for new licenses and plan for that demand in license allocations o Establish and run weekly operations and monthly governance meetings with IBM on the TPA Software - Meet deliverables as agreed upon including application of KP methodologies, and benchmarked best practice spend management - Apply problem solving, influencing and facilitation techniques to work issues, develop resolutions, and manage corrective actions - Create, manage, and report against the deliverables plan - Manage in-scope contracts throughout their lifecycle including contract updates for service level agreements, inventory changes, technical standards, scope changes and other contract modifications as needed - Track and assess the impacts of contract changes, amendments, schedules and revisions to all in-scope agreements - Track the resolution of contractual disputes and escalate outstanding contract related issues to SMO management - Conduct reviews of procurement requisitions and Statements of Work in accordance with business and budget requirements - Review contract terms and conditions, usage and inventory with technical owners prior to renewal or invoice processing; discuss and validate any changes - Validate supplier invoices for accuracy and contract compliance, submit to Accounting for processing and track payment progress - Work with Finance to update the monthly budget and forecast, including invoice accruals, payments, amortization and GL reconciliation - Research and assist in selecting potential sources of support and/or services by gathering and analyzing market information and leverage this to make effective sourcing decisions - Contribute to the preparation of competitive bids, quotations and proposals with pertinent specifications, terms and conditions - Analyze proposals in support of the bid evaluation process - Use and offer improvements to KP templates to ensure Kaiser's interests are protected under the law - Track contractual risks and protect KP's intellectual property - Maintain an appropriate level of administration around contracts and suppliers, updating all relevant KP contract-management related systems (contract database, asset database, change management database, equipment records and/or specifications, etc.) accurately and on a timely basis - Support the resolution of issues raised in audits - Comply with all regulatory and Kaiser requirements relevant to the role, (e.g. Sarbanes Oxley, HIPAA, Code of Conduct, Financial Control Framework) Supplier Relationships: - Maintain a preferred supplier list by sub-category / niche service - Conduct supplier business review meetings for category strategy, support levels and spend - Track and measure supplier performance using rating systems or predetermined standards - Resolve quality problems with suppliers and user departments and develop measurements for improvement and target setting - Coordinate, review and respond to supplier inquiries, protests and appeals as needed - Support supplier governance forums by ensuring suppliers are adhering to contractual processes SMO Program Responsibilities: - Assist with cost reduction, cost avoidance / containment efforts and track progress - Support department activities surrounding supplier management, compliance, reporting, and risk management processes - Maintain department listings and database tracking of both supplier and KP technical Subject Matter Expert contact and escalation information and procedures - Map contractually supported assets to their appropriate service agreements - Implement benchmarking and improvement effort and audit outcomes to ensure the contract continues to deliver value to KP Qualifications: Basic Qualifications: - B.S. degree in business, IT, operations, computer science or related technical field, or equivalent IT experience, and / or business or law degree with IT contracting experience. - 8 or more years of related experience, with 3+ years managing contracts in large, complex organizations, particularly with respect to governing external hardware or software suppliers to deliver IT products and services at the scales commensurate with the scope of this position (e.g., a budget of ~$50M/yr or higher) - Knowledge of IBM products, services, and support offerings - Knowledge of contract management including processes, methodologies, change management, and legal terms and conditions - Understanding of IT contracts and value drivers, with ability to work with procurement and legal teams to negotiate contracts - Understanding of contract financial implications and processes (review contract to determine budget, increase caps, escalators, discounting, pro-rated credits, etc.) - Understanding and awareness of IT outsourcing industry and healthcare peer group contractual benchmarking - Knowledge of Kaiser's commercial standards, procedures and procurement processes (preferred) - Experience in IT asset management within the healthcare industry - Knowledge of ITIL framework, Total Quality Management or other operations frameworks - Experience reporting and tracking complex supplier contracts; in-depth technical understanding of IT and data center operations will be a valuable asset - Analytical, decision analysis and communication skills to frame, appraise and recommend decision options to senior leadership and analytical, situational and personal skills to negotiate most favorable outcomes with the suppliers while strengthening the Kaiser-supplier relationship - Understanding of sourcing and service management objectives, principles and practices with a focus on metric-based supplier governance and decision frameworks predicated on statistically representative data