Manager - Vendor Management

Overview

Role Details

Job Title: IT Vendor Management Analyst – Software Asset Management

Level: 7

Experience: 8–12 years

Main Purpose of the Role

The IT Vendor Management Analyst – Software Asset Management is responsible for supporting the effective governance, management, compliance, performance, and optimization of PepsiCo’s technology vendor and software portfolio, with Software Asset Management (SAM) as the primary area of responsibility.

The role will manage and analyze software licensing, entitlements, consumption, compliance, renewals, software spend, and optimization opportunities while also supporting broader IT Vendor Management activities including vendor governance, performance management, contract compliance, financial management, risk management, and strategic vendor engagement.

The Analyst will partner with Global and Sector stakeholders, Vendor Management, Procurement, Finance, Technology teams, Information Security, IT Controls, Service Owners, and external vendors to provide accurate data, meaningful analysis, and actionable insights. The role is intentionally designed to build capability across both SAM and IT Vendor Management, enabling flexibility to support broader vendor portfolio responsibilities as business priorities evolve.

Responsibilities

Accountabilities

• Software Asset Management – Primary Responsibility

• Support and manage end-to-end Software Asset Management activities across the software lifecycle, including procurement, entitlement, deployment, utilization, renewal, optimization, and retirement.
• Maintain and validate software inventory, licensing entitlements, subscriptions, deployments, and consumption information.
• Perform reconciliation of software entitlements against installations, deployments, subscriptions, and actual usage.
• Identify license compliance gaps, unused or underutilized licenses, over-deployment, and software optimization opportunities.
• Drive license harvesting, reallocation, rationalization, and optimization activities in partnership with relevant stakeholders.
• Maintain accurate software product, entitlement, contract, renewal, and vendor records.
• Partner with application owners, technology teams, Procurement, Finance, and vendors to investigate and resolve licensing and inventory discrepancies.
• Support software compliance assessments, license reviews, true-ups, and software publisher audits.
• Develop and maintain reliable software license positions and supporting documentation.
• Drive continuous improvement of SAM processes, controls, data quality, governance, and documentation.
• Work with enterprise SAM/ITAM platforms and data sources such as Flexera/FlexNet Manager Suite, ServiceNow SAM Pro, SCCM/MECM, Intune, or equivalent tools, as applicable.

• IT Vendor Governance & Relationship Management

• Support governance activities across strategic and preferred IT vendors and software publishers.
• Coordinate and prepare vendor governance and Strategic Business Review (SBR) discussions, including performance, commercial, risk, financial, and contractual insights.
• Maintain vendor profiles covering contracts, products/services, spend, performance, risks, renewals, commitments, and key stakeholders.
• Work with Global and Sector stakeholders to provide insights and reporting for vendor portfolio management.
• Support onboarding of internal and external stakeholders into established vendor governance processes.
• Collaborate with stakeholders on agenda shaping and preparation to enable effective vendor governance and business reviews.
• Track decisions, commitments, risks, issues, and action items from governance meetings and drive follow-up through closure.
• Conduct relevant vendor, market, commercial, and technology research to support sourcing and Vendor Management decisions.
• Identify opportunities for vendor consolidation, optimization, improved commercial value, and stronger operational outcomes.

• Vendor Performance Management

• Track, analyze, and report vendor performance against contractual SLAs, KPIs, business outcomes, and agreed performance measures.
• Identify performance trends, exceptions, recurring issues, and areas requiring management attention.
• Partner with Vendor Managers, Service Owners, and suppliers to ensure performance issues and improvement actions are appropriately tracked and driven to closure.
• Support the definition and refinement of consistent KPIs and management reporting across the assigned vendor portfolio.
• Prepare performance insights and executive-ready reporting for leadership and stakeholder reviews.
• Support business satisfaction measurement and incorporate relevant feedback into vendor performance discussions.

• Contract Compliance, Renewals & Sourcing Support

• Maintain visibility of software and IT vendor contracts, subscriptions, commercial commitments, key obligations, and renewal dates.
• Interpret relevant contractual and licensing terms and translate them into operational tracking and compliance requirements.
• Support software and vendor renewal planning using consumption, utilization, performance, contractual, and spend analysis.
• Partner with Procurement and Vendor Management by providing data and insights for sourcing activities, commercial negotiations, renewals, and contract decisions.
• Coordinate stakeholder inquiries relating to contracts, licensing, entitlements, consumption, and vendor obligations.
• Coordinate contract change-management activities within the assigned portfolio, ensuring changes are documented, evaluated, tracked, and communicated.
• Monitor contractual commitments and identify potential compliance or commercial risks.
• Maintain appropriate contract documentation and evidence required for governance and audit activities.

• Vendor Financial & Consumption Management

• Validate software licensing and vendor consumption data using established processes and controls.
• Verify quantities, resource units, calculations, pricing assumptions, and applicable volume or contractual adjustments.
• Analyze software utilization, vendor consumption, and spend trends; identify anomalies, risks, and optimization opportunities.
• Identify opportunities for license optimization, demand management, cost avoidance, and improved commercial efficiency.
• Provide Finance with accurate inputs for budgeting, forecasting, accrual validation, financial business cases, and portfolio planning.
• Support analysis of vendor invoices and consumption against applicable contractual and commercial information.
• Develop actionable insights across vendor spend, utilization, consumption, and financial performance.

• Risk, Compliance & Audit Support

• Support compliance reviews associated with software licensing and IT vendors.
• Coordinate preparation of entitlement, deployment, usage, contract, and supporting evidence for software publisher audits and internal control reviews.
• Maintain appropriate documentation and audit trails for key SAM and Vendor Management activities.
• Partner with IT Controls, Information Security, Procurement, Finance, Legal, and Technology stakeholders as required to address vendor and software-related risks.
• Track identified issues, risks, and remediation actions through closure.
• Support broader third-party/vendor risk and compliance activities based on portfolio requirements.

• Reporting, Analytics & Power BI

• Develop and maintain Power BI dashboards, reports, and supporting data models for SAM and Vendor Management.
• Provide reporting across software entitlement and consumption, license utilization and optimization, renewals, software/vendor spend, contract milestones, vendor SLA/KPI performance, risk, compliance, and action tracking.
• Analyze complex data from multiple sources and translate it into clear, actionable business and commercial insights.
• Implement appropriate data-quality checks, controls, and repeatable reporting processes.
• Prepare executive-ready reporting and insights for senior stakeholders and vendor governance forums.

Key Skills / Experience Required

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent relevant professional experience.
• 8–12 years of overall professional experience across Software Asset Management, IT Asset Management, IT Vendor Management, Technology Procurement, Contract Management, or related technology/commercial functions.
• Strong hands-on experience in Software Asset Management, including entitlement management, license reconciliation, software consumption analysis, compliance, optimization, and renewals.
• Experience working with enterprise SAM/ITAM platforms such as Flexera/FlexNet Manager Suite, ServiceNow SAM Pro, or equivalent tools.
• Good understanding of enterprise software licensing and subscription models, with exposure to major publishers such as Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, SAP, Adobe, VMware/Broadcom, Salesforce, or similar vendors preferred.
• Experience supporting software contract renewals, license true-ups, compliance reviews, and software publisher audits.
• Experience analyzing software spend, utilization, entitlement, consumption, and contractual data to identify optimization and cost-avoidance opportunities.
• Experience in broader IT Vendor Management, including vendor governance, SLA/KPI performance management, contract compliance, financial management, risk management, and vendor relationship management.
• Experience coordinating vendor governance or business reviews, preparing performance insights, identifying risks/issues, and driving actions to closure.
• Strong experience with Power BI, Excel, data analysis, visualization, and executive-level reporting.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple vendors, global stakeholders, priorities, and deliverables in a complex environment.
• Ability to interpret complex commercial and licensing information and translate it into clear, actionable recommendations.

Technical Skills

• Strong understanding of Software Asset Management (SAM) and IT Asset Management (ITAM) concepts and practices.
• Knowledge of software licensing, entitlements, installations, subscriptions, consumption, utilization, and software lifecycle management.
• Working knowledge of SAM/ITAM platforms, preferably Flexera/FlexNet Manager Suite and/or ServiceNow SAM Pro.
• Strong analytical, data-reconciliation, and problem-solving capability.
• Advanced working knowledge of Microsoft Excel and strong capability in Power BI and data visualization.
• Good understanding of commercial contracts, contractual obligations, sourcing, procurement, and renewal processes.
• Understanding of Vendor Management, SLA/KPI performance management, financial management, and third-party risk concepts.
• Excellent Microsoft Office skills, particularly Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Power BI.
• Proficient English communication skills, written and verbal.

Non-Technical Skills

• Ability to deliver credible, decision-quality insights through analysis, work products, and communication.
• Strong ownership mindset with the ability to independently drive issues and actions through resolution.
• Ability to work independently with limited direction while collaborating effectively across a global matrixed environment.
• Capable of managing multiple time-sensitive priorities, vendors, and stakeholder requirements simultaneously.
• Detail-oriented and disciplined in documentation, controls, and data quality.
• Excellent communication, relationship-management, and stakeholder-influencing skills.
• Ability to connect information across multiple data sources and translate detailed findings into business, financial, and commercial insights.
• Proactive, results-oriented, and comfortable challenging inconsistencies or assumptions with facts and data.
• Ability to build effective relationships with internal stakeholders, external vendors, and strategic partners.
• High level of commitment, resilience, adaptability, and continuous-learning mindset.

Differentiating Competencies

• Hands-on experience in software license reconciliation, entitlement management, compliance analysis, or software optimization.
• Experience using Flexera/FlexNet Manager Suite, ServiceNow SAM Pro, or similar enterprise SAM/ITAM platforms.
• Knowledge of licensing models for major enterprise software publishers.
• Ability to interpret licensing and contractual terms and connect them with deployment, consumption, financial, and operational data.
• Experience with IT vendor governance, Strategic Business Reviews, or performance-management forums.
• Experience analyzing vendor SLAs, KPIs, spend, contracts, consumption, risks, and performance trends.
• Commercial acumen and understanding of IT sourcing and procurement practices.
• Ability to identify measurable software optimization and cost-avoidance opportunities.
• Strong Power BI, analytical, storytelling, and executive-reporting capability.
• Ability to interact confidently with senior stakeholders and external strategic vendors in a multi-functional environment.
• Ability to organize, prioritize, and deliver against contractual, governance, and renewal deadlines.
• Ability to take ownership and drive complex issues to resolution.

Main Interactions Within & Outside Organization

Type

Name of Group

Purpose of Interaction

Frequency

Software Asset / IT Asset Management

License, entitlement, consumption, compliance, reconciliation, software optimization, and SAM process management

Internal

Global Procurement

Software/vendor sourcing, commercial negotiations, contracts, procurement strategy, and renewals

Ongoing

Internal

Vendor Management

Vendor governance, performance, contracts, financials, risk, SBRs, and portfolio management

Ongoing

Internal

Global & Sector Stakeholders / Service Owners

Validate consumption, requirements, performance, service outcomes, and Vendor Management activities

Ongoing

Internal

Finance

Budgeting, forecasting, accruals, spend, consumption, financial validation, and optimization analysis

Ongoing

Internal

Information Security

Support applicable information-security and third-party vendor requirements

Internal

IT Controls / Audit

Controls testing, SAM compliance, vendor audits, and supporting evidence

On Demand

Software Publishers / Resellers

Licensing, entitlement, renewals, compliance, commercial activities, and issue resolution

Ongoing

External

Strategic & Preferred IT Vendors

Performance, contracts, governance, risks, financials, relationship management, and action closure

Ongoing

Role Positioning

Primary focus: Software Asset Management and software vendor management, including licensing, entitlement, consumption, compliance, renewals, tooling, optimization, and associated financial analysis.

Secondary capability: Broader IT Vendor Management, including governance, vendor performance, SLA/KPI management, contracts, financial management, risk, SBRs, stakeholder engagement, and reporting.

The role should operate as an experienced individual contributor capable of independently owning analysis and processes, challenging data, identifying commercial or compliance risks, driving actions to closure, and producing decision-quality insights, while partnering with Vendor Managers and functional leaders on broader strategic relationship accountability.