Technology Risk, IT Sourcing & Vendor Governance Specialist

Caterpillar Inc.•Nashville, TN

About The Position

Technology Risk, IT Sourcing & Vendor Governance Specialist is an experienced individual contributor responsible for ensuring the continuous, cost effective delivery of IT services for Caterpillar IT. The role focuses on IT Controls & Risk Assessment, Vendor Risk Management, Supplier Management, Caterpillar IT Training, and Sourcing / Competitive Bidding, acting as a bridge between IT delivery teams, vendors, and other internal organizations. The position drives service quality, manages expectations through contractual obligations, and leads service improvement initiatives to align IT services with business needs and budgets. This role will be accountable for assisting IT Service Owners with supplier performance, reliability, and continuous improvement of IT services supporting organizations across Caterpillar IT. This role will give advice and guidance to IT Service Owners for their services, ensuring they consistently meet at the agreed upon service levels, aligned with business priorities, and deliver value within established cost and quality parameters. Acting as a strategic valued partner to internal stakeholders, this role plays a critical role in translating business needs into effective service outcomes, strengthening client relationships, and driving operational excellence through disciplined IT service management practices. Strong candidates will bring deep expertise in IT service management, service level agreements, vendor performance, and process optimization, using data driven insights and industry best practices to influence decisions, mitigate risk, and enhance customer satisfaction.

Requirements

Ability to simultaneously lead multiple initiatives while consistently meeting timelines and milestones.
Ability to accurately interpret complex contract language and summarize historical contracts.
Knowledge of business principles such as, risks management, RFI, RFP, RFx, etc. demand management, project management, commercial contracting, technology licensing, and negotiation principles.
Understanding of cost and price analysis techniques
Understanding of the unique aspects of technology sourcing as compared to other categories.
Strong interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills.
Fluent in the English language.
Well-developed collaboration skills communicating across the organization and reaching consensus on specific actions.
Functional leadership. Capable of leading teams, suppliers, and customers to effective solutions.
Analytical, problem solving, and project leadership skill.
Strong Negotiator, able to interpret, analyze and negotiate commercial terms.
Bachelor’s degree or more than 5 years’ equivalent experience in an area of study relevant to this position

Responsibilities

IT Controls & Risk Assessment – Conducts service assessments to identify gaps, inefficiencies, and risks. Oversees implementation of improved or customized IT services. Evaluates IT service frameworks and methodologies to drive better performance. Completes IT Controls actions and remediation efforts.
Vendor Risk Management – Provides enterprise wide visibility and governance over third party risk by documenting vendor exposures and strengthening accountability. Supports informed contract and strategic decisions by identifying elevated vendor risks and guiding mitigation or exit actions. Promotes proactive risk reduction and operational resilience through clear ownership, remediation planning, and tracking. Ensures consistent cross functional oversight across IT, Legal, Procurement, Service Owners, and the VMO while assessing services, identifying gaps and inefficiencies, and implementing budget aligned service and process improvements to enhance overall IT performance.
Supplier Management – Gives advice and guidance to IT Service Owners for their services as it concerns governance activities such as reporting on IT service performance, costs, and outcomes to ensure SLAs, client expectations, and business objectives are met. Serves as a primary client partner, leading service reviews, identifying business trends, and coaching effective stakeholder engagement. Drives continuous improvement by assessing services, implementing process and service enhancements, and evaluating ITSM frameworks. Oversees vendor performance and contractual compliance, supports informed vendor and change decisions, and ensures consistent adherence to IT service management standards and procedures.
Caterpillar IT VMO Training – Designs and delivers enterprise IT VMO training that builds workforce capability and enhances employee business skills. Partners with IT, Service Owners, and governance teams to identify skill gaps, translate technical and advisory requirements into scalable learning content, and strengthen SRMP understanding. Drives adoption, compliance, and continuous improvement through structured training, enablement materials, and feedback that enhance operational readiness, risk management, and decision making.
Sourcing / Competitive Bidding – Provides disciplined governance and end-to-end management of RFI/RFP and sourcing activities to ensure compliance with required protocols, documentation, and legal frameworks. Coordinates IT, VMO, Procurement, Legal, and vendors to maintain timeline integrity, milestone accountability, and structured vendor engagement. Leads and coordinates cross-functional teams responsible for contractual documentation, legal agreements, and end‑to‑end vendor engagement terms. Enables high quality, timely sourcing decisions by clearly defining requirements, preventing scope creep, reducing risk, and ensuring evaluations and negotiations align with business objectives.