Senior Manager, Global Strategic Sourcing IT

The Sr. Manager, Global Strategic Sourcing, IT owns the sourcing strategy and commercial outcomes for the largest and most complex areas of the cross-brand IT portfolio, including Hardware, Software, Telecommunication Services, and Professional Services. This position leads enterprise-level negotiations independently, works daily with technology vendors and with technology professionals from all Carnival Corporation IT departments (including the operating companies), and must be able to effectively manage competing interests of the operating companies towards a holistic solution which will benefit the organization as a whole. The role also serves as the commercial lead for emerging technology categories — including cloud consumption, SaaS/subscription licensing, cybersecurity, and AI/GenAI platforms and services — partnering with IT, Legal, Data Privacy, Cybersecurity and Finance to ensure new technology is acquired with the right commercial construct, risk posture, and governance. This position is accountable for delivering measurable in year savings and cost avoidance against annual targets, for setting category strategy across multiple sub-categories, and for providing work direction and technical coaching to Manager, Sr. Analyst and Analyst resources.

Essential Functions:

Strategic Sourcing & Category Management

• Lead strategic sourcing and category management for an assigned IT portfolio — category strategies, Buyer Business Plans, and Sourcing Calendar pipeline, using the 7‑Step methodology and in accordance with established Carnival Sourcing processes.

• Serve as functionally aligned sourcing lead to IT stakeholders across brands and corporate service areas, running a regular engagement cadence on strategy, pipeline and upcoming demand.

Commercial Negotiations & Supplier Evaluation

• Negotiate commercial and contractual terms for enterprise agreements, SaaS/subscription, consumption‑based cloud, and AI/GenAI engagements — including entitlement, true‑up, audit, escalator, exit and data‑use provisions.

• Develop and issue RFQs/RFIs/RFPs and market/price benchmarking to anticipate component and licensing cost volatility for information technology related goods and services. Evaluate suppliers and analyze bids as part of RFI/RFP or bid processes based on such criteria as cost, quality etc.

Contract Lifecycle, Compliance & Risk Management

• Own end‑to‑end contract lifecycle and policy compliance — intake via ServiceNow, Contract Authorization Form and GARS approval thresholds, record integrity in GovernX/Coupa/Ariba, per the global Sourcing, Procurement & Supply Chain Policy.

• Coordinate third‑party risk and compliance reviews with Cybersecurity, Data Privacy, AI governance, Insurance, and Tax prior to execution.

Financial Performance & Analytics

• Deliver against in‑year savings and cost‑avoidance targets, validate results with Finance, and align sourcing plans to brand AOP cycles.

• Build spend visibility, analytics and reporting (dashboards, renewal calendars, contract intelligence) to support decisions and executive reporting.

Supplier Management & Operational Excellence

• Drive supplier relationship and performance management — segmentation, scorecards, QBRs/executive briefings, and rationalization of redundant or overlapping tools.

• Apply and champion AI/automation tools within sourcing operations, and provide work direction, coaching and quality review to Analyst/Sr. Analyst and contractor resources.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Scope: Leads strategic sourcing, category management, supplier performance, contract lifecycle management, and risk governance activities for an assigned IT portfolio across brands and corporate service areas.

• Problem-solving: Addresses complex sourcing, commercial, contractual, supplier, and technology-related challenges by leveraging market intelligence, competitive sourcing processes, spend analytics, and cross-functional stakeholder collaboration.

• Impact: Drives achievement of sourcing, savings, and cost-avoidance objectives while improving supplier performance, strengthening compliance, enhancing spend visibility, and supporting strategic technology investment decisions.

• Leadership: Serves as the sourcing lead for assigned IT categories, influences stakeholders and suppliers, champions AI-enabled process improvements, and provides work direction, coaching, and quality review to Analyst/Sr. Analyst and contractor resources.

For all roles:

• Knowledge: Understanding of workplace policies and procedures / Familiarity with team collaboration tools and techniques.

• Skills: Strong time management and organizational skills

• Abilities: Ability to maintain reliable and consistent attendance / Capacity to be punctual and meet deadlines / Ability to collaborate effectively with colleagues and work as part of a team / Demonstrated professionalism in all interactions and tasks.

Essential/Minimum qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in IT Related (Cloud/Cybersecurity/Network/Connectivity) or Finance, Business Administration, Supply Chain, or related discipline/major.

• Advanced degree preferred.

• CPM certification or equivalent is preferred. Equivalent certifications include CIPS, CPSM, and ITIL or Software Asset Management (SAM) credentials, with SAM particularly relevant given software entitlement and audit exposure.

• Demonstrated ability to create strategic supplier partnerships that create a competitive advantage for the corporation.

• Expertise in conducting complex analyses and distilling into a clear, concise business allocation.

• Strong facilitation and project management skills.

• Strong ability to interface with stakeholders at all levels including Sr. Executives.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Solid understanding of Information Technology ecosystems and products.

• Ability to negotiate and optimize commercial terms.

• Strong understanding of best practices with respect to technology related contract terms and conditions.

• Working knowledge of enterprise software licensing and SaaS/subscription commercial models (per-user, consumption, and hybrid constructs), including cloud FinOps principles and true-up/audit defense.

• AI/GenAI contracting fluency, including model and data usage rights, IP and indemnity, training-data restrictions, performance and output disclaimers, and internal AI governance review.

• Working knowledge of data privacy (DPA), cybersecurity, and third-party risk requirements in technology agreements.

• Category management discipline, including spend segmentation, market and competitive analysis, supplier tiering, and total cost of ownership.

• Ability to operate in a multi-brand, multi-jurisdiction environment and reconcile competing operating company requirements toward an enterprise outcome.

• Power BI and advanced Excel skills for spend, savings, and renewal analytics.

• Familiarity with market intelligence platforms (e.g. Beroe, Gartner/ISG, Green Cabbage).

• Global time-zone flexibility to support all brands and corporate service areas, including CCL, PCL, HAL/Seabourn, Costa, AIDA and Carnival UK (West Coast, UK, Germany and Italy).

• Hybrid on-site presence at the Miami corporate campus is expected in accordance with the corporate workplace policy.

Essential experience required:

• Bachelor's Degree plus 10+ years related experience, or Master's or other Advanced Degree plus 8+ years related experience, including demonstrated ownership of enterprise-level technology agreements.

• Experience in sourcing/purchasing for innovation-based and/or complex environments.

• Experience/Knowledge in one or more IT-related disciplines: Cloud, Cybersecurity, Network, Hardware, Connectivity, etc.

• Strong experience in sourcing strategy creation and execution (e.g. 7 Step sourcing methodology).

• Experience with Sourcing/Procurement systems.

• Proficiency with source-to-pay and contract lifecycle management tooling (e.g. GovernX, Coupa, SAP Ariba) and ServiceNow-based intake.

• Practical use of Microsoft 365 Copilot and other GenAI tools applied to sourcing and contracting workflows.

Travel: Less than 25% with shipboard travel likely

Work Conditions: Work primarily in a climate-controlled environment with minimal safety/health hazard potential.

Physical Demands: Must be able to remain in a stationary position at a desk and/or computer for extended periods of time.

This position is classified as “in-office.”  As an in-office role, it requires employees to work from a designated Carnival office in South Florida Monday through Thursday each week. Employees may work from their homes on Fridays.  Candidates must be located in (or willing to relocate to) the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area. 

Offers to selected candidates will be made on a fair and equitable basis, taking into account specific job-related skills and experience.   

At Carnival, your total rewards package is much more than your base salary. All non-sales roles participate in an annual cash bonus program, while sales roles have an incentive plan. Director and above roles may also be eligible to participate in Carnival’s discretionary equity incentive plan. Plus, Carnival provides comprehensive and innovative benefits to meet your needs, including: 

• Health Benefits: 
  • Cost-effective medical, dental and vision plans 
  • Employee Assistance Program and other mental health resources 
  • Additional programs include company paid term life insurance and disability coverage  
• Financial Benefits: 
  • 401(k) plan that includes a company match 
  • Employee Stock Purchase plan 
• Paid Time Off 
  • Holidays – All full-time and part-time with benefits employees receive days off for 8 company-wide holidays, plus 2 additional floating holidays to be taken at the employee’s discretion.  
  • Vacation Time – All full-time employees at the manager and below level start with 14 days/year; director and above level start with 19 days/year.  Part-time with benefits employees receive time off based on the number of hours they work, with a minimum of 84 hours/year.  All employees gain additional vacation time with further tenure. 
  • Sick Time – All full-time employees receive 80 hours of sick time each year.  Part-time with benefits employees receive time off based on the number of hours they work, with a minimum of 60 hours each year.   
• Other Benefits 
  • Complementary stand-by cruises, employee discounts on confirmed cruises, plus special rates for family and friends 
  • Personal and professional learning and development resources including tuition reimbursement  
  • On-site Fitness center at our Miami campus 

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