IT Category Lead

Rabobank’s Procurement and Third Party Management

Procurement and Third Party Management is an organisation within Rabobank of approximately 105 FTE with a global procurement responsibility. The department contributes to a strong cooperative bank by delivering the services Strategic category management, Sourcing and contracting, Supply risk management, Supplier and contract life cycle management, Requisition to Pay and Data & analytics.

Our team is undergoing a multi year technology and operating model transformation, and we’re seeking an experienced category leader to define and execute the IT Category strategy in close collaboration with all senior Bank stakeholders. This role will lead the strategic sourcing of technology products and services, partner with senior technology and transformation stakeholders, and modernise procurement category practices to support cloud adoption, platform engineering, digital transformation, and vendor ecosystem optimisation.

The successful candidate will shape mid to long-term supplier strategies, deliver commercial value, work closely with strategic technology partners, and embed procurement as a trusted advisor within the organisation’s transformation program.

IT Category Leadership

• Working with, and being closely aligned to, Rabobank’s IT Leadership teams that define how the organisations IT landscape supports customers and enables the delivery of secure, scalable and innovative digital services whilst developing strategic vendor partnerships that strengthen Rabobank’s digital resilience.
• Define and execute the enterprise IT Category Sourcing strategy aligned with the organisation’s digital and transformation roadmap, taking the lead for the category workstream within large transformation programs which may include cloud migration, platform modernisation, resilience building and application transformation.
• Establish category strategies across key technology areas including cloud and infrastructure, software and SaaS, data and analytics platforms, cybersecurity, IT services and consulting, and managed services.

Stakeholder Leadership

• Act as a trusted advisor to cross functional, and transformation leadership teams.
• Partner with architecture and engineering teams to shape sourcing decisions early in the lifecycle.
• Lead cross-functional collaboration across procurement, finance, legal and risk teams.

Commercial Value and Cost Optimisation

• Deliver measurable value through cost optimisation, demand management, contract restructuring, and commercial innovation.
• Lead high value negotiations for enterprise technology agreements and transformation programs.
• Support financial planning by aligning technology spend with long term business strategy.

Strategic Supplier Partnerships

• Develop and manage relationships with strategic technology partners and system integrators.
• Lead complex commercial negotiations with global vendors.

Governance & Risk Management

• Ensure procurement activities align with regulatory requirements typical of financial services organisations.
• Implement strong contract governance, risk management, and third party oversight frameworks.
• Support vendor risk, resilience, and compliance initiatives.

To be considered for this role

• 10+ years experience in IT Procurement, Technology Sourcing, or Strategic Vendor Management.
• Proven experience operating at a senior leadership level within financial services, banking, insurance or regulated industries.
• Significant experience of developing vendor strategies across complex global organisations.
• Demonstrated experience supporting large transformation programs or digital transformation initiatives.
• Deep understanding of technology sourcing categories such as cloud platforms, enterprise software licensing, infrastructure services, and system integrators.
• Strong track record of leading complex negotiations and delivering commercial outcomes.
• Experience building procurement strategies aligned to digital and cloud transformation.
• Experience with AI technologies will be highly valued.

You and your talents

We are looking for a senior, deeply knowledgeable and collaborative colleague who is familiar operating in a complex environment. You enjoy connecting the dots, coordinating across many stakeholders, and shaping clarity in a dynamic context.

• Strong analytical skills and the ability to turn diverse inputs into a clear narrative towards a multi layered stakeholder landscape.
• A constructive, service oriented mindset with strong storytelling capabilities.
• Proven experience working in a large, complex organisation.
• Ability to connect easily across levels and domains.
• Experience with agile project management methodologies.
• Fluent English (written and verbal).