Associate, Technology

About SoftBank Investment Advisers:

SoftBank, the Manager of the SoftBank Vision Fund (“SVF”), seeks to accelerate the AI revolution through investment in market-leading, tech-enabled growth companies. Our global reach, unrivaled ecosystem, and freedom-level capital help founders build transformative businesses. For more information visit www.visionfund.com.

About the role:

The Associate, Technology will report to the Director, Technology at SoftBank Investment Advisers in the Silicon Valley office and will be responsible for Global IT Procurement, while understanding the business requirements and the technical capabilities of a global investment firm. This individual will also work closely with IT vendors, internal engineers, Finance, and Legal team.

Duties/Responsibilities:

• Build and maintain great relationships with vendors/providers as well as internal stakeholders
• Understand the business requirements (e.g. functionality, expected timeline) and the technical capabilities (e.g. hardware, software, services, and cost)
• Keep the continuous improvement of IT Procurement processes
• Analyse and report the IT expense every month with analysis and the recommendations (e.g., variances between Actual and Forecast)
• Maintain and facilitate records of purchases in an organized manner (e.g., Jira tickets, SharePoint folders)
• Lead contract negotiations (e.g., Pricing, Terms and Conditions) with vendors and collaborate with the subject matter experts (e.g., Legal, Finance)
• Manage the scope and the timeline of procurement related projects
• Facilitate technical discussions with the vendors and our engineers
• Prioritize the risks and issues based on financial impacts, the timeline, etc.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, computer science, or related field preferred
• 5+ years IT operations or related position experience in a global organization
• 5+ years project management experience in a global organization
• Skillset in negotiations and collaboration with great relationships
• Ability to multitask, prioritize, and manage time efficiently
• Eager to learn both technology and business (especially legal and finance)
• Highly organized and detail oriented (including folder structure and naming convention)
• Strong interpersonal and presentation skills to collaborate with internal/external stakeholders
• Positive demeanor with a can-do attitude
• Goal-oriented, organized team player
• Excellent Microsoft Office 365 skills (e.g., Excel)
• Procurement tool experience (e.g., Coupa)

Preferred Skills:

• Reporting/analytics tool experience (e.g. Power BI)
• Project management tool experience (e.g., Jira)
• Private Equity or Venture Capital industry experience

SoftBank is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We believe that diverse teams produce the best ideas and outcomes. We are committed to building a culture of inclusion, entrepreneurship, and innovation across gender, race, age, sexual orientation, religion, disability, and identity.