When you join Verizon You want more out of a career. A place to share your ideas freely - even if they’re daring or different. Where the true you can learn, grow, and thrive. At Verizon, we power and empower how people live, work and play by connecting them to what brings them joy. We do what we love - driving innovation, creativity, and impact in the world. Our V Team is a community of people who anticipate, lead, and believe that listening is where learning begins. In crisis and in celebration, we come together - lifting our communities and building trust in how we show up, everywhere & always. Want in? Join the #VTeamLife.
What you’ll be doing...
You will lead and develop Verizon’s Software Asset Management (SAM) team, building a high-performing organization that runs and matures an enterprise-wide SAM governance program. You will set direction, develop talent, and drive accountability across internal staff and third-party partners. You will also personally own Verizon’s IBM SAM function as its accountable leader and subject matter expert, responsible for the IBM entitlement position, compliance, audit readiness, renewal strategy, and spend optimization. You will lead a team of SAM analysts and specialists, direct third-party SAM managed service providers (MSPs), and partner with senior stakeholders across Technology, Finance, Sourcing, and Vendor Management. Under your leadership, the team will provide transparency into software assets used across Verizon, maintain a consolidated view of entitlements, reduce compliance and audit exposure, deliver savings projects to completion, and shape short- and long-term publisher roadmaps. The results include lower costs, better security and data governance, and more leverage in commercial negotiations.
- Team Leadership & Talent Development: Lead, coach, and grow a team of SAM professionals. Hire and retain strong talent, set clear priorities and performance goals, and build deep publisher expertise and succession depth across the team.
- Organizational Vision & Operating Model: Define the SAM team’s mission, operating model, and roadmap. Establish team structure, roles, and KPIs that scale with Verizon’s software portfolio and maturity goals.
- Culture & Accountability: Foster a culture of ownership, data-driven decision making, and continuous improvement. Hold the team and partners accountable for measurable outcomes in savings, compliance, and risk reduction.
- Cross-Functional Leadership: Influence and align IT, Finance, Vendor Management, Sourcing, Security, Supply Chain, and business unit partners on strategic SAM programs and software spend direction.
- MSP Strategy & Performance Management: Direct third-party SAM MSP partners. Set service expectations, hold partners accountable to KPIs, drive continuous improvement, and ensure reporting meets Verizon’s needs.
- IBM SAM Function Ownership: Personally own Verizon’s IBM SAM function and licensing position end to end, including Passport Advantage, ELA and CVA program structures, PVU/RVU/VPC metrics, sub-capacity eligibility, and IBM Cloud Paks. Serve as Verizon’s IBM licensing subject matter expert and primary advisor to executives on IBM entitlement, compliance, and commercial strategy.
- IBM Renewal & Negotiation Support: Own the effective license position (ELP) and usage baseline that support our licensing agreements, CVA, and S&S renewals. Build and validate true-up and quantity-adjustment scenarios, challenge vendor usage claims with defensible data, and partner with Sourcing to improve commercial outcomes.
- Audit Defense & Risk Mitigation: Serve as the SAM lead on the internal team for software vendor audits, and as the IBM licensing authority for IBM audits and license reviews. Help define audit strategy, govern data collection and disclosure, analyze and dispute vendor findings, and drive mitigation plans that minimize financial and operational exposure.
- Sub-Capacity & Discovery Compliance: Own IBM License Metric Tool (ILMT) or approved-alternative compliance, ensuring it is deployed, current, and reporting accurately across virtualized, container, and cloud environments. Maintain quarterly reporting discipline and audit-ready evidence.
- License Lifecycle & Cost Management: Drive process improvements for deploying, tracking, and re-harvesting licenses to avoid unnecessary spend and maximize value.
- Software Savings & Spend Optimization: Lead the team in identifying and validating savings across publishers and titles, raise the quality of MSP-sourced recommendations, and drive them to monetized completion.
- Enterprise Software Catalog: Lead implementation of an enterprise-wide software catalog that provides a single view of entitlements, usage, supported platforms, versions, ownership, and license terms.
- Compliance Governance & Oversight: Establish and enforce governance for license compliance and audit readiness across business units and technology organizations.
- Architecture & Standards Alignment: Recommend mature technology category management practices and align SAM processes with Verizon’s North Star Architecture standards.
- SAM Tooling & Technology Roadmap: Optimize existing discovery and inventory tooling and own the long-term SAM tools roadmap, including emerging capabilities for cloud, container, and AI-driven license management.
What we're looking for...
You are a proven people leader who builds high-performing teams and drives results through others, and you are also a hands-on IBM licensing expert who will personally own Verizon’s IBM SAM function. You develop talent, set clear direction, and create accountability across your team and external partners. You know where IBM compliance exposure hides: sub-capacity gaps, virtualization and container sprawl, bundled entitlements, and Cloud Pak conversions. You are comfortable presenting to executives, pushing back on vendors with data, and leading through ambiguity.
You’ll need to have:
- Bachelor’s degree or six or more years of work experience.
- Four or more years of people leadership experience, including hiring, developing, and managing teams and directing external partners or MSPs.
- Six or more years of relevant experience in enterprise software asset management or software licensing.
- Five or more years of hands-on IBM licensing experience at enterprise scale, including Passport Advantage, ELA structures, and the IBM CVA program.
- Deep working knowledge of IBM license metrics (PVU, RVU, VPC, Authorized/Concurrent User) and sub-capacity rules, including ILMT deployment and reporting requirements.
- Direct experience leading IBM audits or license reviews through to resolution.
- Demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders across Technology, Finance, Procurement, and business units.
Even better if you have one or more of the following:
- Experience building or scaling a SAM function or team, including defining its operating model and KPIs.
- Experience leading IBM ELA, CVA, or S&S renewal analysis, including true-up and quantity-adjustment modeling.
- Licensing experience with other tier-one publishers such as Oracle, Microsoft, SAP, Broadcom/VMware, or Salesforce.
- Experience with SAM platforms such as Flexera One.
- Experience with IBM Cloud Paks, OpenShift, and licensing in container or hybrid-cloud environments.
- SAM certifications such as IAITAM CSAM, CHAMP, or ITAM Forum, or ITIL.
- Experience operating within a large, complex enterprise or telecommunications environment.
- A track record of delivering quantifiable savings tied to transformation or cost-takeout programs.
If Verizon and this role sound like a fit for you, we encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet every “even better” qualification listed above.
Where you’ll be working
In this hybrid role, you'll have a defined work location that includes working from home and a minimum of three days per week in the office, which will be set by your manager. Employees are responsible for maintaining compliance with hybrid work policies.
Scheduled Weekly Hours 40
Equal Employment Opportunity Verizon is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to veteran status, disability or other legally protected characteristics.
Benefits and Compensation Our benefits are designed to help you move forward in your career, and in areas of your life outside of Verizon. From health and wellness benefit options including: medical, dental, vision, short and long term disability, basic life insurance, supplemental life insurance, AD&D insurance, identity theft protection, pet insurance and group home & auto insurance. We also offer a matched 401(k) savings plan, up to 8 company paid holidays per year and up to 6 personal days per year, paid parental leave, adoption assistance and tuition assistance, plus other incentives, we’ve got you covered with our award-winning total rewards package. Depending on the role, employees have the opportunity to receive compensation in the form of premium pay such as overtime, shift differential, holiday pay, allowances, etc. Newly hired employees receive up to 15 days of vacation per year, which grows with additional service. For part-timers, your coverage will vary as you may be eligible for some of these benefits depending on your individual circumstances.
The salary will vary depending on your location and confirmed job-related skills and experience. This is an incentive based position with the potential to earn more. For part-time roles, your compensation will be adjusted to reflect your hours.
The annual salary range for the location(s) listed on this job requisition based on a full-time schedule is: $124,000.00 - $238,000.00.
