Sr. IT Vendor Relationship Manager

Position Summary

The Sr. IT Vendor Relationship Manager facilitates and maintains relationships between the organization and vendors/partners, negotiating contracts, creating standards for the vendors, selecting the best available vendors and oversees procurement of IT products and services while ensuring vendor performance and invoicing is held accountable and reflected in organization budgets and forecasts. This role implements the organization's strategic technology vendor management program to meet company needs and comply with required quality standards.

The Sr. IT Vendor Relationship Manager administers the request for proposals process to vet the reputation and quality of vendor products. Negotiates service level agreements to ensure performance/quality metrics, responsibilities, expectations, and penalties are clearly defined. The IT Vendor Relationship Senior Manager works closely with managers and teams to monitor, maintain, and improve existing vendor relationships. Conducts business reviews to ensure compliance with company expectations, review issues, and develop solutions. The ideal candidate has experience with software licensing and hardware procurement. This role will provide input to strategic decisions that affect the functional area of responsibility and give input into developing the budget. Must be capable of resolving escalated issues arising from operations and requiring coordination with other departments.

Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities

• Develops and sustains long-standing relationships with company-approved vendors
• Meets with suitable vendors to assess their products, inquires about their services, negotiates pricing, and communicates any product or service-related concerns
• Conducts research on available vendors to determine which vendors offer the best fit, pricing and product quality for Huber and its entities
• Negotiates pricing with new and existing vendors to ensure optimal cost, and recommends process, service, or technology improvements that will result in cost optimization, improved productivity, and/or service performance
• Conducts interviews with new vendors and informs approved vendors of their responsibilities and obligations
• Establishes standards by which to assess the performance of approved vendors
• Manages the contracted KPIs and seeks to decrease project costs and turnaround time
• Ensures vendor compliance with company policies and informs new vendors of their responsibilities
• Support the execution of NDAs as needed
• Analyse data and forecast requirements with vendors
• Create requisitions and coordinate efficient and effective invoice processing
• Communicate with internal departments to advise and resolve vendor issues and determine methods for resolving problematic vendor payments
• Communicate with internal departments to advise and resolve issues with vendor invoices and/or internal processing
• Schedule and coordinate vendor meetings as needed
• Organize, track and lifecycle management IT contracts, software and hardware assets
• Coordinate IT cross charges to BU’s on agreements responsible
• Documents all allocation methodologies

Position Prerequisites

Education & Certifications

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, IT, Business Management, Business Administration or similar field of study required

Experience

Required:

• 10-12 years of relevant experience with at 3+ years managing vendor relationships
• Proven experience working as a vendor manager

Preferred:

• Tier 1 or 2 technical support experience
• Understanding legal terminology
• Experience working with a Managed Service Provider (MSP)

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite of applications
• The ability to multitask effectively
• Strong negotiation, management, and decision-making skills
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and organizational skills
• Effective written and verbal communication skills