Manager, Vendor and Partnership Management -Remote or Hybrid: MN

About the position The Manager of Vendor and Partnership Management is responsible for overseeing the Product/IT division’s relationships with external vendors and partners. This role ensures that all vendor engagements align with organizational strategy, project execution goals, budgets, and service standards. The manager will lead contract negotiations, performance monitoring, and risk management while serving as a liaison between internal stakeholders and external providers.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain strategic relationships with vendors and partners.
• Coordinate communication and expectations across internal teams and vendor contacts.
• Support the contract negotiation process, including SLAs and statements of work.
• Mediate conflicts and foster shared accountability to reinforce partnership stability
• Establish ways of communicating with vendors that are collaborative and timely to ensure current and planned directions and expectations are known and delivered
• Manage the full contract lifecycle from RFP through execution and renewal.
• Evaluate proposals and negotiate terms that support financial and operational goals.
• Use strategic negotiation techniques to drive financial savings, flexibility, and performance guarantees while minimizing legal risk
• Implement vendor performance frameworks including KPIs, SLAs, and business reviews.
• Conduct regular vendor assessments and audits to ensure compliance and mitigate risk.
• Oversee the vendor risk assessment process, including adherence to internal controls and industry standards.
• Align vendor capabilities with business needs by coordinating with teams across the organization.
• Facilitate governance and knowledge sharing to enhance vendor integration into operations.
• Lead vendor onboarding and ensure timely, quality deliverables for key initiatives.
• Act with a sense of urgency, manage vendor contributions to mission-critical initiatives and programs, ensuring timelines, deliverables, and quality standards are met.
• Monitor resource utilization and identify areas for cost savings and process improvement.
• Track industry trends and identify opportunities for new partnerships or sourcing models.
• Assess vendors for strategic alignment, scalability, and innovation potential.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, Finance, or related field or experience
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in vendor management, procurement, or partnership development with successful execution against organizational objectives and initiatives
• Proven experience negotiating contracts and managing vendor performance with internal and external priorities effectively accomplished
• Strong independent, professional communication, collaboration, and stakeholder communication and management skills, including C-Suite level engagement
• Proficiency with contract lifecycle evaluation and execution
• Ability to assess vendor risk and ensure compliance with regulatory and internal standards
• Strategic thinker with the ability to identify partnership opportunities and drive innovation
• Analytical skills with the ability to interpret data and make decisions
• Strong organization and project management capabilities to effectively manage multiple priorities in a dynamic environment
• Understanding of vendor risk and compliance requirements
• Up to 10% travel (potentially up to four trips annually)
• A passion for improving student outcomes and a commitment to serving marginalized students of need

Nice-to-haves

• Professional vendor management or supply chain management certifications (e.g. CPSM, CPP)
• Experience with procurement platforms (e.g., Coupa, SAP Ariba, Oracle)
• Familiarity with project/collaboration tools (e.g., Wrike, Jira, Microsoft Teams)
• Experience with reporting tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau)
• Self-starter with a proactive approach to problem-solving and continuous improvement
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, dynamic environment with shifting priorities
• High level of integrity, professionalism, and discretion when handling sensitive information

Benefits

• Insurance (medical, dental, vision, basic life)
• Disability (short-term & long-term)
• Flexible spending accounts (medical & dependent care)
• 403(b) retirement fund with a 3% company match
• paid time away from work (vacation, sick, personal, up to fifteen paid holidays annually)
• employee & dependent educational reimbursement programs

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