Director of Vendor Management

Job Summary
We are seeking a visionary and strategic Director of Vendor Management to establish and lead a new vendor management function within our technology organization. This role will be responsible for creating a structured approach to managing vendor relationships, maximizing partnerships, and driving performance excellence. The ideal candidate will focus on building processes, metrics, and governance frameworks that optimize vendor contributions to the organization’s strategic objectives, while collaborating closely with procurement, finance, and other stakeholders.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Establishing the Vendor Management Function:
• Build and lead a new vendor management organization, including frameworks, policies, and processes tailored to the needs of the technology organization.
• Identify and categorize all technology vendors to create a comprehensive vendor inventory and segmentation strategy.
• Define and implement governance structures for managing vendor relationships and performance.

Vendor Relationship Management:
• Foster strategic partnerships with key vendors, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and technology strategies.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for escalations and resolution of vendor-related issues.
• Drive collaboration and communication between internal stakeholders and vendors to ensure mutual success.

Metrics, Scorecards, and Performance Management:
• Develop and implement scorecards and performance metrics to evaluate vendor effectiveness, service quality, and value delivery.
• Monitor vendor performance against established metrics and provide actionable insights for improvement.
• Lead periodic business reviews with vendors, highlighting successes, risks, and opportunities for optimization.

Process Development and Optimization:
• Create and refine processes for vendor selection, onboarding, management, and offboarding to ensure consistency and efficiency.
• Standardize documentation, workflows, and reporting for vendor management activities.
• Implement tools and systems to support efficient vendor tracking, reporting, and collaboration.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:
•Partner closely with procurement and finance teams to align on vendor contracts, budgeting, and cost optimization strategies.
• Collaborate with IT leaders to ensure vendors are delivering against technology and business objectives.
• Work with legal and compliance teams to ensure adherence to organizational policies and regulatory requirements.

Continuous Improvement:
• Regularly assess and improve vendor management practices to adapt to evolving business and technology needs.
• Stay informed on industry trends, benchmarks, and best practices to ensure the organization remains competitive in vendor management.
• Identify opportunities for innovation and efficiency gains within the vendor ecosystem.

Supervisory Responsibility
This position manages employees and is responsible for the performance management and hiring of the employees.
Travel Requirements
Travel Requirements: Less than 25%

Education
Minimum- 4 Year / Bachelors Degree Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Information Technology, or related field.

Preferred
Graduate Degree- Master’s degree in Business Administration, Information Technology, or related field.

Experience
Minimum Years of Experience Description - 10 years of experience in technology vendor management, IT governance, or related roles.

• Proven success in establishing vendor management functions, processes, and metrics in a technology organization.

• Strong understanding of vendor scorecards, performance metrics, and technology management practices.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
• Technical Knowledge:
• Familiarity with IT and technology service agreements, including SaaS, PaaS, and cloud providers.
• Experience with vendor management tools and platforms.

Skills & Competencies:
• Strategic thinker with the ability to translate organizational goals into actionable vendor management practices.
• Strong leadership and team-building skills, with a focus on collaboration and cross-functional alignment.
• Exceptional analytical and problem-solving abilities, with a data-driven approach to decision-making.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to manage relationships with internal stakeholders and external vendors.
• Proficiency in developing and using performance metrics, scorecards, and dashboards to track and report vendor performance.

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements
• Able to sit/ stand for a long period of time in an office environment
• Dexterity of hands and fingers to operate a computer keyboard, mouse, tools, and to handle other computer components
• Regular and predictable attendance required

Company Summary
Our Mission…Harnessing the power of language, we connect diverse people and enrich the human experience.

Our Vision…To provide global language services that expand opportunities, nurture belonging, and empower the world to connect beyond words.

As one of the world’s leading language services providers, Sorenson combines patented technology with human-centric solutions. We strive to increase diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility for underrepresented people through communication solutions for all: call captioning and video relay services, over-video and in-person sign language and spoken language interpreting, translation, real-time captioning, and post-production language services.

Sorenson’s impact vision and plan extends to supporting employment opportunities for diverse employees, customers, and communities. As a minority-owned company, we are committed to expanding opportunities for underserved communities while promoting an inclusive workplace for our own employees.

Disclaimer
This position has access to highly confidential, sensitive information relating to the employees, customers, and technologies of Sorenson Communications. It is essential that applicant possess the requisite integrity to maintain the information in strictest confidence.

Apply today! www.sorenson.com/company/careers/

Equal Employment Opportunity:

Sorenson Communications is an EOE, Disability/Age Employer.