Strategic Vendor Management Specialist

5 days ago

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States Northwestern Mutual Full time

At Northwestern Mutual, we foster a culture of innovation and growth. Our commitment to investing in our people drives us to excel in the financial services industry.

We are seeking an experienced Strategic Vendor Management Specialist to join our team. In this role, you will be responsible for developing and managing strategic business plans for critical/high risk and strategic vendor relationships. This includes guiding negotiations with vendors, overseeing enterprise and shared vendor management programs, and driving organizational change to adopt centralized vendor management methodologies.

Your expertise will enable you to leverage strategic vendor relationships to drive improvement and innovation across multiple business units/functions. You will create and implement strategies for engaging vendors for corporate project portfolio initiatives within the Strategy Alignment and Execution process. Additionally, you will apply best practices to ensure regulatory and compliance standards are met.

  • Partners with Wealth & Investments senior leadership and other key stakeholders to develop strategy, vendor goals, and execution plans for critical/high risk and strategic vendor relationships.
  • Negotiates Master Services Agreements (MSA's), Enterprise Licensing Agreements, Data Subscription Agreements, Statements of Work, and NDA's in partnership with the Business, Legal, Risk, Compliance, and Tech teams.
  • Develops and manages holistic enterprise vendor relationship management program with the support of business unit relationship owners.
  • Provides coaching to executive relationship owners and their teams on how to leverage strategic vendor relationships to accomplish long-term objectives.
  • Serves as the direct point of contact for business partners throughout the full strategic sourcing process (Intake to pay).
  • Leads cross-departmental project teams, managing scope, risk, business value, schedule, and budgets for 3rd party relationships.
  • Researches best practices and identifies emerging trends in Fintech and Financial Data and Research Providers with vendor relationship management frameworks applicable to NM.
  • Applies best practices to ensure company meets regulatory and compliance standards. Assists in creating, implementing, and monitoring programs due to industry changes.
  • Researches, analyzes, and recommends significant process and workflow improvement efforts, implementing initiatives resulting in extensive changes in workflow or organization adjustments.
  • Conducts RFIs / RFPs / competitive events for business stakeholders along with supplier rationalization exercises.
  • Provides executive-level reporting of 3rd party spend and risk management metrics.

To be successful in this role, you will need:

  • A minimum of 8 years' experience in a sourcing and procurement function within the financial services industry.
  • Experience leading negotiations of financial technology, data contracts, and research contracts.
  • Demonstrated ability to develop influencing relationships with varying levels of management and individual contributors from various business units.
  • Understanding and experience of strategic sourcing processes, category management, and vendor risk management.
  • Ability to apply knowledge across complex business areas and manage in a cross-functional environment.
  • Ability to establish and maintain cross-functional relationships, influence change with diplomacy, and lead decision-making processes among senior leadership.
  • Bachelor's Degree with an emphasis in Business, Finance, Information Technology, Legal, or related field preferred or equivalent combination of education and work experience. MBA preferred.
  • Demonstrated experience with financial analysis, supplier spend & savings reporting, and TCO modeling.
  • Excellent research, analytical, problem-solving, planning, and organization skills required, along with a high degree of personal initiative and motivation.
  • Experience with Sourcing and Procurement technology (Zip, Spend HQ, Coupa, etc.).

Estimated salary range: $90,930 - $168,870. Compensation is based on geographic-specific salary structures and placement in the salary range depends on factors such as skills, education, training, credentials, and experience of the candidate.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package, flexible work schedules, concierge service, employee resource groups, and opportunities for career growth and development.

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