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Digital & IT Functional Spec 1 - Vendor Management Specialist

Location : CLEVELAND, OH, United States

Job Family : Information Technology

Job Type : Regular

Posted : Nov 26, 2025

Job ID : 61311

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Job Description

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Position Summary

This position partners closely with the Director of the IT & Digital Vendor Management Office (VMO) to deliver operational support across the global IT vendor portfolio exceeding $250 million annually, spanning 250+ vendors and 650+ purchase orders. This position will collaborate with internal stakeholders and external vendors to ensure accountability for enterprise-wide vendor governance and IT procurement policy enforcement.

Scope/Supervision and Interaction

+ This position does not have direct reports

+ Reports directly to the Director, IT & Digital VMO

+ Works collaboratively with Legal, Supply Chain, Cybersecurity, Finance, and IT leadership

Essential Functions

Vendor Management & Governance

+ Support development and maintenance of IT vendor management, processes, guides, and standards aligned with corporate objectives and IT Procurement policies.

+ Execute vendor segmentation and lifecycle tasks (selection support, onboarding coordination, performance monitoring, renewals prep, and exit activities) under established governance.

+ Conduct Make vs Buy analysis; prepare business cases and recommendations for leadership review.

+ Coordinate vendor governance forums (agenda, materials, minutes, action tracking); ensure decisions and actions are documented and executed.

+ + Contract Lifecycle & Complex Negotiation Support

+ Administer the contract lifecycle for IT agreements (MSAs, SOWs, SaaS/cloud subscriptions, NDAs, leases, purchase agreements, assignments/novations, TSAs) including redline coordination and terms discussions with the vendors and key stakeholders. E

+ Lead and support IT negotiations for vendor contracts and resolve complex commercial disputes. Experience leading complex Master Service Agreement (MSA) negotiations within IT is critical to this VMO role.

+ Work with Procurement to oversee the Request for Quote / Request for Proposal on IT projects.

+ Vendor Performance Management & Scorecards

+ Build and maintain vendor scorecards and dashboards (KPIs, SLAs, compliance, strategic alignment); ensure data quality and timely refresh.

+ Analyze performance trends and root causes; recommend corrective actions and continuous improvement initiatives.

+ Facilitate regular business reviews with vendors by preparing materials, documenting outcomes, and tracking follow-through.

+ Vendor Risk & Compliance Execution

+ Support the enterprise-wide IT vendor risk management framework, including cybersecurity risk assessments, regulatory compliance (SOC, GDPR, etc), and financial risk mitigation.

+ Support vendor-initiated audits of our IT systems and software usage, managing responses, negotiations, remediation plans, and minimizing financial and operational exposure.

+ Collaborate with internal audit, compliance, and cybersecurity teams to prepare for and respond to external audits and regulatory inquiries.

+ License Management

+ Support implementation and continuous improvement of SAM tools, data integrations, and processes; produce compliance and optimization reports.

+ Coordinate with IT, Finance, Procurement and the VMO License Manager to align licensing actions with contract terms and renewals.

+ Outsourced Services Management

+ Monitor outsourced provider performance against SLAs/KPIs; maintain dashboards and issue logs.

+ Coordinate remediation plans with vendors and internal stakeholders; track cost, quality, and risk metrics.

+ Support alignment of outsourced services with IT strategy by preparing analyses and recommendations for process improvements.

+ Financial Stewardship & Cost Optimization

+ Analyze IT vendor spend, delivering year over year cost-savings and optimizing contract terms to reduce total cost of ownership without compromising quality or innovation.

+ Track realized savings and value against baselines; prepare “Make Good” and Lessons Learned materials to inform process improvements.

+ Recommend commercial levers (term optimizations, volume/commit structuring, benchmarking, indexation, service rationalization) for IT leadership approval.

+ Collaboration, Standards, and Continuous Improvement

+ Contribute to playbooks, templates, and standard operating procedures; champion adoption and training within the VMO and partner teams.

+ Create analytics and automation tools to improve cycle time, transparency, data quality, and decision support; propose enhancements based on usage metrics.

+ Lead or co-lead special projects that intersect with vendor management to ensure alignment with VMO and IT strategy and timely delivery (e.g. mergers and acquisitions).

+ Executive Reporting & Stakeholder Management

+ Prepare executive-ready reporting on vendor portfolio status, risk posture, performance metrics, savings outcomes, and strategic initiatives.

+ Serve as a point of contact for vendor escalations; triage issues, coordinate stakeholders, and track resolution to closure.

Qualifications:

+ Bachelor’s degree in business, supply chain, information systems, or related area (Or international equivalent)

+ 6+ years of experience in IT vendor management, strategic sourcing, and contract negotiation within large, complex, global enterprise.

+ Excellent written and verbal communication and collaboration skills

+ Strong interpersonal skills, relates well with all levels of the organization

+ Demonstrated leadership aptitude, learning agility, and adaptability

+ Ability to maintain professional and strong relationships with business partners, contactors, vendors, and stakeholders

+ Experience in Agile methodologies and can apply those processes to everyday work

+ Demonstrated ability to lead teams and manage projects and vendor management activities effectively

Parker is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer. Parker is committed to ensuring equal employment opportunities for all job applicants and employees. Employment decisions are based upon job related reasons regardless of race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, gender identity, genetic information, veteran status, or any other status protected by law. However, U.S. Citizenship, Permanent Residency or other appropriate status is required for certain positions, in accord with U.S. import & export regulations.

(“Minority / Female / Disability / Veteran / VEVRAA Federal Contractor”)

If you would like more information about Equal Employment Opportunity as an applicant under the law, please go to Employees & Job Applicants | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (https://www.eeoc.gov/employees-job-applicants)