Summary:

Lead the technology vendor management function for Northwestern Mutual for Engineering Solutions Delivery (ESD) and more broadly for Technology & Digital (T&D) organization. Responsible for delivering on ESD’s labor strategy and for meeting external workforce needs for T&D holistically to include talent, cost and timeliness requirements, which include strong vendor performance management. Partner cross-functionally (e.g., finance, sourcing and procurement, human resources and T&D senior leadership) on T&D external workforce needs to include the development and execution of robust technology vendor management capabilities to include forecasting, reporting, talent management and effective financial management. Ability to oversee vendor deliverables and projects, ensuring they are delivered on time, within scope, and that they meet business objectives.

Must cultivate and maintain strong relationships with key technology suppliers and collaborate with suppliers to drive innovation, explore nearshore capabilities, conduct regular performance evaluations, enhance talent continuously through technology upskilling and reskilling as appropriate, increase core technologies, determine solid demand requirements and supply forecasting needs upfront and to solve other issues, as identified, in a timely manner to ensure the best value for the organization.

Primary Duties & Responsibilities:

Leadership: Lead the Technology Vendor Management (TVMO) team developing and operationalizing the TVMO strategy that aligns with the ESD Labor Strategy and T&D external workforce needs; provides vendor management and technology capabilities expertise, team leadership and strategic partnership (close integration with sourcing & procurement required) Ability to communicate effectively and clearly with internal stakeholders and external vendors, ensuring that expectations are understood and met.

Technical knowledge: Must be familiar with relevant industry tech standards, enabling informed discussions and evaluation of vendor offerings, as a partner with organizational leaders and stakeholders.

Adaptability: This role will require willingness to change, evolve and adapt to changing business needs, tech advancements, regulations and market conditions, and ensure the vendor strategies and operating models remain relevant.

Strategy: Ability to demonstrate strategic thinking and to align the vendor management strategies with the organization’s overall objectives, anticipating future needs and industry trends to make informed decisions. Evolve the Tech & Digital TVMO strategy to include nearshore capabilities, core technologies increases, skillset improvements, performance monitoring, elevated supply forecasting and demand requirements capture, trending analysis, industry standards incorporation, risk identification, changes in external supply marketplace and new innovation sharing

Negotiation & Analytical Skills – Ability to negotiate contracts and agreements (in partnership with sourcing and procurement) that benefit the organization while creating and fostering positive relationships with the vendors. Ability to assess vendor performance through metrics and data analysis, enabling the organization to make informed decisions about vendor selection and management.

Performance: Analyze vendor metrics and produces scorecards and reporting tailored to the needs of the technology teams to include operational monitoring and strategic vendor assessment; overall, optimize T&D vendor management costs (timely invoice payment and penalty avoidance), risks, benefits and overall performance / service management

Vendor Management: Establish regular governance touchpoints with vendors to assess performance, escalate issues and course correct. Include key ESD leaders and stakeholders in the governance routines. Requires strong internal and external relationship management and stakeholdering. Must be capable of identifying issues that arise in vendor relationships and coming up with practical solutions to address them effectively and communicate these decisions to stakeholders.

Risk Management: Assess and mitigate risks associated with technology vendor management. Develop and implement risk management strategies, including contingency plans, supplier diversification, and performance scorecards to ensure business continuity. Monitor, escalate and solve service quality issues; provide rapid resolution or escalation of all critical issues and disputes impacting delivery

Innovation: Assess vendor expertise and actively identify and communicate strategic and innovation ideas to address current and future T&D needs; requires keeping pacing with industry trends and driving ideas that are adopted to completion with T&D leadership team

Qualifications:

Education: Bachelor's Degree with an emphasis in Business, IT or related field preferred OR a significant amount of directly related work experience beyond the minimum required for the position; Master’s degree in preceding fields or relevant industry certifications preferred

Experience: 15+ years of previous experience in global technology sourcing and procurement or related technology management operations role in large financial services institution successfully developing and operationalizing a technology vendor management strategy.

Leadership: 10+ years of leadership of global technology sourcing and procurement or technology management organization in a large financial institution, with demonstrated track record of program transformation to optimize vendor performance, external resource talent and cost effectiveness in a large financial services institution. This includes leading discovery and research of new vendors and technologies and assessing the current vendor ecosystem for simplification opportunities. This further includes strong:

• Program management, decision-making skills and executive presentation and communication skills (C-suite level)
• People management skills (managing, motivating & developing staff along with effectively interacting with internal and external stakeholders)
• Ability to establish close relationships with vendors while holding vendors accountable to established performance metrics
• Knowledge of data collection, reporting and analysis to identify gaps / opportunity areas, assess trending and create insights and future vendor action plans

Industry Knowledge: 10+ years demonstrating depth of understanding of contract law, exhibiting strong negotiation skills (will be working with sourcing & procurement as a strategic partner), financial management and generally keeping pace with emerging industry trends

Cost Optimization: 10+ years of continuously identifying opportunities for cost savings and efficiency improvements. Conduct market research, benchmarking, and analysis to identify cost drivers, partner with sourcing and procurement to negotiate favorable pricing and terms and implement strategic sourcing initiatives to optimize spend across technology categories.

Technology: 10+ years of strong and broad understanding of technology functions (software dev and support, infrastructure, data, information security, etc.) and various delivery methods, planning and systems (e.g., Agile, Jira, Jira Align) preferred. Demonstrated ability to streamline and elevate vendor and procurement operating systems and tools

$133,140.00

$247,260.00

Northwestern Mutual pays on a geographic-specific salary structure and placement in the salary range for this position will be determined by a number of factors including the skills, education, training, credentials and experience of the candidate; the scope, complexity as well as the cost of labor in the market; and other conditions of employment. At Northwestern Mutual, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their role and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. Please note that the salary range listed in the posting is the standard pay structure. Positions in certain locations (such as California) may provide an increase on the standard pay structure based on the location. Please click here for additional information relating to location-based pay structures.

Job Posting End Date:

10/21/2024

The timeline for this job posting may be shortened or extended based on organizational needs

We are an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age or status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by law.

If you work or would be working in California, Colorado, New York City, Washington or outside of a Corporate location, please click here for information pertaining to compensation and benefits.