At U.S. Bank, we’re on a journey to do our best. Helping the customers and businesses we serve to make better and smarter financial decisions and enabling the communities we support to grow and succeed.  We believe it takes all of us to bring our shared ambition to life, and each person is unique in their potential. A career with U.S. Bank gives you a wide, ever-growing range of opportunities to discover what makes you thrive at every stage of your career. Try new things, learn new skills and discover what you excel at—all from Day One.

Job Description

Position Summary
The Head of Strategic Vendor Solutions leads a team responsible for transforming how U.S. Bank engages, governs, and maximizes value across its technology third‑party ecosystem. This role elevates vendor management into a strategic enterprise function that shapes technology direction, strengthens executive relationships, drives financial outcomes, and embeds operational discipline across the organization.

In addition to overseeing current and prospective strategic vendors, the role manages the full SVS portfolio including governance frameworks, performance scorecards, business reviews, and 360° relationship assessments to optimize cost, improve service performance, and create long‑term strategic value. The leader also directs U.S. Bank’s external engagement strategy, coordinating conferences, sponsorships, councils, and executive forums to ensure alignment with enterprise priorities and maximize visibility and strategic return.

The position plays a critical role in the discovery and evaluation of new and emerging vendors, including fintechs and innovation‑stage partners, providing structured market insights, sourcing inputs, and early‑stage assessments. It also brings vendor expertise into the bank through Pitch Days, innovation showcases, and technical deep dives that inform technology strategy and accelerate learning.

The role collaborates across Technology, Procurement, Risk/Compliance, Finance, and business units to translate vendor data into actionable insights that shape sourcing strategies, investment decisions, and continuous improvement. It supports leadership by tracking and coordinating strategic supplier engagements, providing visibility into critical initiatives, and maintaining market awareness to identify future opportunities and guide partnership strategies and negotiations.

Key Responsibilities

• Team Leadership: Manage performance, talent decisions, and resource planning for vendor strategy teams, including hiring, development, and performance standards.
• Enterprise Strategy Leadership: Drive unified governance of technology vendor program, including current and prospective vendors, and oversee initiatives that enhance transparency, awareness, and strategic engagement across the partnership landscape.
• Executive Engagement: Lead the development and delivery of presentations and insights that provide leadership with visibility into strategic initiatives, communicate priorities, foster organizational alignment, and enhance awareness across the enterprise.
• Program Oversight: Own vendor governance frameworks including performance scorecards, business reviews, and dashboards to optimize cost, improve service performance, and create strategic value.
• Data & Insights: Translate vendor data into actionable insights to inform sourcing strategies, investment decisions, and continuous improvement roadmaps.
• Project & Resource Management: Apply project management methodologies to plan and monitor strategic initiatives, set team priorities, and allocate resources to achieve objectives.
• Industry Awareness: Maintain strategic awareness of market trends, emerging technologies, and vendor capabilities to guide negotiations and partnership strategies.
• External Engagement Leadership: Oversee U.S. Bank’s technology-focused external engagement portfolio including conferences, sponsorships, councils, and executive forums ensuring alignment with enterprise priorities, maximizing strategic visibility, and capturing actionable outcomes from all third‑party interactions.
• Emerging Vendor & Fintech Pipeline: Partners with Enterprise Architecture and the CxOs on discovery, evaluation, and onboarding process for new and emerging vendors, including fintech innovators and VC‑backed technology partners. Provide structured market insights, sourcing inputs, and early‑stage assessments to support innovation, risk management, and strategic decision‑making.
• Vendor Expertise Enablement (Pitch Days & Innovation Sessions): Hosts structured engagements such as Vendor Pitch Days, innovation showcases, workshops, and technical deep dives to bring vendor expertise directly to U.S. Bank’s technology and business leaders. Ensure sessions drive learning, alignment, and strategic clarity.

Basic Qualifications 

• Bachelor's degree, or equivalent work experience 
• Eight or more years of related experience

Experience Should Include

• Education: Master’s degree preferred.
• Experience:
  • Minimum 10+ years in IT vendor management, technology strategy, procurement, or related fields, including leadership of cross‑functional teams and strategic vendor programs.
  • At least 5 years applying tools and techniques for planning, organizing, and monitoring enterprise‑level initiatives.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead proactively by anticipating needs, operating independently, and setting enterprise‑wide pace and clarity without requiring escalation
  • Ability to lead, coach, and develop teams through change, ambiguity, and expanding responsibilities while maintaining high standards of performance and alignment.
  • Experience evaluating and integrating emerging technology vendors (e.g., fintech, AI, early‑stage providers) and partnering with innovation or architecture teams on discovery and POCs.
  • Experience designing and operating structured governance routines, dashboards, and cross‑functional operating models.
• Preferred:
  • Experience supporting executive decision-making by providing actionable insights, comprehensive analysis, and well-structured presentations, as well as managing strategic vendor planning
  • Experience evaluating emerging technology vendors (fintech, AI, early‑stage providers) and partnering with innovation, architecture, or venture teams
  • Demonstrated success in cost optimization, contract strategy, and multi‑year spend‑reduction or vendor rationalization efforts.
  • Familiarity with technology risk and regulatory frameworks (e.g., TPRM and DORA).

***This role requires working from a U.S. Bank location three (3) or more days per week.***

If there’s anything we can do to accommodate a disability during any portion of the application or hiring process, please refer to our disability accommodations for applicants.

Benefits: 

Our approach to benefits and total rewards considers our team members’ whole selves and what may be needed to thrive in and outside work. That's why our benefits are designed to help you and your family boost your health, protect your financial security and give you peace of mind. Our benefits include the following:

• Healthcare (medical, dental, vision)

• Basic term and optional term life insurance

• Short-term and long-term disability

• Pregnancy disability and parental leave

• 401(k) and employer-funded retirement plan

• Paid vacation (from two to five weeks depending on salary grade and tenure)

• Up to 11 paid holiday opportunities

• Adoption assistance

• Sick and Safe Leave accruals of one hour for every 30 worked, up to 80 hours per calendar year unless otherwise provided by law

Review our full benefits available by employment status here.

U.S. Bank is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or veteran status, and other factors protected under applicable law.

E-Verify

U.S. Bank participates in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security E-Verify program in all facilities located in the United States and certain U.S. territories. The E-Verify program is an Internet-based employment eligibility verification system operated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Learn more about the E-Verify program.

The salary range reflects figures based on the primary location, which is listed first. The actual range for the role may differ based on the location of the role. In addition to salary, U.S. Bank offers a comprehensive benefits package, including incentive and recognition programs, equity stock purchase 401(k) contribution and pension (all benefits are subject to eligibility requirements). Pay Range: $133,365.00 - $156,900.00

U.S. Bank will consider qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records for employment. U.S. Bank conducts background checks consistent with applicable local laws, including the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance and the California Fair Chance Act as well as the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. U.S. Bank is subject to, and conducts background checks consistent with the requirements of Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDIA). In addition, certain positions may also be subject to the requirements of FINRA, NMLS registration, Reg Z, Reg G, OFAC, the NFA, the FCPA, the Bank Secrecy Act, the SAFE Act, and/or federal guidelines applicable to an agreement, such as those related to ethics, safety, or operational procedures.

Applicants must be able to comply with U.S. Bank policies and procedures including the Code of Ethics and Business Conduct and related workplace conduct and safety policies.

Posting may be closed earlier due to high volume of applicants.