Manager, Supplier Relationships

Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI); Chevy Chase, Northern (MD, KY); On-site; USD 122,000 - 152,000; Full time

Job summary

Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) seeks a Manager, Supplier Relationships to lead the full sourcing cycle across HHMI’s labs and headquarters. You will negotiate contracts, manage supplier performance, and guide a team in a fast-paced environment that leverages AI tools to improve speed and accuracy.

The role requires eight+ years in procurement, a bachelor’s degree, and CPM/CPSM/CPIM certifications. It is based at HHMI Headquarters in Chevy Chase with a hybrid schedule, three days on-site.

Qualifications

• Eight or more years in procurement, ideally in an academic or research institution.
• Bachelor’s degree and CPM/CPSM/CPIM certifications are preferred.
• Experience negotiating contracts and managing supplier relationships.
• Ability to use AI for sourcing, spend analysis, with sound judgment.

Responsibilities

• Own the sourcing cycle from market research to supplier selection.
• Negotiate contracts and manage supplier performance and risk.
• Set AI agenda and align team priorities with HHMI direction.
• Direct the sourcing team and coach staff.
• Coordinate supplier lifecycle and renewals.
• Partner with OGC and stakeholders to ensure fair sourcing.
• Read data, track spend, and benchmark ROI using AI.

Skills

Negotiation

AI judgment

Coaching

Procurement leadership

Cost analysis

Stakeholder management

Supplier management

Education

Bachelor's degree

CPM certification

CPSM certification

CPIM certification

Tools

Contract management software

Job description

Primary Work Address: 4000 Jones Bridge Road, Chevy Chase, MD, 20815

HHMI is focused on supporting and moving science forward in a variety of different ways ranging from conducting basic biomedical research, empowering educators, inspiring students, developing the next generation of scientists - even stretching into film and media production. Our Headquarters is in the greater Washington, DC metro area and is home to over 300 employees with expertise in investments, communications, digital production, biomedical sciences, and everything in between. The work housed here supports and augments the groundbreaking research conducted in HHMI labs across the nation. As HHMI scientists continue to push boundaries in laboratories and classrooms, you can be sure that your contributions while working here are making a difference.

This is a role for someone who treats a supplier relationship as a long game, not a transaction to close and forget.

The Manager, Supplier Relationships sits inside HHMI's Procurement team, supporting every lab and administrative group across the Institute.

Whoever needs a supplier vetted, a contract negotiated, or an escalated problem resolved gets the same level of support, whether they sit at Headquarters or in a lab three time zones away.

Procurement at HHMI runs at real scale, and the tools available to do it well, including AI-assisted contract review and spend analysis, are moving fast. This role is expected to keep pace with them and bring the rest of the sourcing team along.

The role runs the full sourcing cycle: researching the market, issuing RFPs, collaborating with the Office of General Counsel (OGC) to negotiate contracts, and managing the relationship after signature, using AI throughout to move faster while relying on sound judgment for the calls that matter. It also involves directing a team, translating procurement strategy into day-to-day work, and giving people the kind of feedback that actually changes how they perform.

This position works on a hybrid schedule, reporting in-person three days a week to our headquarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

What you will actually do

• Own the sourcing cycle.
• Lead market research, RFP development, and supplier selection from open to close, using AI tools to speed up the process and sound judgment to close it out.
• Set the AI agenda.
• Work with procurement leadership to decide how AI fits into sourcing and supplier management, and keep the team’s AI priorities aligned with where the Institute is headed.
• Negotiate and manage contracts.
• Negotiate pricing, service levels, and terms; manage renewals; and run regular supplier performance and risk evaluations.
• Direct the sourcing team.
• Assign work, hold it to productivity, efficiency, and accuracy targets, and coach a small team through the decisions they face day to day.
• Coordinate the supplier lifecycle.
• Manage requests to add, change, or retire suppliers, and set up the administrative and catalog support that keeps ordering running once a contract is signed.
• Partner across the Institute.
• Work with the OGC to keep competitive sourcing fair, ethical, and consistent, and with purchasing leadership and stakeholders to turn business needs into procurement requirements.
• Read the data and act on it.
• Track spend, benchmark cost, and calculate ROI on sourcing decisions, using AI to speed up the analysis and sound judgment to decide what it means.
• Keep the process current.
• Review procurement policies, RFP templates, and due diligence questionnaires on a regular cycle, and update them as the work and the tools change.

What we are looking for

• A negotiator's instinct. Knowing what a strong SLA looks like versus a weak one, and how to walk into a renewal with leverage instead of hope.
• AI alongside judgment, not instead of it. Comfortable using AI tools to speed up contract review, spend analysis, and supplier research, and knowing when to trust the output and when to check it yourself before it goes external.
• A real coaching habit. Able direct a team's work, give feedback that changes behavior, and hold people to a standard without micromanaging them.
• Institutional fluency. Eight or more years in procurement, ideally somewhere with the complexity of an academic or research institution, developing the ability to move a sourcing decision through OGC and stakeholders without losing the thread.
• Hard conversations, done well. Able to hold a supplier accountable in a difficult conversation, or push back on an internal stakeholder's ask, without burning the relationship.
• Fluent in the numbers. Cost analysis, spend benchmarking, and ROI calculations are part of how this person thinks through a sourcing decision, not an afterthought handed off to someone else.
• Nice to have Experience with contract management software beyond core Microsoft Office tools.
• Exposure to sourcing or procurement in a research or academic setting.

What this role is not

• A role where AI makes the call. AI is used throughout sourcing, contracting, and spend analysis, but the decisions on pricing, risk, and supplier wins remain owned by the Manager, Supplier Relationships.
• A purely tactical buying role. This is not just processing purchase orders. It is setting sourcing strategy, running RFPs, and sitting at the negotiating table.
• A role you run solo. Every competitive sourcing process here moves through the OGC and depends on stakeholders across the institute. This role keeps that coordination moving, rather than working in isolation.

Practical details

This role is based at HHMI Headquarters and reports to the Director, Procurement. It requires a bachelor's degree , CPM, CPSM, or CPIM certification, and eight or more years of progressively responsible procurement experience, preferably in an academic or research environment.

Physical Requirements

• Remaining in a normal seated or standing position for extended periods of time; reaching and grasping by extending hand(s) or arm(s); dexterity to manipulate objects with fingers, for example using a keyboard; communication skills using the spoken word; ability to see and hear within normal parameters; ability to move about workspace.
• The position requires mobility, including the ability to move materials weighing up to several pounds (such as a laptop computer or tablet).
• Persons with disabilities may be able to perform the essential duties of this position with reasonable accommodation.
• Requests for reasonable accommodation will be evaluated on an individual basis.
• Please Note This job description sets forth the job’s principal duties, responsibilities, and requirements; it should not be construed as an exhaustive statement, however.
• Unless they begin with the word 'may', the Essential Duties and Responsibilities described above are 'essential functions' of the job, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Compensation and Benefits

Our employees are compensated from a total rewards perspective in many ways for their contributions to our mission, including competitive pay, exceptional health benefits, retirement plans, time off, and a range of recognition and wellness programs. Visit our Benefits at HHMI site to learn more.

Hiring Pay Range $121,823.94 - $152,279.92 Pay Type: Annual The posted range reflects HHMI's good faith estimate of the anticipated hiring salary range for this role at the time of posting. Actual hiring compensation is determined by a candidate’s qualifications, experience, and internal equity.

HHMI is an Equal Opportunity Employer

We use E-Verify to confirm the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires.

Why HHMI

We make long-term investments in people, not just projects, because we believe in the power of individuals to make breakthroughs over time.

To move science forward we need a diverse collection of talents, expertise, and backgrounds in scientific research and science education, as well as communications, finance, human resources, information technology, investments, law, and operations.

At HHMI, we encourage collaborative and results-driven working styles and offer an adaptable environment where employees can do their best work.

What makes us strong is the diversity of our perspectives. We work to promote a culture of inclusion in our work environments and across the greater scientific community.

To find more information about us and the steps we’re taking to make HHMI a more inclusive organization, visit our About Us page.

Your best option for consideration in our career opportunities is to apply directly via our HHMI Careers site. There, you will learn more about HHMI and can find information about our available roles.

Contact us at [e-mail] if you require an accommodation related to completing the job application.

All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodations. Applicants have rights under federal employment laws.

For more information about your rights as an applicant, please review these posters: Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Know Your Rights, and Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA).