Senior Asset Governance & Vendor Relations Lead

BMO U.S.; Naperville (IL); On-site; USD 112,200 - 209,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Tuition reimbursement

Accident and life insurance

Retirement savings plans

Job summary

BMO Financial Group in the United States is seeking a Senior Relationship Manager to oversee End User Asset Management and Asset Reclamation programs. You will lead vendor governance, budgeting, risk management and cross-functional collaboration with procurement, legal and technology teams.

This role focuses on optimizing vendor service delivery, ensuring regulatory compliance, and driving continuous improvement across inventory controls, lifecycle processes and executive reporting.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, IT, Finance, Risk Management, Operations or related field.
• 7+ years of experience in vendor management, governance, service delivery, asset management, risk management or operational leadership.
• Prefer 3-5 years’ experience with Inventory Management
• 3+ years of people leadership experience.
• Experience managing strategic vendor relationships and contractual obligations.
• Experience leading governance forums and executive-level stakeholder engagements.
• Strong understanding of IT asset lifecycle management, inventory governance and operational controls.
• Experience managing budgets, forecasts and financial performance indicators.
• Knowledge of regulatory and audit requirements within a financial services environment.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, analytical and leadership skills.
• Advanced proficiency with Excel, Power BI, ServiceNow and reporting tools.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary relationship manager for strategic asset management vendors and service providers.
• Lead Monthly Governance Reviews, Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs), and Executive Governance meetings.
• Drive vendor accountability against contractual obligations, SLAs, KPIs, and operational commitments.
• Manage vendor escalations and oversee remediation plans for service, compliance, or performance issues.
• Partner with Procurement, Legal, and Vendor Management teams during contract negotiations, renewals, amendments, and SOW reviews.
• Identify opportunities to optimise vendor service delivery, cost efficiency, and operational effectiveness.
• Establish and maintain governance frameworks supporting End User Asset Management and Asset Reclamation programs.
• Ensure alignment with Bank policies, regulatory requirements, audit expectations, and risk management standards.
• Oversee execution of governance controls including inventory reconciliation, lifecycle management, asset reclamation, disposal governance, and inventory aging reviews.
• Lead periodic control assessments and identify opportunities to strengthen risk mitigation and operational effectiveness.
• Support internal, external, SOX, and regulatory audits through effective documentation and evidence management.
• Develop and manage annual operating budgets related to end-user asset management services and vendor-supported activities.
• Monitor forecasts, expenditures, and financial performance against budget targets.
• Identify cost-saving opportunities through governance improvements, inventory optimisation, asset reclamation, and vendor negotiations.
• Provide leadership with financial reporting, variance analysis and strategic recommendations.
• Ensure vendor invoices, contractual billing, and service charges align with contractual agreements.
• Provide leadership, coaching, and guidance to governance and controls team members.
• Establish performance objectives and development plans for direct reports.
• Ensure appropriate team capacity planning to support operational demands, project initiatives, vendor governance activities, and audit requirements.
• Prioritise workload across team resources and adjust plans based on changing business needs.
• Foster a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, collaboration and operational excellence.
• Maintain executive oversight over inventory management, asset deployment, reclamation, retirement and disposal programmes.
• Ensure inventory controls support inventory accuracy, traceability, FIFO governance, and established minimum/maximum inventory thresholds.
• Partner with operational teams and vendors to resolve inventory discrepancies and improve data quality.
• Drive implementation of reporting, automation and process improvements that enhance asset visibility and governance effectiveness.
• Monitor key lifecycle metrics and identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency and cost management.
• Conduct risk assessments across the asset lifecycle and vendor ecosystem.
• Identify control gaps and develop remediation plans.
• Ensure compliance with applicable regulatory and internal governance requirements.
• Monitor emerging risks and provide recommendations to leadership.
• Support issue management, audit findings remediation, and management action plans.
• Develop and deliver governance reporting, scorecards, dashboards and executive presentations.
• Present vendor performance, financial results, compliance metrics, risk trends and operational outcomes to senior leadership.
• Provide actionable insights and recommendations that support strategic decision-making.
• Lead discussions with executives and stakeholders regarding operational performance, vendor health, budget performance and improvement initiatives.

Skills

Vendor management

Governance

Asset management

Risk management

Team leadership

Budget/Forecasting

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Excel

Power BI

ServiceNow

Job description

BMO Financial Group in the United States is seeking a Senior Relationship Manager to oversee End User Asset Management and Asset Reclamation programs. You will lead vendor governance, budgeting, risk management and cross-functional collaboration with procurement, legal and technology teams.

This role focuses on optimizing vendor service delivery, ensuring regulatory compliance, and driving continuous improvement across inventory controls, lifecycle processes and executive reporting.