Senior IT Vendor Manager

3M; Minnesota; On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

3M in Maplewood, MN seeks a Senior IT Vendor Manager to lead a global portfolio of technology suppliers, spanning hardware, software, SaaS, cloud, and services. You will own vendor strategy, governance, cost optimization, and risk management while collaborating with Corporate Procurement, Finance, Legal, and IT delivery teams.

The role requires strong commercial judgment, executive communication, and cross‑functional leadership to manage complex relationships globally.

Qualifications

• Ten years of IT vendor management experience in a global, matrixed environment.
• Seven years managing enterprise technology suppliers and complex commercial relationships.
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in IT, business, supply chain, finance, engineering, or technology discipline.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute vendor strategies aligned with enterprise roadmaps and business priorities.
• Lead IT vendor governance, quarterly business reviews, and supplier scorecards.
• Manage contract lifecycle including cloud, SaaS, and enterprise licenses with cross‑functional partners.
• Ensure cost optimization, risk mitigation, and measurable value from vendor relationships.
• Identify opportunities for vendor consolidation, renewal planning, and performance improvements.
• Coach and influence stakeholders across IT, Finance, Legal, Security, and Procurement.

Skills

Executive communication

Cross-functional leadership

Commercial judgment

Vendor relationship management

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher in IT, business, supply chain, finance, engineering, or a technology discipline

Tools

GEP

SAP

Flexera One

ServiceNow

Apptio

Power BI

Job description

Senior IT Vendor Manager

Collaborate with Innovative 3Mers Around the World. Choosing where to start and grow your career has a major impact on your professional and personal life, so it’s equally important you know that the company that you choose to work at, and its leaders, will support and guide you. With a wide variety of people, global locations, technologies and products, 3M is a place where you can collaborate with other curious, creative 3Mers.

Job Description

This position provides an opportunity to transition from other private, public, government or military experience to a 3M career.

The Impact You’ll Make in this Role

The Senior IT Vendor Manager leads a global portfolio of strategic technology suppliers across hardware, software, SaaS, cloud, infrastructure, and managed services. This role serves as the primary IT relationship owner for assigned suppliers and is accountable for vendor strategy, commercial governance, contract lifecycle management, performance, financial optimization, risk mitigation, compliance, and measurable value realization.

The successful candidate will be a trusted advisor to IT and business leaders and will partner closely with Corporate Procurement, Finance, Legal, Information Security, Enterprise Architecture, IT Asset Management, and technology delivery teams. The role requires strong commercial judgment, executive communication, cross‑functional leadership, and the ability to manage complex supplier relationships in a global environment.

Strategic Vendor Leadership

• Develop and execute vendor strategies aligned with enterprise technology roadmaps, sourcing objectives, architecture standards, and business priorities.
• Serve as the IT relationship owner and escalation point for assigned strategic technology suppliers.
• Lead executive governance meetings, quarterly business reviews, supplier scorecards, and performance improvement plans.
• Drive supplier accountability for committed outcomes, innovation, service quality, commercial value, and continuous improvement.
• Identify opportunities for vendor consolidation, rationalization, demand management, and improved competitive leverage.

Commercial and Contract Lifecycle Management

• Lead IT business participation across the contract lifecycle, including new agreements, renewals, amendments, statements of work, cloud commitments, SaaS subscriptions, enterprise license agreements, managed services, and professional services engagements.
• Partner with Corporate Procurement on sourcing strategies, RFQs, RFPs, competitive events, negotiations, and supplier selection.
• Define clear business requirements, deliverables, service levels, acceptance criteria, milestones, pricing structures, termination rights, and commercial protections.
• Maintain forward‑looking visibility to renewals, commitments, risks, dependencies, and decision dates.
• Resolve complex commercial, contractual, service, and relationship escalations through coordinated cross‑functional action.

Software, SaaS, Cloud and Hardware Governance

• Manage strategic software publishers, SaaS providers, cloud providers, infrastructure suppliers, endpoint manufacturers, resellers, and technology service partners.
• Partner with IT Asset Management to improve software entitlement, utilization, compliance, audit readiness, lifecycle management, and retirement decisions.
• Partner with cloud engineering, architecture, FinOps, and Finance teams to improve cloud consumption visibility, commitment utilization, forecasting, and cost optimization.
• Coordinate hardware lifecycle, technology refresh, warranty, support, inventory, logistics, and supplier performance considerations with asset and operations teams.
• Ensure commercial models support portability, scalability, resiliency, security, and practical exit options.

Performance, Financial and Risk Management

• Establish and monitor SLAs, KPIs, operational metrics, financial commitments, deliverables, and corrective actions.
• Manage a significant portfolio of technology spend and identify measurable savings, demand avoidance, cost optimization, and value realization opportunities.
• Provide concise executive reporting on spend, forecast, savings, commitments, supplier performance, renewal exposure, and material risks.
• Ensure supplier compliance with corporate policies, security requirements, privacy obligations, regulatory expectations, contractual requirements, and audit controls.
• Lead supplier risk mitigation and continuity planning in partnership with appropriate control functions.

Cross‑Functional and Organizational Leadership

• Coordinate IT stakeholders and Corporate Procurement through a clear, integrated operating model with defined ownership and governance gates.
• Influence senior stakeholders across IT, Finance, Legal, Security, Procurement, Architecture, Operations, and business functions.
• Provide coaching, and subject‑matter leadership to managers, analysts, project teams, and external partners.
• Improve standard processes, data quality, reporting, contract repositories, workflow adoption, and vendor‑management maturity.
• Support technology transformation initiatives requiring complex supplier, licensing, cloud, asset, sourcing, and commercial decisions.

Leadership Capabilities

• Strategic and commercially minded, with the ability to translate technology needs into clear supplier and contract strategies.
• Confident executive communicator who can present complex commercial, financial, operational, and risk matters concisely.
• Strong negotiator and relationship leader who balances partnership with accountability.
• Data‑driven and disciplined, with strong attention to commitments, milestones, controls, and measurable outcomes.
• Comfortable operating through ambiguity, transformation, competing priorities, and cross‑functional dependencies.

Measures of Success

• Improved supplier performance, accountability, and stakeholder satisfaction.
• Measurable savings, cost avoidance, demand optimization, and value realization.
• Increased visibility and control across contracts, renewals, commitments, spend, and risk.
• Improved software, SaaS, cloud, and hardware lifecycle outcomes.
• Stronger alignment among IT, Corporate Procurement, Finance, Legal, Security, and supplier partners.
• Reduced commercial, compliance, continuity, and audit exposure.

Your Skills And Expertise

• Bachelor's degree or higher in information technology, business, supply chain, finance, engineering, or a technology discipline (completed and verified prior to start)
• Ten (10) years of experience in IT vendor management, technology sourcing, IT asset management, technology procurement, contract management, supplier governance in a private, public, government or military environment.
• Seven (7) years of experience managing enterprise technology suppliers and complex commercial relationships in a private, public, government or military environment.

Additional qualifications that could help you succeed even further in this role include:

• Demonstrated experience with complex software, SaaS, cloud, hardware, managed services, or professional services agreements.
• Demonstrated experience managing multimillion‑dollar technology portfolios, renewals, negotiations, supplier performance, and executive escalations.
• Master’s degree or MBA preferred.
• Experience with enterprise software licensing, publisher audits, SaaS optimization, cloud consumption agreements, infrastructure suppliers, and managed services.
• Knowledge of Technology Business Management, FinOps, IT Asset Management, ITIL, strategic sourcing, and supplier‑risk practices.
• Experience using platforms such as GEP, SAP, Flexera One, ServiceNow, Apptio, Power BI, or comparable enterprise tools.
• Professional certifications such as TBM, FinOps, IAITAM, ITIL, CPSM, CSCP, or relevant cloud certifications.
• Experience working in a global, highly matrixed technology organization.

Work location:

• This role has on‑site working model in the office at 3M Center, located in Maplewood, MN.

Travel:

May include up to 5%

Relocation:

Not authorized

Must be legally authorized to work in country of employment without sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g., H1B status).

Supporting Your Well‑being

3M offers many programs to help you live your best life – both physically and financially. To ensure competitive pay and benefits, 3M regularly benchmarks with other companies that are comparable in size and scope.

Pay & Benefits Overview:

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/careers-us/working-at-3m/benefits/

All US-based 3M full time employees will need to sign an employee agreement as a condition of employment with 3M.

This agreement lays out key terms on using 3M Confidential Information and Trade Secrets. It also has provisions discussing conflicts of interest and how inventions are assigned. Employees that are Job Grade 7 or equivalent and above may also have obligations to not compete against 3M or solicit its employees or customers, both during their employment, and for a period after they leave 3M.

Learn more about 3M’s creative solutions to the world’s problems at www.3M.com or on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn @3M.

Responsibilities of this position include that corporate policies, procedures and security standards are complied with while performing assigned duties.

Safety is a core value at 3M. All employees are expected to contribute to a strong Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) culture by following safety policies, identifying hazards, and engaging in continuous improvement.

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