Senior Manager, Procurement

Step Up For Students; United States; Remote; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Step Up For Students is seeking a Vendor Manager to oversee and optimize vendor management processes. This role involves managing vendor relationships, ensuring compliance with contracts, and driving operational excellence. The ideal candidate will have a Bachelor's degree and significant experience in vendor management.

Benefits

Medical

Dental

Vision

401K Match

Tuition Reimbursement

Generous Time off Policy

Professional Development

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications.
• Experience in vendor management or procurement preferred.

Responsibilities

• Oversee vendor management processes and relationships.
• Lead vendor selection, onboarding, and contract negotiations.
• Monitor vendor performance and compliance.

Skills

Analytical

Problem solving

Organizational skills

Negotiation skills

Communication

Interpersonal skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, or a related field

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Posted Wednesday, March 26, 2025 at 4:00 AM | Expired Wednesday, April 16, 2025 at 3:59 AM

Do you have a passion for children and education? Would you like to positively impact families in need of help? We want to speak with you! Step Up For Students empowers families to pursue and engage in the most appropriate learning options for their children.

Step Up For Students offers an excellent benefits package:

SUFS Total Rewards

Medical - HSA/FSA - Dental - Vision
Company Paid Disability - Life Insurance
401K Match - T uition Reimbursement

Generous Time off Policy - Professional Development

JOB SUMMARY

Responsible for overseeing and optimizing the vendor management process within the organization. This role involves managing relationships with external vendors, ensuring compliance with contracts, negotiating terms, and driving operational excellence through effective vendor system management. This position will also work closely with various departments to align vendor management strategies with organizational goals, maintain vendor performance and continuously improve the vendor ecosystem. This position will report to the Director of Third Party Risk Management and Procurement.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Developing and sustaining long-standing relationships with company-approved vendors to ensure mutual benefit.
• Lead vendor selection, onboarding, and contract negotiation processes.
• Address and resolve any vendor-related issues and ensure a high level of satisfaction.
• Monitor and assess vendor performance against agreed-up SLA’s and implement correct actions as necessary to improve service quality.
• Oversee the continuous improvement of the organization’s vendor management system and related technology.
• Oversee the continuous improvement of the organization’s vendor management system and related technology.
• Ensure the vendor management system is configured to meet the company’s specific needs, supporting vendor onboarding, performance tracking, compliance, and reporting.
• Develop and execute vendor sourcing strategies that align with company objectives and provide the best value.
• Conduct regular vendor performance evaluations to ensure the achievement of SLAs, cost savings, and operational efficiency.
• Lead negotiations with vendors on contract terms, pricing and service levels.
• Ensure compliance with internal policies, regulatory requirements, and industry best practices.
• Maintain up-to-date documentation on vendor contracts, performance metrics and compliance.
• Generate and present regular reports on vendor performance, risks, and opportunities for cost optimization.
• Identify potential risks associated with vendors, proposing mitigation strategies and monitoring risk levels.
• Ensuring business continuity by developing contingency plans for critical vendor relationships.
• Supplier Diversity – ensure that both organization and third parties have rules in place.
• Continually monitoring market trends to determine which products and services are the right fit for organization.
• Implementing vendor selection programs to ensure that the best vendors are secured (RFx’s, RFI’s, RFP’s, etc.).
• Make sure accounting functions are in place (invoicing, payment frequency, etc.).
• Ensure that all agreements have start/end dates loaded into repository and end of agreement reminders are utilized when appropriate.
• Collaborate with departments to lead clean up efforts of data base when agreements are no longer live and can be archived to aid in declutter of department folders.
• Responsible for termination, extension and amending of existing agreements.
• The above is not an all-inclusive list of all duties performed by this job title, only a representative summary of the primary duties and responsibilities.

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

REQUIRED :

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, or a related field preferred, or equivalent work experience.
• Proficient in all Microsoft Office applications.
• The ability to travel for work.
• Project management and decision-making experience.

PREFERRED :

• Minimum five (5) years’ experience in vendor management, procurement, or a related field.
• Minimum three (3) years in leadership role.

KEY COMPETENCIES

• Analytical & Problem solving capabilities.
• Organizational skills.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Maintain confidentiality.
• Multi-tasking.
• Must have strong negotiation skills and the ability to work through vendor contract challenges.

CORE VALUES

Step Up For Students believes strongly in two key core values to carry out their mission of “We empower families to pursue and engage in the most appropriate learning options for their children.”:

• Everyone is an asset.
• Every event is an improvement opportunity.

To maintain a positive and effective organizational culture, employees are expected to demonstrate these two core values in their everyday work.

WORKING CONDITIONS & EQUIPMENT USE

• Work is performed indoors in a typical office environment - not substantially exposed to adverse environmental conditions.
• Valid driver license with proof of insurance.
• Must be able to lift up to fifteen (15) pounds.
• Frequent use of office machines to include telephone, computer, and printer.

Step Up For Students is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity & inclusion in the workplace.