Strategic IT Vendor Management Partner

Harvard Central Administration (CADM) Talent Acquisition; Cambridge (MA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous paid time off

Medical, dental, and vision health ins

Retirement plans with university

Tuition assistance and reimbursement

Commuter benefits and campus perks

Job summary

Harvard University’s Central Administration seeks an experienced IT Vendor Management professional to manage vendor relationships, negotiate IT agreements, and drive cost optimization as part of the VMO/IT Contracts team. This hybrid role supports multiple internal clients and requires collaboration with procurement, legal, and security teams.

The ideal candidate has 7+ years in vendor management or IT contracting, strong negotiation and analytics skills, and a track record of delivering value

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
• Minimum 7+ years of vendor management, procurement, IT contracting, or related experience.
• Experience with SaaS, cloud contracting, data security, and compliance topics preferred.
• MBA, CPSM certification a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead and support negotiations for complex IT agreements, including Software License Agreements, SaaS Agreements, SLAs, Statements of Work, and Professional Services Agreements.
• Structure, draft, and review contracts to ensure favorable pricing, strong terms, and risk mitigation.
• Serve as Harvard’s representative in discussions with external vendors regarding terms, conditions, and performance.
• Maintain accurate vendor documentation, contract records, SLAs, KPIs, and performance dashboards.
• Monitor vendor performance-to-contract, address service gaps, and drive vendor accountability.
• Collaborate with service owners, business partners, and technical teams to align vendor support.

Skills

Vendor management

Procurement

IT contracting

Negotiation

Stakeholder management

Cost optimization

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience

Tools

Microsoft Office

Excel

Procurement systems

Contracting tools

Analytics platforms

Job description

Harvard University’s Central Administration seeks an experienced IT Vendor Management professional to manage vendor relationships, negotiate IT agreements, and drive cost optimization as part of the VMO/IT Contracts team. This hybrid role supports multiple internal clients and requires collaboration with procurement, legal, and security teams.

The ideal candidate has 7+ years in vendor management or IT contracting, strong negotiation and analytics skills, and a track record of delivering value