Strategic Supplier Risk & Compliance Analyst

ASCENDING; Richmond (VA); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Part time

Job summary

ASCENDING in Richmond, Virginia seeks an experienced Enterprise Supplier Risk Analyst to establish and run a formal Supplier Management and Third-Party Risk Management program. You will oversee the vendor lifecycle from sourcing and due diligence through onboarding, monitoring, renewal and offboarding.

The role requires designing governance frameworks, risk-tiering, and ensuring suppliers meet contractual, cybersecurity, financial and regulatory requirements while partnering with Legal,

Qualifications

• Experience in supplier management, vendor management or third-party risk management.
• Ability to oversee due diligence, onboarding, monitoring and offboarding processes.
• Experience developing governance frameworks, risk assessments, policies and procedures.
• Familiarity with cybersecurity, privacy, financial, regulatory and compliance risks.
• Knowledge of SOC 1, SOC 2, PCI DSS, ISO 27001 or similar frameworks.
• Ability to read and assess contracts, SLAs and regulatory requirements.
• Strong analytical and critical-thinking skills for risk-based recommendations.
• Excellent verbal and written communication, with stakeholder influence.
• Strong PM and organizational skills to manage multiple vendors and deadlines.
• Self-directed, proactive SME for supplier oversight.
• Collaborative approach across Legal, Security, Risk, Procurement and Finance.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and ongoing management of a Supplier Management and Third-Party Risk program.
• Manage the complete supplier lifecycle: sourcing, due diligence, onboarding, monitoring, renewal, offboarding.
• Develop and maintain supplier governance frameworks, policies, standards and reporting.
• Establish a risk-tiering methodology based on criticality, data access, cybersecurity exposure, and financial/regulatory risk.
• Coordinate supplier due diligence assessments across cybersecurity, privacy, financial, operational, compliance and reputational reviews.
• Review supplier documentation including contracts, SLAs, insurance, security questionnaires and audit reports.
• Assess supplier compliance with industry standards and controls (SOC 1/2, PCI DSS, ISO 27001).
• Document findings, develop mitigation plans and track remediation to closure.
• Monitor vendor performance, contractual obligations, service levels and risk indicators.
• Collaborate with Legal, Procurement, Information Security, Risk and Finance to ensure sound terms and controls.
• Support contract lifecycle activities including renewals, amendments and offboarding.
• Conduct cost, value and performance analyses to inform supplier decisions.
• Prepare risk dashboards and executive summaries on supplier risk and remediation progress.
• Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders and external suppliers for accountable risk management.

Skills

Supplier management

Vendor management

Third-party risk

Contract lifecycle

Analytical thinking

Communication

Project management

Stakeholder engagement

Risk assessment

Governance

Regulatory awareness

Job description

ASCENDING in Richmond, Virginia seeks an experienced Enterprise Supplier Risk Analyst to establish and run a formal Supplier Management and Third-Party Risk Management program. You will oversee the vendor lifecycle from sourcing and due diligence through onboarding, monitoring, renewal and offboarding.

The role requires designing governance frameworks, risk-tiering, and ensuring suppliers meet contractual, cybersecurity, financial and regulatory requirements while partnering with Legal,