Strategic Vendor Contracts Manager

BMO U.S.; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 112,000 - 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 Chicago is seeking a Digital Account Manager to own end-to-end vendor contracts and drive governance, financial stewardship, and performance management across procurement, legal, and finance functions.

You will oversee budgets, forecasts, invoicing, risk mitigation, and renewal negotiations to optimize terms and service levels while coordinating with cross-functional teams and senior leadership for strategic outcomes.

Qualifications

• Experience managing the complete contract lifecycle for vendor relationships.
• Ability to manage vendor budgets and forecasting.
• Experience conducting business reviews with vendors and stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Manage the complete contract lifecycle from onboarding, execution, amendments, renewals, and termination.
• Maintain a centralized repository of vendor contracts and associated documentation.
• Track key contract milestones, renewal dates, notice periods, and contractual obligations.
• Coordinate with Procurement, Legal, Finance, and business stakeholders during contract negotiations and renewals.
• Ensure vendors comply with contractual SLAs, KPIs, security requirements, and regulatory obligations.
• Identify contractual risks and develop mitigation plans.
• Drive contract optimization opportunities to improve commercial terms and service levels.
• Manage vendor budgets and monitor spend against approved allocations.
• Develop monthly, quarterly, and annual financial forecasts.
• Review vendor invoices for accuracy and contractual compliance.
• Resolve billing discrepancies and payment disputes.
• Track financial commitments, accrued liabilities, and purchase orders.
• Analyze spending trends and identify opportunities for cost optimization.
• Support annual budget planning and financial reviews with leadership.
• Ensure compliance with internal financial controls and procurement policies.
• Monitor vendor performance against agreed SLAs and operational KPIs.
• Conduct regular business reviews with vendors and internal stakeholders.
• Track service quality, delivery performance, issue resolution, and customer satisfaction metrics.
• Escalate performance concerns and coordinate corrective action plans.
• Identify opportunities to improve productivity, service quality, and cost efficiency.
• Support vendor scorecard development and executive reporting.
• Build strong working relationships with vendor account teams and key internal stakeholders.
• Coordinate cross-functional discussions involving Procurement, Finance, Legal, Operations, Security, and Delivery teams.
• Communicate contract status, financial performance, risks, and recommendations to leadership.
• Facilitate governance meetings, business reviews, and executive discussions.
• Ensure alignment between vendor capabilities and business objectives.
• Monitor compliance with corporate policies and contract terms.
• Support vendor audits, assessments, and governance reviews.
• Identify operational, financial, legal, and delivery risks.
• Maintain risk registers and remediation plans.
• Ensure vendors meet data privacy, security, and regulatory standards.
• Track and manage contractual obligations, penalties, and service credits.
• Partner with procurement teams during RFP, RFQ, and vendor selection processes.
• Evaluate vendor proposals and commercial terms.
• Develop business cases for renewals and vendor investments.
• Lead renewal planning and negotiations to achieve favorable commercial outcomes.
• Benchmark pricing and market conditions to maximize value.
• Develop executive dashboards and financial reports.
• Track contract utilization, spend, forecasts, savings, and vendor performance metrics.
• Present insights and recommendations to senior leadership.
• Support strategic planning through financial and operational analysis.

Job description

BMO Financial Group in Chicago is seeking a Digital Account Manager to own end-to-end vendor contracts and drive governance, financial stewardship, and performance management across procurement, legal, and finance functions.

You will oversee budgets, forecasts, invoicing, risk mitigation, and renewal negotiations to optimize terms and service levels while coordinating with cross-functional teams and senior leadership for strategic outcomes.