Strategic Vendor Risk & Governance Analyst

ASCENDING; Richmond (VA); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

ASCENDING is seeking an experienced Enterprise Supplier Risk Analyst to establish and execute a formal Supplier Management and Third-Party Risk Management program in Richmond, VA. The role will oversee the vendor lifecycle from sourcing and due diligence through onboarding, ongoing performance monitoring, renewal, and offboarding, while partnering with Legal, Information Security, and Procurement.

Responsibilities include developing governance frameworks, risk-tiering, and due diligence across

Qualifications

• Experience in supplier management, vendor management, or third-party risk management.
• Knowledge of due diligence, onboarding, monitoring, performance management, and offboarding processes.
• Familiarity with SOC 1, SOC 2, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, or similar frameworks.
• Strong analytical and written communication skills.
• Ability to read and assess contracts, SLAs, and regulatory requirements.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and management of a Supplier Management and Third-Party Risk Management program.
• Manage complete supplier lifecycle: sourcing, due diligence, onboarding, monitoring, renewal, offboarding.
• Develop supplier governance frameworks, policies, procedures, standards, and reporting.
• Establish risk-tiering methodology based on criticality, data access, cybersecurity exposure, and regulatory impact.
• Coordinate supplier due diligence assessments including cybersecurity, privacy, financial, operational, and compliance reviews.
• Review contracts, statements of work, SLAs, insurance documents, and compliance certifications.
• Monitor vendor performance, service levels, and risk indicators.
• Prepare risk reports and executive summaries on supplier risk and remediation progress.

Skills

Supplier management

Third-party risk management

Contract lifecycle management

Regulatory compliance

Cybersecurity risk

Analytical thinking

Stakeholder communication

Project management

Risk assessment

Due diligence

Job description

ASCENDING is seeking an experienced Enterprise Supplier Risk Analyst to establish and execute a formal Supplier Management and Third-Party Risk Management program in Richmond, VA. The role will oversee the vendor lifecycle from sourcing and due diligence through onboarding, ongoing performance monitoring, renewal, and offboarding, while partnering with Legal, Information Security, and Procurement.

Responsibilities include developing governance frameworks, risk-tiering, and due diligence across