Vendor Relationship Manager

First American; Lansing (MI); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental

Vision

401k

PTO/paid sick leave

Employee stock purchase plan

Job summary

First American’s GO Title division seeks a Vendor Relationship Manager to develop, manage, and optimize a network of vendor providers supporting business operations and strategic initiatives.

In this role you will engage with external service providers, monitor vendor performance, and align vendor capabilities with organizational priorities while maintaining productive partnerships across departments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Strong negotiation, influence and stakeholder management skills
• Excellent interpersonal, relationship-building and teamwork skills
• Ability to manage multiple tasks, respond quickly to emergent problems, and focus both on long-range projects and immediate tasks
• Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint

Responsibilities

• Manage key vendor relationships across an assigned portfolio of external service providers.
• Develop and support vendor engagement strategies that align with business objectives and service needs.
• Build and maintain productive partnerships with vendors that provide specialized services to the organization.
• Serve as a point of contact for vendor-related discussions, planning, and relationship management.
• Monitor the overall health, capacity, and effectiveness of the vendor network.
• Identify vendor-related risks, service gaps, and opportunities to strengthen support for business operations.
• Collaborate with internal teams and business leaders to support operational and strategic initiatives.
• Participate in customer-facing discussions when vendor input or subject matter expertise is needed.
• Support vendor growth and expansion initiatives.

Skills

Negotiation

Stakeholder management

Interpersonal skills

Multitasking

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft PowerPoint

Job description

First American's GO Title division provides global title and escrow production support across all channels within First American Title including the Mortgage Services, Commercial, Direct, and Agency divisions. They are passionate about what they do, and we are equally passionate about fostering an environment where all feel welcome, supported, and empowered to be innovative and reach their full potential. We have also earned awards as a best place to work for women, diversity and LGBTQ+ employees, and have been included on more than 50 regional best places to work lists.

Vendor Relationship Manager

The Vendor Relationship Manager is responsible for developing, managing, and optimizing a network of vendor providers that support business operations and strategic initiatives. This role serves as a key point of contact for vendor relationships, helping align vendor capabilities with organizational needs and business priorities. The Vendor Relationship Manager supports vendor engagement, relationship management, performance monitoring, risk identification, and continuous improvement efforts to ensure the organization maintains access to effective and reliable vendor support. Operating with a degree of independence, this position focuses on building productive partnerships, supporting business objectives, and contributing to the overall effectiveness of the vendor network.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage key vendor relationships across an assigned portfolio of external service providers.
• Develop and support vendor engagement strategies that align with business objectives and service needs.
• Build and maintain productive partnerships with vendors that provide specialized services to the organization.
• Serve as a point of contact for vendor-related discussions, planning, and relationship management.
• Monitor the overall health, capacity, and effectiveness of the vendor network.
• Identify vendor-related risks, service gaps, and opportunities to strengthen support for business operations.
• Collaborate with internal teams and business leaders to support operational and strategic initiatives.
• Participate in customer-facing discussions when vendor input or subject matter expertise is needed.
• Support vendor growth and expansion initiatives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Strong negotiation, influence and stakeholder management skills
• Excellent interpersonal, relationship-building and teamwork skills
• Ability to manage multiple tasks, respond quickly to emergent problems, and focus both on long-range projects and immediate tasks
• Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint

Benefits

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• 401k
• PTO/paid sick leave
• Other great benefits like an employee stock purchase plan

By choice, we don’t simply accept individuality – we embrace it, we support it, and we thrive on it! Based on eligibility, First American offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, 401k, PTO/paid sick leave and other great benefits like an employee stock purchase plan.