IT Vendor Management and Contracts Lead

Rockwell Automation is a global technology leader focused on helping the world’s manufacturers be more productive, sustainable, and agile. With more than 28,000 employees who make the world better every day, we know we have something special. Behind our customers - amazing companies that help feed the world, provide life-saving medicine on a global scale, and focus on clean water and green mobility - our people are energized problem solvers that take pride in how the work we do changes the world for the better.

We welcome all makers, forward thinkers, and problem solvers who are looking for a place to do their best work. And if that’s you we would love to have you join us!

Job Description

The IT Vendor Management and Contracts Lead will establish and lead an enterprise capability responsible for maximizing the value and performance of strategic technology vendor relationships. You will develop the IT Vendor Management strategy and operating model. The leader will establish and receive executive-level agreement of governance and performance standards. The leader will lead strategic vendor reviews and escalations. The leader will align partners across multiple departments, including IT and non-IT partners, Procurement, Finance, Legal, Enterprise Architecture, Cybersecurity, Risk, and IT Asset Management.

We are looking for commercial judgment, technology experience, and leadership. You will manage vendors holistically across contracts, costs, performance, relationships, risk, and outcomes while serving as a necessary intermediary among our organization, technology vendors, and company partners.

You will report to the Director of IT Business Operations and Results Delivery Office and is a hybrid position based in either Milwaukee, WI or Cleveland, OH office location.

Your Responsibilities:

• Develop and implement the IT Vendor Management strategy, charter, operating model, governance framework, and performance standards.
• Establish vendor segmentation based on business criticality, relationship potential, spend, risk, performance, and strategic relevance.
• Develop vendor strategies aligned with IT, business-unit, and enterprise technology roadmaps.
• Lead executive business reviews, strategic vendor reviews, commercial reviews, performance reviews, and escalation meetings.
• Partner with IT Strategic Sourcing on sourcing strategies, negotiations with strategic vendors of spending threshold, renewals, pricing, statements of work, service levels, and contract changes.
• Establish the IT vendor contract-governance process. Operate it to ensure new agreements, renewals, statements of work, and material contract changes are assessed against CIO-approved Vendor Contract Standards and applicable Design Authority requirements before approval.
• Ensure that software, SaaS, cloud, managed-service, technology-service, and developer agreements receive a documented assessment of conformity. This assessment should also document deviations from Design Authority principles and detailed design. You/applicant/employee must document, review, escalate, and approve material deviations through the appropriate governance process.
• Establish controls, reporting, and evidence demonstrating compliance with Vendor Contract Standards, including contract-clause adoption, Design Authority assessments, approved deviations or exceptions, remediation actions, and upcoming renewals.

The Essentials - You Will Have:

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent relevant experience
• Legal authorization to work in the U.S. We will not sponsor individuals for employment visas, now or in the future, for this job opening.

The Preferred - You Might Also Have:

• Bachelor's degree in business, supply chain, finance, information technology, engineering, or a related field.
• Typically requires a minimum of 8 years relevant experience.
• Experience in IT vendor management, supplier relationship management, IT strategic sourcing, contract management, and technology procurement.
• Bachelor's degree in information technology, computer science, business, finance, supply chain, or a related field.
• Track record meeting measurable goals – savings and revenue-related.
• Expertise managing complex, high-value technology vendor relationships.
• Experience with technology agreements involving software, SaaS, cloud, hardware, telecommunications, IT services, managed services, or professional services.
• Knowledge of commercial negotiations, pricing models, statements of work, service levels, renewals, contractual commitments, and performance remedies.
• Experience establishing vendor scorecards, Indicators, governance forums, executive reviews, and corrective-action plans.
• Analyze financial, contractual, operational, performance, asset-use, and risk data.
• Experience collaborating with Procurement, Finance, Legal, Cybersecurity & Risk, Enterprise Architecture, IT Operations, and business leadership.
• Contract negotiations, facilitation, conflict-resolution, and partner-management skills.

This position is part of a job family. Experience will be the determining factor for position level and compensation.

What We Offer:

• Health Insurance including Medical, Dental and Vision
• 401k
• Paid Time off
• Parental and Caregiver Leave
• Flexible Work Schedule where you will work with your manager to enjoy a work schedule that can be flexible with your personal life.
• To learn more about our benefits package, please visit at www.raquickfind.com.

At Rockwell Automation we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you're excited about this role but your experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right person for this or other roles.

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We are an Equal Opportunity Employer including disability and veterans. 

If you are an individual with a disability and you need assistance or a reasonable accommodation during the application process, please contact our services team at +1 (844) 404-7247.

Rockwell Automation’s hybrid policy aligns that employees are expected to work at a Rockwell location at least Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays unless they have a business obligation out of the office.