IT Vendor Manager

Tenneco is one of the world’s leading designer, manufacturers and marketers of automotive products for original equipment and aftermarket customers, with approximately 78.000 team members working at more than 300 sites worldwide. Through our four business groups, Motorparts, Ride Performance, Clean Air and Powertrain, Tenneco is driving advancements in global mobility by delivering technology solutions for diversified global markets, including light vehicle, commercial truck, off-highway, industrial, motorsport and the aftermarket.

Job Title: IT Vendor Manager

Location: Northville, Michigan

Tenneco is one of the world’s leading designer, manufacturers and marketers of automotive products for original equipment and aftermarket customers, with approximately 71,000 team members working at more than 300 sites worldwide. Through our four business groups, DRiV, Ride Performance, Clean Air and Powertrain, Tenneco is driving advancements in global mobility by delivering technology solutions for diversified global markets, including light vehicle, commercial truck, off-highway, industrial, motorsport and the aftermarket.

This position will be responsible for managing the operational contract, relationship, performance, cost, and risk management activities for a tiered portfolio of vendors.  An IT Vendor Manager must be able to navigate the working relationships with vendors to ensure that contractual services, service levels, and vendor commitments are delivered across the IT enterprise.  This includes working with key stakeholders to ensure that their vendor requirements are met, resolving problems, mitigating delays, assisting with audits, mediating disputes, and escalating issues. The position may be based in Northville, Michigan and reports directly to the Executive Director, IT VMO & Purchasing of the company.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Operational Contract Management

• Work alongside procurement, finance, and IT stakeholders to assist with developing master service agreements (MSAs), statements of work (SOWs) and various vendor contracts
• Work with Legal, IT Security, Data Privacy team representatives to develop and insert appropriate legal protections in contracts, as warranted
• Work with all teams (IT security, Data Privacy, HR, Finance, etc.) to ensure that vendors are performing in accordance with existing contractual requirements and meeting service levels
• Develop summarized contract elements which will be used to operationalize the fully executed contract
• Handle internal contract-related complaints or disagreements from the business or other internal stakeholders

Relationship Management

• Identify appropriate relationships in conjunction with internal customers and vendors to drive proper alignment on business and operational topics
• Facilitate and maintain relationships between the vendors and internal resources, including IT stakeholders and executive leadership
• Define governance cadence for each vendor falling under their portfolio
• Ensure reviews (contract, business, risk, etc.) are occurring in accordance with the agenda, participants and cadence defined

Performance Management

• Participate in the measuring of vendor performance and ensure operational governance of vendors
• Manage escalations and arbitrations of operational issues if typical avenues fail
• Manage consistent capture of portfolio performance including financial, execution and value realization within the organization
• Provide insight to business units and Executive leadership on current vendor relationships, including spend, relationship health and vendor performance, as well as providing mitigation options for any vendor-related issues and risks

Cost Management

• Administer commercial and financial arrangements with vendors to include invoice review of billing, performance credits and earn backs and internal chargebacks, where appropriate

Risk Management

• Collaborate with internal stakeholders, including IT and business resources, sourcing, and procurement for vendor selection
• Ensure risk assessments and reviews are performed at the onset of vendor selection and continue to occur with the cadence defined
• Responsible for tracking when risk artifacts, such as certifications and certificate of insurance are due

Minimum Requirements

Education:  Bachelor's degree required

Experience:

• Minimum of five years’ experience with negotiating and/or managing contract life cycles
• Experience in managing large complex contracts or projects in one or more IT categories, including hardware, software, managed services and Telecommunication
• Experience working with all key departments (security, compliance, finance, tax, AP, legal and procurement), and knowledge of procurement and vendor management practices

Skills

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills to be applied in working with vendors across the entire contract life cycle

• Strong dispute resolution and mediation skills to handle issue escalation
• Experience in leading program implementation and collaborating with functions to influence decisions and drive strategy
• Demonstrated strong verbal and written communication, change management capabilities, business acumen, project management and leadership skills
• Ability to gain confidence of senior management in advisement
• Ability to effectively summarize complex issues and provide effective resolutions/recommendations
• Uses analytical approach to problem solving, with a focus on managing tasks with appropriate urgency in a results-oriented team environment
• Ability to work across a complex organization to create needed alignment and harness relationships to collaborate with business units to influence decisions and drive strategy
• Knowledge of IT concepts and systems

An Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

An Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.