Director, Vendor Management at MetLife in Cary, United States

Job description

• The Director, Vendor Management Center of Excellence serves as a senior enterprise vendor management practitioner with two primary areas of accountability: Enterprise Vendor Relationship Ownership through direct management of strategically important, complex, or enterprise-wide vendor relationships; and Enterprise Leadership and VM COE Contribution through advancement of enterprise vendor management standards, governance frameworks, reporting, training, operating model, and organizational capabilities.
• This role helps define what good vendor management looks like by applying leading practices to complex vendor relationships and translating those experiences into scalable standards, tools, governance practices, and coaching for the broader vendor management community.

Responsibilities

• Enterprise Vendor Relationship Ownership
• Serve as the designated Vendor Manager for strategically important, enterprise-wide, or highly complex vendor relationships.
• Develop and execute vendor relationship strategies, governance plans, and engagement models.
• Lead vendor business reviews, operational governance reviews, executive engagement forums, and performance oversight activities.
• Drive vendor accountability for contractual obligations, service levels, operational performance, and business outcomes.
• Coordinate resolution of significant vendor issues, service disruptions, escalations, disputes, and remediation efforts.
• Partner with Procurement, Legal, Compliance, Third Party Risk Management, Technology, Operations, and business stakeholders to identify and address vendor-related opportunities and risks.
• Drive value realization through innovation, service improvements, operational efficiencies, and strategic partnership development.
• Support business continuity planning, transition planning, renewal strategies, and vendor exit readiness activities.
• Enterprise Leadership and VM COE Contribution
• Serve as a senior subject matter expert on enterprise vendor management practices, governance, and operating model execution.
• Support development and continuous improvement of enterprise vendor management standards, governance frameworks, procedures, and supporting tools.
• Help evolve vendor management operating models, vendor segmentation methodologies, governance processes, and performance reporting capabilities.
• Provide guidance, coaching, and consultation to Vendor Managers, Engagement Managers, Regional Governance Leads, and business stakeholders.
• Support development of enterprise reporting, scorecards, dashboards, metrics, and management insights related to vendor performance, governance adherence, and program effectiveness.
• Identify opportunities to improve vendor management maturity, automation, efficiency, data quality, and governance effectiveness.
• Translate practitioner experience into reusable playbooks, templates, best practices, standards, and training materials.
• Lead or support strategic initiatives that strengthen enterprise vendor management capabilities globally.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of experience in Vendor Management, Procurement, Third Party Risk Management, Supplier Governance, Operations, or related disciplines.
• Experience managing complex strategic vendor relationships.
• Strong executive stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• Experience leading cross-functional initiatives and governance activities.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making capabilities.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Ability to operate effectively within a global, matrixed environment.
• Ability to use AI to improve speed, quality, and efficiency across a broad range of day-to-day tasks.
• Financial services, insurance, or other highly regulated industry experience.
• Experience within a Vendor Management Center of Excellence or enterprise governance function.
• Familiarity with vendor segmentation, risk management, and regulatory environments.
• Experience developing governance frameworks, KPIs, dashboards, and executive reporting.
• MBA or advanced degree preferred.

Skills

Required

• Vendor Management
• Procurement
• Third Party Risk Management
• Supplier Governance
• Operations
• Executive stakeholder management
• Influencing skills
• Cross-functional initiatives
• Governance activities
• Analytical skills
• Problem-solving
• Decision-making

Preferred

• Financial services
• Insurance
• Highly regulated industry
• Vendor Management Center of Excellence
• Enterprise governance function
• Vendor segmentation
• Risk management
• Regulatory environments

Benefits

• Our U.S. benefits address holistic well-being with programs for physical and mental health, financial wellness, and support for families. We offer a comprehensive health plan that includes medical/prescription drug and vision, dental insurance, and no-cost short- and long-term disability. We also provide company-paid life insurance and legal services, a retirement pension funded entirely by MetLife and 401(k) with employer matching, group discounts on voluntary insurance products including auto and home, pet, critical illness, hospital indemnity, and accident insurance, as well as Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and digital mental health programs, parental leave, paid time off, paid holidays, volunteer time off, tuition assistance and much more! For more information regarding MetLife’s U.S. benefits, please click here.