Director, Vendor Management Office - Kansas City (Hybrid)

The Director, Vendor Management Office, is accountable for leading, designing, and executing the firm’s Vendor Management Office (VMO), overseeing the full vendor lifecycle including sourcing support, vendor risk management, contract coordination, onboarding and offboarding, ongoing vendor performance management, and strategic vendor governance. Responsible for establishing consistent, scalable, and risk informed vendor management practices that align with firm policies, regulatory obligations, client requirements, and overall business strategy. This individual will serve as the firm’s primary business owner for vendor management, partnering closely with Legal, IT, Finance, Risk Management, Procurement partners, and third- party providers (including Harbor Global) to ensure vendor relationships are effectively governed end to end. This is a hybrid position resident in Kansas City, MO. Responsibilities Vendor Lifecycle Oversight Accountable for governance and oversight of the full vendor lifecycle, including intake, sourcing support, due diligence and risk reviews, contract coordination, onboarding, performance monitoring, renewal, and offboarding.Establish and maintain standardized vendor management processes, documentation, templates, and controls to ensure consistency and defensibility.Ensure vendor relationships are appropriately classified, risk tiered, and managed in accordance with firm policy and client obligations. Sourcing and Vendor Selection GovernanceOversee sourcing governance and execution in partnership with internal stakeholders and external sourcing partners (e.g., Harbor Global), ensuring alignment with firm strategy, budget, and risk tolerance.Provide leadership and direction for vendor selection, competitive sourcing events, pricing evaluations, and negotiation strategies, while retaining internal accountability for final recommendations.Ensure sourcing activities are transparent, well documented, and auditable. Vendor Risk Management Accountable for the firm’s vendor risk management framework, including coordination of due diligence reviews (information security, privacy, financial, regulatory, and operational risk).Partner with Legal, IT, Information Security, Privacy, and Risk Management to assess, document, and remediate vendor risks.Oversee issue tracking, risk remediation plans, and escalation processes; ensure ongoing monitoring is proportionate to vendor risk level and firm risk tolerance. Contract and Relationship Management Partner with Legal and Contracts Management teams to ensure vendor contracts align with firm standards, risk requirements, and negotiated terms.Oversee contract lifecycle touchpoints related to vendor onboarding, renewals, amendments, and termination from a business-ownership perspective.Maintain strong vendor relationships while ensuring appropriate performance expectations, accountability, and enforcement of contractual obligations. Vendor Performance Management Design and implement a vendor performance management program, including SLAs, KPIs, scorecards, and periodic business reviews.Use performance data, metrics, and stakeholder feedback to drive continuous improvement, corrective actions, or vendor exit strategies as appropriate.Ensure vendor performance issues are escalated, documented, and resolved in a timely and consistent manner. Onboarding and Offboarding Governance Accountable for vendor onboarding and offboarding processes, ensuring coordination across IT, Legal, Finance, and business stakeholders.Ensure vendors are properly enabled before service commencement and fully decommissioned at termination, including access removal, data disposition, and documentation retention. Program Strategy, Planning, and Metrics Develop and maintain the VMO’s strategic roadmap, annual operating plan, and budget.Establish metrics and reporting to provide visibility into vendor inventory, risk posture, sourcing activity, contract renewals, performance trends, and cost optimization opportunities.Present insights and recommendations to firm leadership to support data driven decision making. People Leadership and Team Management Build, lead, and develop the Vendor Management Office team, including hiring, onboarding, coaching, performance management, and succession planning.Set clear goals, priorities, and performance expectations aligned with firm objectives.Foster a collaborative, service-oriented culture with a strong focus on accountability, risk awareness, and continuous improvement. Cross Functional Leadership and Stakeholder Management Maintain strong working relationships with firm leadership, department heads, and peers to ensure vendor management priorities are understood and supported.Act as a trusted advisor to business stakeholders on vendor strategy, risk tradeoffs, and lifecycle decisions.Stay current on vendor management, sourcing, third party risk, and legal industry trends to proactively evolve the program. Support additional initiatives and special projects as assigned, contributing to evolving departmental and organizational priorities. Qualifications Established knowledge of vendor management, CPSM / CPM certificate and 10 years applied work Software Competencies Working knowledge Microsoft Excel, Word, and OutlookWorking knowledge of Contract Lifecycle Management systemsDemonstrated ability to:Define and operationalize programs; lead multiple related but separate business capabilitiesDevelop strategic roadmaps, identify supporting projects, and gain peer and Firm leadership support; apply project management and planning approaches for accurate planning, budgeting, and resourcingAnalyze large volumes of data, recognize trends, and incorporate insights into operational improvements, including defining technology needs and business requirementsOrganize team resources to execute multiple projects and achieve defined timelinesDrive issues to resolution by identifying obstacles and collaborating on solutionsManage vendor relationships, including vendor identification, evaluation, and ongoing managementProvide and coach delivery of high-level customer service aligned with team standards and user expectations Develop productive operational partnerships with direct reports, peers, and management EDUCATION AND CERTIFICATIONS Required: Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain/Procurement, Finance or Accounting, Risk Management, or a related field. Experience Required Minimum of 10+ years applied work experience About Littler Littler is the largest global employment and labor law practice in the world exclusively devoted to representing management. With more than 1,900 attorneys in over 100 offices worldwide, Littler serves as the single source solution provider to the global employer community. Consistently recognized in the industry as a leading and innovative law practice, Littler has been litigating, mediating and negotiating some of the most influential employment law cases and labor contracts on record for over 75 years. Littler’s unparalleled commitment to labor and employment law helps clients navigate a complex business world with nuanced legal issues—building better solutions for clients’ toughest challenges. With deep experience and resources that are local, everywhere, Littler is fully focused on its clients. With a diverse team of the brightest minds, Littler fosters a culture that celebrates original thinking. And with powerful proprietary technology, Littler disrupts the status quo—delivering bold, groundbreaking innovation that prepares employers not just for what’s happening today, but for what’s likely to happen tomorrow. Benefits We offer a generous benefits package to full-time and part-time employees working at least a 50% schedule. Benefits include comprehensive health, dental and vision plan for you, your spouse/domestic partner and children. In addition, we provide a superior 401(k) plan, ample time off programs, mental health programs, family building and caregiving, generous paid parental leave, life insurance, disability insurance, a wellness program, flexible spending accounts, and an employee referral bonus program. For more information about our benefits visit: www.littler.com/benefits/state-details. For more information about our firm visit: www.littler.com. Please note applications are only accepted through our careers page www.littler.com/careers. For questions regarding this opportunity, please e-mail Jennifer Carrion at JCarrion@littler.com with the job title in the subject line. Littler Mendelson is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. This job posting is a general description of the types of responsibilities that are required of an individual in this job. It is not intended to be a complete list of the responsibilities, duties and skills that may be required for this job.