Senior Manager, Strategic Vendor Partnerships

About the role

The Senior Manager, Strategic Vendor Partnerships is a high-impact, relationship-forward role at the intersection of business development and operational strategy. This individual will be the company's primary architect of our external contractor and service provider ecosystem — identifying, cultivating, and strategically aligning the right partners to the right projects at the right time.

Responsibilities

• Proactively identify, engage, and cultivate relationships with General Contractors, Electrical and Mechanical Contractors, Construction Managers and Owner's Representatives, and Data Center Specialty Contractors.
• Develop and expand the company's bench of vetted, high-quality vendor partners across all relevant trade categories, with particular emphasis on Data Center-specific specialty providers (e.g., Hot Aisle Containment, Raised Access Flooring, Structural Data Hall Ceilings, and similar systems).
• Conduct regular face-to-face meetings, site visits, and trade engagements to deepen existing relationships and establish new ones — representing the company's brand and vision with professionalism and authority.
• Serve as the ongoing point of contact for vendor partners, maintaining trust and transparency throughout the project development lifecycle.
• Maintain a sophisticated, up-to-date vendor management system that captures each partner's core competencies, geographic footprint, available capacity, and project history.
• Track and evaluate project opportunities across the pipeline, proactively matching vendor capabilities to project requirements based on competency, capacity, geography, and fit.
• Provide well-reasoned, data-informed recommendations to project leadership on vendor selection and team composition for specific opportunities.
• Monitor vendor market dynamics, emerging specialty firms, and regional labor trends that may impact vendor availability or strategy.
• Collaborate closely with internal project management, development, and leadership teams to align vendor strategy with overall project execution goals.
• Develop and maintain clear reporting cadences and dashboards that give leadership real-time visibility into vendor bench strength, coverage gaps, and pipeline alignment.
• Flag capacity or coverage risks early and propose proactive strategies to close gaps.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in construction, real estate development, vendor management, contractor relations, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain trusted, long-term business relationships with contractors and service providers.
• Exceptional organizational skills with experience managing complex data sets, partner portfolios, or CRM/vendor tracking platforms.
• Willingness and ability to travel regularly to meet with vendor partners across the company's active and target geographies.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills; confident, credible, and personable in both first meetings and long-term partner engagements.

Preferred

• Familiarity with the data center construction and development industry, including knowledge of specialty systems and key trades.
• Prior experience working with General Contractors, specialty subcontractors, or Owner's Representatives in a development or program management environment.
• Experience with vendor management systems, CRM platforms, or custom tracking tools used to evaluate and recommend partners at scale.
• Understanding of regional construction labor markets and contractor capacity dynamics across major U.S. data center markets.