Sr. Vendor Relations Specialist II

About the role

Pacific Life is seeking a talented Sr. Vendor Relations Specialist to work on-site in our Newport Beach, CA or Charlotte, NC office. Vendor Relationship Management Cultivate and nurture strong working relationships with vendors to foster productive and collaborative partnerships.

Responsibilities

• Act as liaison between company and vendors, ensuring clear communication and mutual understanding as appropriate for the relationship.
• Drive moderately complex initiatives, bringing in new perspectives to solve business problems with a goal of improving customer experience and operational efficiency.
• Provide guidance for the documentation of procedural changes in partnership with the Knowledge Management team to support vendor processing and related Pacific Life processes as needed.
• Apply proficient knowledge in supporting Technology areas ranging from Incident Management, SaaS, Cloud and Hybrid Environments, Data Centers, IT Operations and more.
• Lead vendor performance monitoring to identify trends and implement changes as appropriate.
• Identify areas for improvement and collaborate with vendors and senior team members to implement necessary changes.
• Collaborate with internal teams to identify and communicate vendor opportunity trends that support our strategic goals.
• Lead weekly/monthly vendor performance calls, as assigned to discuss performance metrics, improvements, and feedback, leading as necessary.
• Keep track of service level agreements (SLAs) and quality standards with vendors to ensure that commitments are met and exceeded when possible.
• Establish best practices, ensuring contract/invoicing compliance, maintain pricing oversight and adherence to fee approval limits.
• Serve as primary point of contact for vendor inquiries, addressing questions and resolving day-to-day issues as appropriate with minimal guidance from senior team members.
• Foster open lines of communication to promote transparency and effective collaboration.
• Provide timely responses to vendor-related inquiries, maintaining a high level of professionalism and accuracy.
• Keep vendors informed about relevant initiatives, changes, and updates that impact the vendor relationship.
• Partner closely with internal teams to enhance the vendor experience and address any challenges collaboratively.
• Work closely with Data teams to leverage, interpret, and apply sound analytics to internal and external data sources to support informed decision making.
• Ensure all assigned initiatives adhere to Ops project oversight expectations; Stakeholder needs and business requirements vetted and documented, business impacts evaluated, project outcomes/decisions tracked and communicated.
• Keep tasks in line with project scope through completion.
• Collaborate effectively with business partners across enterprise to gain consensus and ensure long term sustainability while meeting objectives.
• Seek and/or provide feedback to measure and evolve shape work quality.
• Act as SME by the Business Operations area on any assigned vendor relationships and be highly regarded as a key partner in managing the day-to-day operations.
• Be a visible and active participant in any issues related to the assigned vendor relationships with an eye towards identifying and communicating ways in which business operations can run more effectively/efficiently within the context of the vendor engagement.

Qualifications

• 5+ years relevant experience
• Strong desire to deliver a superior customer service experience
• Ability to work independently with minimal instruction, guidance, and direction from others
• Ability to communicate in writing moderately complex thoughts and ideas, verbally and in writing
• Proficient in Life insurance and Annuity operations activities and strong understanding of various outsourcing pricing models
• Proficient in Microsoft Office with aptitude for Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint
• Solid understanding of project management processes/methodologies
• Experience working in the IT sector and/or managing IT vendor relationships
• Strong analytics skills
• Strong critical thinking skills
• Proficient Leadership skills- ability to prioritize and manage competing priorities
• 4-year degree or equivalent experience

Pay

$124,830.00 - $152,570.00

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, Vision, and Wellbeing Reimbursement Account that can be used on yourself or your eligible dependents
• Generous paid time off options including: Paid Time Off, Holiday Schedules, and Financial Planning Time Off
• Paid Parental Leave as well as an Adoption Assistance Program
• Competitive 401k savings plan with company match and an additional contribution regardless of participation