Strategic Vendor Lead

Vendor Strategy & Relationship Management

Serve as the primary owner for strategic vendor relationships supporting OCI data center operations. Develop, strengthen, and maintain high-performing partnerships with national and regional vendors to ensure consistent service delivery and operational excellence. Lead end-to-end vendor lifecycle activities including vendor sourcing, onboarding, performance management, governance, renewal planning, and offboarding. Foster collaboration between vendors and internal stakeholders to ensure alignment with operational objectives, safety standards, and service expectations.

Contract & Commercial Management

Support development, negotiation, implementation, and governance of Master Service Agreements (MSAs), Statements of Work (SOWs), and Service Level Agreements (SLAs). Ensure contractual obligations, service expectations, and compliance requirements are clearly defined and operationalized. Partner closely with Procurement, Legal, Finance, and Operations teams to resolve commercial issues and drive contract optimization opportunities. Leverage enterprise and national agreements to improve cost efficiency, standardization, and vendor scalability across regions.

Performance & Operational Excellence

Drive vendor accountability through structured performance reviews, escalation management, and corrective action planning. Analyze operational trends and vendor performance data to identify risks, service gaps, and continuous improvement opportunities. Utilize digital vendor management and reporting systems to track performance, contracts, compliance status, and operational deliverables.

Cross-Functional Coordination

Coordinate execution activities across Site Operations, Engineering, Construction, Procurement, Finance, Legal, Security, and Compliance teams. Provide concise, data-driven reporting and executive updates to site leadership and regional stakeholders. Support operational readiness initiatives and vendor coordination activities for new deployments, expansions, and infrastructure projects.

Minimum Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in vendor management, supplier relationship management, procurement, facilities operations, construction operations, or related operational leadership roles.
• Experience managing vendors within critical infrastructure, hyperscale data center, utilities, construction, manufacturing, or regulated enterprise environments.
• Strong understanding of contract governance, SLA management, KPI development, and vendor performance oversight.
• Ability to read, interpret, and manage contracts, RFPs, technical scopes of work, and service specifications.
• Experience managing escalations, operational risk, and vendor issue resolution in fast-paced environments.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and communication skills with the ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders.
• Proficiency with vendor management systems, reporting tools, and operational tracking platforms.
• Ability to travel up to 25%.

Preferred Qualifications

• Professional certifications in vendor management, procurement, supply chain, or operations management preferred (e.g., CPSM, CVMP, PMP, Lean Six Sigma).
• Experience supporting hyperscale cloud infrastructure or mission-critical facility operations.
• Familiarity with compliance, safety, and risk management frameworks applicable to critical infrastructure environments.
• Experience leading vendor governance programs across multi-site or regional operations.