Vendor Management Office, Manager

**NO 3rd Parties Sponsorship

Duration: 6 months contract to hire

Location: Milwaukee, WI 3 days onsite 

Lead and mature our Digital Vendor Management Office (VMO) by establishing enterprise-wide governance, commercial, and performance management practices for IT and Digital vendors. This role defines and executes VMO strategy, oversees the full vendor lifecycle, and ensures vendor relationships drive value, manage risk, and align with technology and financial objectives. Partners closely with IT, Digital, Legal, Finance, and HR, and leads a team of vendor management professionals.

Key Responsibilities

• Establish and lead the Digital VMO, including governance models, policies, and standard operating procedures

• Own the end-to-end vendor lifecycle: intake, RFPs, contract negotiation, onboarding, performance management, renewals, and exit

• Lead vendor contract oversight, commercial negotiations, renewals, and competitive rebids

• Drive cost optimization, vendor consolidation, and total cost of ownership analysis

• Govern RFP/RFI/RFQ processes for major IT and Digital initiatives

• Define and manage vendor performance metrics, risk management, and remediation plans

• Build strong partnerships across IT, Digital, Legal, Finance, and HR

• Lead, coach, and develop the Digital VMO team

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in IT, Business, or related field

• 7+ years of experience in IT/Digital vendor management, strategic sourcing, or technology procurement

• Experience operating within or leading a VMO

• Strong contract negotiation experience across software, SaaS, cloud, managed services, and professional services

• Knowledge of licensing, subscription, consumption-based pricing, SLAs, and vendor risk

• Experience with VMS, CLM, or sourcing tools

• Strong analytical, financial, and executive communication skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree (MBA or IT-related)

• Certifications such as CPSM, CPM, ITIL, or CISM

• Experience building or scaling an enterprise VMO

Reporting & Relationships

• Reports to Director, Digital Planning & Governance

• Partners with Digital, IT, Finance, HR, Legal, and procurement teams