Senior Manager, External Data

Senior Manager, Data Management

The Business Insurance Analytics & Research group is seeking an experienced and resourceful Senior Manager, Data Management to join our growing External Data team. In this highly visible, primarily business-focused role, you'll execute and champion the ongoing refinement of BI's external data strategy, partnering with stakeholders and Enterprise teams to ensure strong alignment within the broader Travelers framework. This position may manage others. The External Data team owns the full lifecycle of bringing new external data, products, and services into the organization — including vendor relationship management, price negotiation, cybersecurity tracking, and supplier risk management. This role offers meaningful leadership exposure through collaboration across departments and involvement in a wide range of exciting, high-impact initiatives. If you're a self-driven, curious professional who thrives at the intersection of business strategy and data, this is a compelling opportunity to shape how Business Insurance leverages external data.

This role's core functions include:

• Vendor Relationship Management: Serve as the primary point of contact for external data vendors, leading discussions on new product offerings, existing enhancements, and assessing vendor risk in partnership with business stakeholders.
• Data Research & Evaluation: Research and evaluate external data sources to build next-generation products across Property & Casualty lines of insurance, partnering with Actuarial and R&D to maximize business value.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with business partners, data scientists, and stakeholders to understand external data needs, design and execute test-and-learn experiments, and communicate the value of external data assets.
• Capability Management & Enablement: Investigate, analyze, and facilitate the management of enabled data capabilities, supporting business teams in leveraging third-party data assets within the bounds of permissible use.
• Portfolio Transparency & Inventory: Maintain an accurate and up-to-date inventory of vendors and use cases, providing clear visibility into the organization's external data portfolio and ensuring alignment with business objectives.
• Governance & Compliance: Provide timely support for issue resolution, compliance, permissible use, transaction monitoring, invoice tracking, and reconciliation, while promoting adherence to enterprise standards and contractual obligations across the organization.
• Knowledge Sharing & Framework Promotion: Collaborate with external data professionals across Travelers to share expertise, promote a common external data framework, and ensure consistent standards are applied enterprise wide.

What Will You Do?

• Manage supplier relationships, conduct supplier and product research, and track supplier performance for a defined group of suppliers.
• Ensure supplier and data risk management are accurate and current; support department supplier requests and relationships.
• Collaborate with procurement, legal, and business partners on contract language, service level creation, and ongoing monitoring.
• Assist Corporate Procurement with contract price review, negotiation, and management of contract renewals.
• Drive optimal cost of ownership through cross-functional teams, RFx processes (RFP, RFI, RFQ), supplier selection recommendations, and sourcing documentation.
• Lead cybersecurity tracking and assist with vendor issue mitigation; support area audit responses.
• Collaborate with partners to influence and implement innovative data governance practices, roles, and responsibilities.
• Develop procedures, processes, and remediation plans to ensure data quality for business purposes.
• Perform complex data profiling and analysis, and communicate results in support of data quality processes.
• Leverage knowledge of data models, relationships, lineage, and business rules to ensure solutions meet operational and business needs.
• Use tools, processes, and workflows to capture knowledge, maintain its relevance, and support informed decision-making.
• Articulate guiding principles and frameworks aligned to the organization's strategic vision.
• Apply strong project planning, organizational, and problem-solving skills to take decisive action and anticipate challenges.
• Proactively identify opportunities to improve processes and drive greater efficiency for the business.
• Communicate and present effectively across all levels of the organization; contribute to team and division projects as required.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

What Will Our Ideal Candidate Have?

• Experience in Vendor Relationship Management.
• Experience Data Research & Evaluation.
• Experience in cross functional collaboration and building business partnerships with stakeholder.
• Knowledge with one or more of the following Tools and languages – SQL, Teradata, Python, Hive, MicroStrategy, Ab Initio, Messaging, NoSQL.
• Ability to understand metadata management, including metadata management, lineage, and cataloging.
• Ability to effectively contribute and communicate with the immediate team, business partners and functional partners.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to use sound judgement to resolve issues as they arise.
• Ability to develop business partnerships and influence business priorities through solution identification aligned with business objectives and goals.
• Demonstrated ability to identify critical project tasks and establish clear priorities while keeping the bigger picture in mind.
• Strong understanding of overall physical and logical data model and of data relationships, mapping, lineage and business rules.
• Strong understanding of emerging trends in knowledge management.

What is a Must Have?

• Bachelor's degree or four years of relevant data and analytics, and/or data management experience.

What Is in It for You?

• Health Insurance: Employees and their eligible family members – including spouses, domestic partners, and children – are eligible for coverage from the first day of employment.
• Retirement: Travelers matches your 401(k) contributions dollar-for-dollar up to your first 5% of eligible pay, subject to an annual maximum. If you have student loan debt, you can enroll in the Paying it Forward Savings Program. When you make a payment toward your student loan, Travelers will make an annual contribution into your 401(k) account. You are also eligible for a Pension Plan that is 100% funded by Travelers.
• Paid Time Off: Start your career at Travelers with a minimum of 20 days Paid Time Off annually, plus nine paid company Holidays.
• Wellness Program: The Travelers wellness program is comprised of tools, discounts and resources that empower you to achieve your wellness goals and caregiving needs. In addition, our mental health program provides access to free professional counseling services, health coaching and other resources to support your daily life needs.
• Volunteer Encouragement: We have a deep commitment to the communities we serve and encourage our employees to get involved. Travelers has a Matching Gift and Volunteer Rewards program that enables you to give back to the charity of your choice.

Employment Practices

Travelers is an equal opportunity employer. We value the unique abilities and talents each individual brings to our organization and recognize that we benefit in numerous ways from our differences.

In accordance with local law, candidates seeking employment in Colorado are not required to disclose dates of attendance at or graduation from educational institutions.

If you are a candidate and have specific questions regarding the physical requirements of this role, please send us an email so we may assist you.

Travelers reserves the right to fill this position at a level above or below the level included in this posting.

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