Senior IT Vendor & Talent Partnerships Consultant (Indianapolis)

IWU is seeking a Senior IT Vendor & Talent Partnerships Consultant (Independent Contractor ‑ 1099 / Contract-to-Hire) for a large-scale technology reorganization project.

ABOUT IWU TECHNOLOGY

• IWU has been a pioneer and industry leader in technology - enabled education , being one of the first universities to establish distance learning in the early 1990s.
• University leadership is rekindling our entrepreneurial spirit and has mandated and funded an organization-wide initiative to re-platform major existing systems to AI-FIRST/AI-NATIVE driven technology platforms .
• We are standing up two additional data centers in an active/active configuration at premium commercial colocation facilities for on-premises sovereign AI platforms and application solutions that will become the foundation for how we deliver intelligent internal and commercially offered products.
• IWU’s technology teams currently comprise about 90 people delivering infrastructure, application, and integration services across the university .
• IWU’s technology teams are growing and looking for the best and brightest Christ-followers to help us fully embrace the AI revolution .

ABOUT THE ROLE:

• IWU has launched a once-in-a-generation enterprise re-platforming – dual-site data center build-out, AI-first platform, integration hub, and dozens of concurrent workstreams – staffed largely through 1099 contract-to-hire specialists, architects, and leaders across multiple hiring tranches. We are seeking a Senior IT Vendor & Talent Partnerships Consultant to drive how IWU finds, engages, contracts, and manages the external talent and vendor relationships that make that program executable.
• This is not a generic HR generalist role and not a passive procurement clerk. You will drive the outside-relationship function for IT – staffing agencies and executive search partners, systems integrators, OEM and software vendors, colocation and carrier relationships at the program edge – with clear SLAs, rate discipline, and accountability for outcomes. You will partner with the CIO, EPMO, workstream leads, Finance, and HR to keep hiring pipelines full, contracts defensible, and vendor performance visible.
• You will stand up vendor and contractor lifecycle processes, and translate workforce plans into signed SOWs and candidates in seats – on schedule and within benchmark.

Staffing, Recruitment, and Contractor Lifecycle

• Guide recruitment strategy and execution for IT contract-to-hire roles across hiring tranches, role prioritization, req intake, agency selection, pipeline metrics, and time-to-fill targets aligned to the re-platforming roadmap.
• Partner with hiring managers and EPMO on job descriptions, leveling, and compensation bands – Mercer-aligned benchmarks, 1099 rate multipliers, and consistent offer structure across workstreams.
• Run the contractor lifecycle – onboarding, background and compliance checks, SOW execution, extension/renewal decisions, conversion-to-W-2 coordination, and offboarding.
• Maintain candidate and contractor tracking – pipeline stages, source quality, and audit-ready records for institutional and legal review.

Vendor Management and Commercial Operations

• Coordinate technology vendor relationships spanning infrastructure, software licensing, AI platform components, integration tools, and SI partners – without duplicating technical architecture decisions owned by workstream leads.
• Lead vendor selection and RFP/RFQ processes in partnership with workstream owners – requirements gathering, evaluation criteria, demos, reference checks, and recommendation memos the CIO can act on.
• Negotiate contracts, SOWs, and rate structures – scope, deliverables, acceptance criteria, SLAs, payment terms, and exit clauses – with Finance and Legal review.
• Monitor vendor performance – milestone delivery, invoice accuracy, SLA adherence, and escalation when vendors underperform; drive corrective action or replacement when needed.
• Stand up and maintain the IT vendor master – categorization, qualification, risk tiering, and preferred-vendor lists for technology, professional services, and staffing suppliers.

Stakeholder Management

• Serve as the primary relationship owner for key external partners – professional, responsive, and firm when performance or terms need correction.
• Facilitate cross-functional intake – clear process and SLAs for how workstream leads submit requests and response timelines.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

Required

• According to Indiana Wesleyan University policy, all employees and contract-to-hire contractors must possess a strong Christian commitment and adhere to the standards outlined in the IWU Community Lifestyle Statement .
• 8+ years of progressive experience in vendor management, technical recruitment, workforce planning, or IT program operations, with 3+ years in a people-management or team-lead capacity.
• Demonstrated experience leading IT staffing and contractor programs – agency relationships, 1099/C2C lifecycle, high-volume specialist hiring, or executive search coordination for technology roles.
• Experience running vendor selection, negotiation, and contract administration – MSAs, SOWs, rate cards, SLAs, and performance management for technology or professional-services suppliers.
• Strong commercial acumen – can read a SOW, challenge scope creep, compare T&M vs fixed-price trade-offs, and align spend to outcomes.
• Executive communication – status dashboards, vendor scorecards, hiring pipeline reports, and decision memos for CIO and VP stakeholders.
• Proficiency with ATS, vendor management, or procurement tooling – and the discipline to keep data current when spreadsheets would be easier short-term.
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Human Resources, Supply Chain, Information Systems, or a related field – or equivalent demonstrated experience .

Strongly Preferred

• Experience hiring specialized IT roles – infrastructure, security, data, AI/ML, integration, and PMO – through agencies and direct sourcing.
• Background managing systems integrator and OEM relationships – hardware, colocation, enterprise software, or AI platform vendors.
• Experience with LinkedIn Recruiter , executive search, and niche technical recruiting channels for hard-to-fill roles.
• Knowledge of SOX, FERPA, or institutional procurement requirements in regulated or audit-sensitive environments .
• Relevant certifications or training (CPSM, SPHR/SHRM-CP, CPM, or equivalent demonstrated depth).

How You Work

• You treat people as a relationships not a program, and not an inbox – pipelines, scorecards, and renewal calendars are how you sleep at night.
• You are vendor-neutral but outcome-loyal – you recommend the partner that fits the requirement, not the one who bought lunch last week.
• You write things down . A verbal rate concession or scope change without a contract amendment is a problem waiting for audit.
• You protect hiring managers' time – you bring vetted slates and clear commercial options, not résumé dumps and vendor brochures.
• You escalate early when hiring velocity or vendor performance threatens the roadmap – surprises in staffing are rarely small.

WHY THIS ROLE?

• Critical path to execution . The re-platforming plan assumes dozens of specialized 1099 roles and major vendor commitments – without ORM discipline, the program stalls before architecture does.
• Tranche One ownership . You are among the first leaders hired to stand up how IWU engages the outside world for this initiative – process and relationships you define become the standard.
• Breadth across talent and vendors . One role connects recruitment, contractor lifecycle, and technology vendor commercial management – rare scope with real organizational leverage.
• Mission and meaning . IWU is a century-old Christ-centered university serving roughly 15,000 learners. The people and partners you bring in determine whether the re-platforming serves them well.

PROJECT REMUNERATION:

Estimated annual project remuneration is $165,000 - $195,000 for this independent contractor (1099) / Contract-to-Hire role.

Contractor Insurance/Bond Requirements

• General Liability: $1m per occurrence / $2m aggregate
• Cyber Liability: $2m per occurrence
• Workers’ Compensation / Employers’ Liability: $500,000; not applicable for approved sole operators
• Professional Liability / Errors & Omissions: $1m per occurrence / $3m aggregate

E