Lead Vendor Management Advisor (Hybrid)

As a Lead Vendor Management Advisor (Strategic/Critical Vendors) with American Family Insurance you will lead the end-to-end management of critical third-party partnerships. You will serve as the central contact for complex contracts, navigate high‑stakes negotiations, mitigate operational, financial, and reputational risks. You will report to the Senior Manager, Vendor Management. Compensation range: $88,000.00 - $145,000.00, salary type. Pay rate may vary based on job level and geographic location. Relocation support is offered for eligible candidates. Responsibilities Define sourcing strategy and scope for enterprise events and critical vendor initiatives. Identify/qualify opportunities by spend, value, risk, and capacity. Align sponsors, approvals, resources, and lead cross‑functional delivery. Establish supplier governance as the primary liaison. Facilitate joint business planning and executive business reviews to align supplier roadmaps, capabilities, and performance to strategy and stakeholder needs. Negotiate Tier 1 contracts/SOWs and complex renewals to optimize commercial terms, payment strategies, incentives, and rebates with internal SMEs. Serve as contract SME: ensure approval/standards compliance and support stakeholders through the full vendor lifecycle (award, management, renewal, termination). Promote the value of sourcing/vendor management; provide reporting on spend, pipeline/activity, supplier performance, risks, TCO, and realized value. Build leadership relationships within assigned business units; act as primary point of contact and translate business goals into supplier requirements. Lead end‑to‑end Tier 1 RFx and contract projects; drive process and service improvements, including governance and performance management routines. Set and manage supplier performance expectations via SLAs, scorecards, and metrics; partner on improvement plans and corrective actions. Identify and mitigate supplier risk by ensuring regulatory, security, and policy compliance and supporting business continuity planning. Qualifications Demonstrated experience providing customer‑driven solutions, support or service. Demonstrated experience in project management methodologies, practices, techniques and tools. Solid knowledge of processing systems and processes. Solid knowledge of the insurance industry and regulatory environment. Basic knowledge of contract negotiations. Preferred Skills Marketing experience strongly preferred. Demonstrated experience in strategic sourcing practices including RFxs, contract negotiation and market intelligence. Experience with supplier performance management techniques, including KPIs, SLAs and scorecards. Demonstrated experience employing advanced end‑to‑end strategic sourcing processes, practices and tools to large, complex spend categories. Demonstrated experience leading medium to large projects. Demonstrated experience in contract negotiation techniques, including complex commercial terms and SOW structures. Experience of goods and services contract terms. Experience preparing reports, charts and presentations, including performance, risk and value reporting. Benefits Comprehensive medical, dental, vision and well‑being benefits. Competitive 401(k) contribution. Pension plan. Annual incentive. 9 paid holidays. Paid time off program (23 days accrued annually for full‑time employees). Student loan repayment program. Paid‑family leave. Other Details Hybrid role: expected to work a minimum of 10 days per month out of the Madison, WI or Boston, MA offices. Additional Information Offer to selected candidate will be made contingent on the results of applicable background checks. Offer to selected candidate is contingent on signing a non‑disclosure agreement for proprietary information, trade secrets, and inventions. Sponsorship will not be considered unless specified in the posting. EEO Statement We are an equal opportunity employer. It is our policy to comply with all applicable federal, state and local laws pertaining to non‑discrimination, non‑harassment and equal opportunity. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. American Family Insurance is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please email View email address on click.appcast.io to request a reasonable accommodation. #J-18808-Ljbffr