Post Contract Vendor Manager

About the Role:

Okta is seeking an experienced Post Contract Vendor Management leader to join Okta s Strategic Sourcing & Procurement (SS&P) organization. This role will have a pivotal role to establish and lead the Vendor Management program under SS&P portfolio. The primary focus of this program will be on Post Award Contract Management with emphasis on managing Spend and SLAs for Okta s suppliers in categories primarily within Engineering and Service Delivery. These categories include Data Center and Hosting Services, Database Management and Application Monitoring, Virtualization Software and other sub-categories as needed. The Vendor Management program goals include Supplier Relationship Management and establishing & leading Supplier Business Reviews with suppliers. This role will closely partner with various functional groups including Engineering, Technical Program Management, Service Operations, FP&A and Strategic Sourcing with aim to contribute towards and meet annual and strategic metrics for Strategic Sourcing organization. This position will report to the Head of Strategic Sourcing & Procurement.

Please note:

Responsibilities:

• Lead the development and documentation of Vendor Management framework and business processes and align them with the Sourcing & Procurement processes and policies. Work with leadership and peers from various groups, and stakeholders to gain approvals and implement the framework
• Act as an advocate and driver of strategic direction, mission, and vision of the Vendor Management department
• Identify, plan, and track cost and usage metrics that provide clues for optimizing the use of resources across categories listed above
• Collaborate with Program Management, Service Operations, Engineering, and other needed stakeholders to create visibility into the pipeline for NPI, new capability requirements, operational plans, upgrades, retrofits etc. to develop a platform for proactive engagement and to alignment on multiyear strategy and plans
• Build a strategic multi-year plan to achieve optimization goals across the portfolio
• Boost monitoring and reporting capabilities by creating data collection pipelines for cloud optimization metrics, automating controls and reports, and by performing analysis to spot irregularities and find opportunities
• Take contractual ownership for main suppliers in listed categories to ensure that service levels and contractual obligations are met
• Coordinate with asset management resources to assist in the management and tracking of cloud-based entitlements
• Measure and report on supplier performance and manage the delivery of performance feedback to suppliers
• Develop Quarterly Business Review (QBR) framework in partnership with stakeholders, secure approvals on the same and implement QBR cadence with selective suppliers
• Monitor and track credits tied to supplier contracts
• Create and implement mechanisms and channels to gather operational issues and to tie them back to existing contractual SLAs for effective supplier performance management and to guide future contract negotiations and improvements in the contractual SLA clauses
• Create scorecards for suppliers to capture spend patterns and performance metrics and tie them back to contracts as needed. Drive accountability on both sides, and provide visibility into opportunities to proactively manage
• Experience fostering a culture of collaboration between engineering and SS&P + Vendor Management teams to achieve continuous integration, delivery, and deployment goals

Preferred Qualifications:

• 5-10 years of experience in vendor management, preferred in SaaS industry
• Experience in information technology - including experience with a wide spectrum of technologies including data center, network, applications, services, etc. (Note: this is a non-IT role)
• Deep understanding of sourcing & procurement processes and methodologies within a global organization
• Experience in contract management and negotiation
• Background in solution architecture is plus, with a focus on cloud technologies such as AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform
• Understanding of FinOps fundamentals and their application in cloud environments
• Experience in managing Cloud contracts including, but not limited to, policies, performance, relationships, issue, and dispute resolution
• Understanding of the vendor life cycle (sourcing, procurement, vendor management), and how internal roles interact and operate throughout the duration of vendor engagements
• Solid grasp of financial concepts, such as depreciation schedules, capitalization, return on investment, and total cost of ownership
• Strong problem-solving ability with a focus on managing to business outcomes through collaboration with multiple internal and external parties
• Bachelor s degree in IT, Business, Finance, and/or commensurate professional experience