Project Manager, Vendor Management

You could be the one who changes everything for our 28 million members. Centene is transforming the health of our communities, one person at a time. As a diversified, national organization, you’ll have access to competitive benefits including a fresh perspective on workplace flexibility.
 

Position Purpose: Manage all phases of vendor lifecycle while effectively partnering with third-party non-delegated vendors, internal stakeholders, procurement, legal, finance, and leadership. Collaborate closely with initiative owners to identify business requirements, evaluate vendor capabilities, and negotiate contracts that align to objectives. Facilitate vendor operating model activities, maintain portfolio management tracking and reporting, monitor SLA and KPI performance, manage issue resolution and risk mitigation, identify improvement opportunities, and research prospective vendors based on current state and future strategic capability needs.

• Manage process for identifying prospective vendors through RFP/RFQ/RFI's, internal vendor databases, and/or market research based on business and capability needs.
• Serve as vendor management primary point of contact for all assigned vendor relationships including facilitating proposal requests, discovery/scoping and partnership meetings, contract negotiations and execution, financial and security risk assessments, internal system integration and onboarding, support purchase order and invoicing needs, performance monitoring and tracking, hold vendors accountable towards mutual success by addressing any concerns or escalations, adherence to contractual terms, and ongoing end-to-end vendor oversight.
• Partner with business owners and leadership to properly scope projects to come to favorable terms with vendors aligned to approved budget, strategic objectives, required deliverables, project timelines, vendor capabilities, and SLA/KPI metric expectations during contract negotiations.
• Maintain vendor operating model and vendor portfolio that serve as central repository for all vendor management and process related information.
• Implement industry best practices and people/process/technology innovation to influence strategic business needs, evolve relationships with internal partners and stakeholders, optimize vendor partnerships, and streamline processes.
• Coordinate and lead cross-functional meetings with various functional areas to meet overall stakeholder expectations and business objectives.
• Provide leadership with vendor management performance metrics and reporting.
• Ensure all activities associated with procurement, financial and legal risk, and procedures adhere to compliance guidelines.
• Performs other duties as assigned
• Complies with all policies and standards

Education/Experience: Bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration, public health, business or related field or equivalent experience. 2+ years of healthcare management experience; vendor management, client/account management, or contracting experience strongly preferred. Smartsheet and Excel proficiency preferred.

Please note: position is remote, but candidate must work CST or EST work hours.

Centene offers a comprehensive benefits package including: competitive pay, health insurance, 401K and stock purchase plans, tuition reimbursement, paid time off plus holidays, and a flexible approach to work with remote, hybrid, field or office work schedules.  Actual pay will be adjusted based on an individual's skills, experience, education, and other job-related factors permitted by law.  Total compensation may also include additional forms of incentives.

Centene is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity, and values the ways in which we are different. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered in accordance with the LA County Ordinance and the California Fair Chance Act