IT Vendor Management Specialist - Contract Management

Be Here. Be Great. Working for a leader in the insurance industry means opportunity for you. Great American Insurance Group, a member of American Financial Group, is a Fortune 500 company.  We combine a "small company" culture where your ideas will be heard with "big company" expertise to help you succeed. With over 30 specialty property and casualty operations and a variety of financial services, there are always opportunities here to learn and grow.

As a Specialist within IT Vendor Management you'll be support the technology vendor management function within IT Asset Management. You’ll support coordination of all aspects of the RFx process, SOW’s, market research, proposal/quote evaluations, negotiating, execution and implementation of contracts. Your goal is to ensure Great American is receiving best value for their internal partners from suppliers of technology services and that they meet or exceed their contractual obligations in areas of cost, quality and service level agreements.

• Support the Vision, Mission, and Strategy for the Vendor Management function through the organization
• Coordinate software licensing information with the ITAM Software Asset Management function
• Price negotiations, purchase order creation, order tracking and management
• Finalize purchase details of orders and deliverables
• Track and report key metrics to improve efficiencies and cost containment
• Negotiate agreements specifically those related to cloud and technology services
• Manages and coordinates all IT contractual agreements to include contingent workers, technology support renewals, lease agreements, SOW’s
• Manage and oversee vendor relationships and contracts becoming a functional bridge between internal IT teams and AFG Procurement
• Assists in coordination with Legal, AFG Procurement, Security, IT Finance and relevant IT Departments the development and negotiation of contracts from initial concept through to closure
• Participate on IT Roadmap decisions and where needed support moves from concept to contract execution
• Analyze spend and utilization during contract renewals
• Control and support the process flow of IT procurement requests as submitted through the online purchase request application within P&C IT to company standards
• Develop and Maintain relevant standards for IT contracts within Service Now
• Acts as a business consultant to IT Management and technology SME’s
• Assists in identifying budget needs and validates purchasing requests
• Adhere to corporate standards or external regulatory requirements in areas such as but not limited to conflicts of interests, due-diligence and risk management

• 5 years’ experience in negotiating technology services with vendors
• 3 years’ experience supporting for working within a technology function.
• Experience working directly with, or as part of, a sourcing, procurement or legal department
• Project management type time management skills and ability to deliver exceptional customer service.
• Securities, Insurance, Financial Services Experience in IT, a plus

 Additional Qualifications:

• Sourcing experience in the IT category, i.e. services, software, hardware, SaaS
• Excellent analytical skills, attention to detail and problem-solving skills
• Experience working with various technologies areas such as; operating systems, databases, messaging, middleware, API platforms and cloud.
• Ability to navigate formal and informal communication and decision making channels
• Experience assisting in Sarbanes-Oxley controls and audits are desired
• Excellent verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills
• Ability to work independently and at times lead effectively as part of a team
• Ability to apply organizational acumen to identify and maintain focus on key success for the organization

 Educational Requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, Finance, related discipline or equivalent work experience
• National certifications applicable to this role are desired