Senior Vendor Relationship Manager

Company Description:

McDonald’s is proud to be one of the most recognized brands in the world, with restaurants in over 100 countries that serve 70 million customers daily. We continue to operate from a position of strength. Our updated growth strategy is focused on staying ahead of what our customers want and realizing further growth potential. Our relentless ambition is why McDonald’s remains one of the world’s leading corporations after almost 70 years. Joining McDonald's means thinking big and preparing for a career that can have influence around the world.

At McDonald’s, we see every day as a chance to create positive impact. We lead through our values centered on inclusivity, service, integrity, community and family. From support of Ronald McDonald House Charities to our Youth Opportunity project and sustainability initiatives, our values keep us dedicated to using our scale for good: good for our customers, people, industry and planet. We also offer a broad range of outstanding benefits including a sabbatical program, tuition assistance and flexible work arrangements.

We are enjoying the flexibility of a hybrid work model, in which employees spend part of their week connecting with co-workers in our state-of-the-art headquarters. Located in the booming West Loop of downtown Chicago, it's set up to be a global hub that cultivates collaboration:

• Take a class at Hamburger University
• Sample future items in our Test Kitchen
• Utilize the latest technology to connect with your team around the globe

We are an equal opportunity employer committed to the diversity of our crew members, staff, operators, and suppliers. We promote an inclusive work environment that creates feel-good moments for everyone.

Job Description:

The role of the Senior Vendor Relationship Manager is to plan, direct, and coordinate operational aspects of managed services contracts, and other vendor contracts as assigned, and to build a highly collaborative relationship on behalf of McDonald’s with its strategic vendors. This position maintains a thorough knowledge of all aspects of McDonald’s Technology managed services contracts and serves as the initial point of the contact on issues that are escalated from functional areas (e.g., Application Maintenance, Application Development). This role counsels and advises McDonald’s personnel globally on operational services delivered by in-scope vendors. This includes overseeing the issue management and action item management processes, and other actions to improve vendor relations and performance.

Near term responsibilities of this role include driving the implementation of the multi-tier governance processes as outlined in the managed services contract and the internal McDonald’s governance processes with regard to managing the vendor, including the respective roles of the VMO and the solution and service delivery managers responsible for day-to-day operational relations with the vendor.

Longer term this role will focus on monitoring and improving the quality of relationship(s) between McDonald’s Technology and its vendor(s). The Sr. Vendor Relationship Manager will also have direct oversight and responsbility over direct resources; working closely to developing their team(s) skills, aptitude, as well as responsibility/oversight in their performance.

Key Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities of this position are related to the health of McDonald’s relationships with the in-scope vendors. The individual who fills this role is responsible for managing outcomes and results as follows:

• Define, develop, document, and establish appropriate communication to McDonald’s Technology and business partners on the operational responsibilities and services provided through the managed services contract(s)
• Establish productive management level relationships with vendor(s) to ensure the two-way flow of information and appropriate identification, tracking and resolution regarding strategies, priorities, requirements, issues and action items
• Manage the overall governance process between McDonald’s and vendors to assure continuous alignment between the parties
• Manage joint McDonald’s -vendor action items arising from governance decisions from inception through completion, including capture, assignment/ownership, tracking, status reporting at appropriate governance meetings, and closure
• Monitor the health and performance of the McDonald’s -vendor governance process and recommend adjustments to improve its effectiveness on an ongoing basis
• Work with and advise the McDonald’s Manager on contract-related issues and disputes from identification to final resolution, including assignment/ownership, tracking, escalation, reporting and improvement or other action plans
• Work with key stakeholder groups to ensure the overall effectiveness of the managed services relationship(s) and other vendor relationships as assigned
• Participate in identifying any additional sourcing opportunities within existing provider relationships
• Oversee a periodic customer satisfaction survey process, including follow-up and remedial action plans
• Conduct formal vendor reviews through the governance structure to include contract commercial performance, future outlook and results of benchmarks and other market assessments
• This role is responsible for monitoring service level agreement (SLA) performance and supporting resolution efforts when issues arise.
• Works with Technology leaders and the vendor(s) to establish and measure key performance indicators (KPIs), critical performance indicators (CPI) and other metrics that make valuable contributions to the relationship and support continuous service improvement.
• Define and direct the performance management strategy, SLA Management and reporting processes and tools for all in-scope services
• Perform quality assurance reviews of managed services programs
• Perform reviews of managed services vendors’ services, projects and processes to identify risks and compliance issues on an ongoing basis
• Analyze and maintain performance-related dashboards as well as service performance analytical methods and practices

Qualifications:

The successful candidate for this position will have the following experience and expertise:

• Demonstrated strong outsourcing functional knowledge, contract administration, project, and financial management experience
• 10 years’ experience with IT contract management and relationship administration
• Experience managing strategic vendor relationships and large contracts
• Experience with and significant knowledge of IT outsourcing and performance management methods, calculations and standard processes in particular
• Proven analytical and problem-solving abilities
• Demonstrated ability to effectively prioritize and complete tasks under time pressure
• Proven project management skills; experience in business systems and process planning
• Excellent written and oral communication skills; ability to clearly communicate ideas in business-friendly and user-friendly language
• Demonstrated ability to remain calm under pressure and act as a settling influence in a crisis
• Solid ability to resolve conflicts quickly and settle disputes equitably
• Ability to work in an advisory capacity to communicate system and business issues, develop and evaluate alternative action plans, and make recommendations
• Demonstrated ability to work with others and to lead and affect process and organizational change and improvements
• Demonstrated commitment to a continuous improvement approach

Additional Information:

McDonald’s is an equal opportunity employer committed to the diversity of our workforce. We promote an inclusive work environment that creates feel-good moments for everyone. McDonald’s provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities as part of the application or hiring process or to perform the essential functions of their job. If you need assistance accessing or reading this job posting or otherwise feel you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process, please contact mcdhrbenefits@us.mcd.com. Reasonable accommodations will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

McDonald’s provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to sex, sex stereotyping, pregnancy (including pregnancy, childbirth, and medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding), race, color, religion, ancestry or national origin, age, disability status, medical condition, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, protected military or veteran status, citizenship status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

Nothing in this job posting or description should be construed as an offer or guarantee of employment.