Sr. Manager, Vendor Relationship Management

Company Description:

McDonald’s evolving Accelerating the Arches growth strategy puts our customers and people first, and leverages our competitive advantages to strengthen our brand. We are recognized on lists like Fortune’s Most Admired Companies and Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies.

Doubling Down on the 4Ds (Delivery, Digital, Drive Thru, and Development)

Leading this tech revolution is McDonald’s Global Technology organization, made up of intrapreneurs who get to build really cool tech with scarily inquisitive people using the latest innovations like AI, IOT, and edge computing. We do this working along diverse, global teams who are always eager for a challenge. It’s bonus points when you get to see your family and friends use the tech you build at their favorite McD restaurant.

As we have matured as an engineering organization and seen the demands for technology grow exponentially, we’re gearing up to deliver on the next set of opportunities for the business. We are building up an engineering team in house accountable for our strategic products. We’ll have diverse squads made up of engineers with traditional and specialized skillsets, both from internal engineers coupled with our partners, to help us flex with demand and solve technology innovation challenges done at an incredible scale.

Check out the Global Technology Technical Blog to learn how technology is directly enabling the Accelerating the Arches strategy.

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 vendor contracts and serves as the initial point of the contact on issues that are raised 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 service agreements and the internal McDonald’s governance processes with regard to overseeing 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 responsibility over direct resources, working closely to developing their team(s) skills, proficiency, as well as responsibility/oversight in their performance.

*Please note that relocation is not provided for this opportunity*

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
• Lead the overall governance process between McDonald’s and vendors to assure continuous alignment between the parties
• Handle joint McDonald’s vendor action items arising from governance decisions from inception through completion, including collection, 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 partner groups to ensure the overall effectiveness of the vendor contracts 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, critical performance indicators (CPI) and other metrics that add new value 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 as well as vendors’ services, projects and processes to identify risks and compliance issues on a regular 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:

• 10+ years experience with IT contract management and relationship administration
• Bachelor's degree in related field 
• Demonstrated strong outsourcing functional knowledge, contract administration, project, and financial management experience
• Experience handling strategic vendor relationships and large contracts
• Experience with and significant knowledge of IT outsourcing and performance management methods, calculations and best practices in particular
• Confirmed analytical and problem-solving abilities
• Demonstrated ability to effectively prioritize and complete tasks under time pressure

Additional Information:

McDonald’s is committed to providing qualified individuals with disabilities reasonable accommodations to perform the essential functions of their jobs. Additionally, if you (or another applicant of whom you are aware) require assistance accessing or reading this job posting or otherwise seek assistance in the application process, please contact recruiting.supportteam@us.mcd.com

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