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HHMI is focused on supporting and moving science forward in a
variety of different ways ranging from conducting basic biomedical
research, empowering educators, inspiring students, developing the
next generation of scientists – even stretching into film and media
production. Our Headquarters is in the greater Washington, DC metro
area and is home to over 300 employees with expertise in
investments, communications, digital production, biomedical
sciences, and everything in between. The work housed here supports
and augments the groundbreaking research conducted in HHMI labs
across the nation. As HHMI scientists continue to push boundaries
in laboratories and classrooms, you can be sure that your
contributions while working here are making a difference.
This is a role for someone who reads a vendor contract and
immediately spots where the leverage sits, and who is comfortable
being the person who says no on HHMI's behalf. You are HHMI's
advocate with its vendors: in choosing them, in negotiating with
them, and in holding them to what they promised.
You will sit in Finance and report to the Director, Procurement,
but the vendors you cover span the Institute (from benefits
providers to enterprise SaaS vendors). Whichever department owns
the day to day relationship, you own whether the vendor is actually
delivering.
The job is advocacy and accountability, not account coordination.
You help HHMI pick the right vendor in the first place. You
negotiate contract terms and renewals to HHMI's advantage, build
the service level agreements and terms that define what good looks
like for us, and run the compliance reviews that catch it when a
vendor falls short. When something breaks, you are the point of
escalation, and you drive it to resolution instead of passing it
along.
You will work closely with Procurement, the Office of General
Counsel, and HHMI's other department leads, and with staff across
the Institute who manage these vendors day-to-day. You will report
regularly to the executive team, through the COO, on how our
vendors are performing. None of the people you work with day-to-day
report to you, so getting to the right outcome depends on how well
you make your case.
What you will actually do
- Help pick the vendor. When a department needs a new
vendor, you are in the room. You help define what HHMI needs, weigh
the proposals, and push for the vendor and the terms that will
serve the Institute best.
Hold vendors accountable. Across the Institute, you
track whether vendors are delivering the terms, service levels, and
deliverables they agreed to, no matter which department manages the
relationship day to day.
Negotiate the contract. You negotiate terms, renewals,
and amendments to HHMI's advantage, including the SLAs and the
terms that will work for us, with Procurement and the Office of
General Counsel alongside you on pricing, scope, and risk.
Build and run SLA reviews. You develop and document
service level agreements with key vendors, then run regular
compliance and SLA reviews to confirm they are living up to
them.
Take the escalation. When a vendor is not meeting its
commitments, you are the first call. You drive performance issues,
errors, and delays to resolution.
Watch the biggest relationships. You own whether HHMI's
major service providers deliver, enterprise-wide, with the heaviest
focus on benefits vendors and software and IT vendors.
Run performance reviews. You lead periodic vendor
performance reviews, document what you find, and hold vendors to
corrective action plans when they fall short.
Coordinate without owning. You work with the staff who
deal with these vendors day to day. You gather what they know and
use it to represent HHMI's interests.
Keep the executive team informed. You report regularly
to the executive team, through the COO, on vendor performance, open
escalations, and what is coming up for selection or renewal.
What we are looking for
- A dogged advocate for HHMI. You are on the Institute's
side, every time, from the first vendor conversation through the
last performance review, and vendors know it.
- A tenacious negotiator. You can hold firm on contract
terms and service expectations while keeping a workable
relationship with the vendor.
- Judgment on when to escalate. You can tell the
difference between a vendor hiccup and a pattern, and you know when
to raise it and how to drive it to a close.
- Fluent in SLAs and metrics. You can write a service
level agreement that actually measures something, and apply it
across vendor types that have nothing in common with each
other.
- Comfortable without a permanent seat. You can walk into
a vendor relationship you do not own day to day and still get the
outcome you need.
- High expectations, worn lightly. You expect real service
from a vendor. You expect the department that owns the relationship
to expect it too. You can hold both without becoming that
department's adversary.
Nice to have
- Direct experience negotiating or managing benefits contracts or
software and IT agreements.
- Exposure to other enterprise service providers, such as cloud
platforms, HR or HCM systems, or benefits administration
platforms.
What this role is not
- A contract filing job. You are negotiating and enforcing terms,
not just tracking renewal dates and storing signed
agreements.
- A role for someone who avoids friction. Part of the job is
telling a vendor, plainly, that they are not meeting the bar, and
staying in that conversation until it is fixed.
Practical details
This role is based at HHMI Headquarters and reports to the
Director, Procurement. It is an individual contributor position
with no supervisory or budgetary responsibility. HHMI is looking
for five to seven years of experience in vendor management,
supplier relationship management, or contract administration, and a
bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
Compensation and Benefits
Our employees are compensated from a total rewards perspective in
many ways for their contributions to our mission, including
competitive pay, exceptional health benefits, retirement plans,
time off, and a range of recognition and wellness programs. Visit
our
Benefits at HHMI site to learn more.
Hiring Pay Range
$120,517.60 - $150,647.00
Pay Type:
Annual
The posted range reflects HHMI’s good faith estimate of the
anticipated hiring salary range for this role at the time of
posting. Actual hiring compensation is determined by a candidate’s
qualifications, experience, and internal equity.
HHMI is an Equal Opportunity
Employer
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