Senior Director, Vendor Management

Job description

Company Cox Automotive - USA Job Family Group Business Operations Job Profile Sr Director, Vendor Management Management Level Sr Director Flexible Work Option Hybrid - Ability to work remotely part of the week Travel % Yes, 15% of the time Work Shift Day Compensation Compensation includes a base salary in the range of $179,600.00 - $299,400.00. The base salary may vary within the anticipated base pay range based on factors such as the ultimate location of the position and the selected candidate’s knowledge, skills, and abilities. Position may be eligible for additional compensation that may include an incentive program. Job Description Position Summary The Senior Director, Technology Vendor Management is a strategic, execution-focused leader responsible for the full lifecycle management of the organization's third-party labor program and its software and hardware technology purchasing. This leader serves as the primary steward of vendor relationships, program excellence and spend optimization across a diverse portfolio that spans product engineering tools, enterprise platforms, and an accelerating suite of AI-powered solutions — both for internal workforce enablement and as embedded capabilities within the software products the company sells. Operating at the intersection of supply chain, technology, finance, legal, and business operations, this role demands an individual who can move quickly in a fast-paced environment while maintaining rigorous governance, managing risk, and delivering measurable value. The Senior Director directly leads two managers and the programs they oversee, and works cross-functionally with Product Engineering, Supply Chain, IT, Finance, Legal, and executive stakeholders. Key Responsibilities Strategic Vendor & Spend Leadership Own the overall technology vendor management strategy, aligning procurement priorities with organizational goals across product development, enterprise IT, and AI initiatives. Establish and maintain a vendor portfolio governance framework covering risk, performance, compliance, and spend — with a particular focus on rapid evaluation and onboarding of AI tools. Partner with executive stakeholders and business unit leaders to anticipate needs and proactively drive sourcing decisions before bottlenecks occur. Develop and manage annual and multi-year vendor spend budgets; identify and deliver cost optimization opportunities without compromising operational agility. Third-Party Labor Program Oversee our Strategic Supplier Program which covers our main partners in software and platform engineering, including contractor and contingent workforce sourcing, staffing vendor relationships, MSP/VMS platform management, and compliance with co-employment policies. Partner with Product Engineering, and HR leadership to forecast and fulfill contract labor needs that support product delivery timelines. Drive competitive bidding, rate benchmarking, and SLA enforcement across staffing suppliers. Ensure the program scales efficiently with organizational growth while managing risk and legal exposure. Software, Hardware & Technology Category Management Lead all technology purchasing across a broad portfolio including: Product and engineering tools (e.g., IDEs, DevOps platforms, cloud infrastructure, AI coding assistants) Enterprise IT platforms (e.g., Salesforce, ServiceNow, Microsoft 365, collaboration tools) Marketing and sales technology (e.g., CRM add-ons, analytics tools, enablement platforms) AI tools and platforms for internal productivity and product integration Hardware, peripherals, and endpoint management Execute renewals, renegotiations, and new contracts with discipline and speed — balancing legal terms, pricing, and business requirements. Manage software license optimization, including utilization tracking, true-up management, and license right-sizing. Maintain a technology category management practice: grouping spend by category, applying market intelligence, and improving commercial outcomes over time. Technology Category & Asset Governance Program Own and operate a formal program that establishes clear category ownership and technology asset accountability across the enterprise. This program serves as the connective tissue between procurement, technology strategy, and operational ownership — ensuring every tool, platform, and vendor relationship has a defined owner, lifecycle plan, and periodic review. Define and maintain a structured technology category taxonomy that organizes the full portfolio of software, hardware, and services into governed categories with assigned business and technical owners. Establish and chair a recurring Category Review cadence in partnership with technology and business stakeholders — evaluating vendor performance, utilization, strategic fit, and renewal posture on a defined schedule. Own the technology asset register: maintain an authoritative inventory of all licensed software, SaaS subscriptions, hardware assets, and contracted services — including ownership, cost, utilization, contract terms, and renewal dates. Drive adoption of asset ownership accountability across the organization, ensuring that every technology investment has a named business owner responsi Identify and eliminate redundant, underutilized, or misaligned tools through a structured rationalization process — producing a leaner, more intentional technology portfolio. Produce regular governance reporting (spend by category, asset utilization, renewal pipeline, risk exposure) for technology leadership and Finance — enabling data-driven portfolio decisions. Develop and enforce technology procurement policies and intake processes that route new tool requests through appropriate evaluation, security review, and approval workflows before contracts are executed. AI Tooling – Rapid Evaluation & Enablement Lead the procurement lifecycle for AI tools being adopted internally (productivity, code generation, analytics, etc.) and those integrated into the comp