More than 135 years ago, we started with core values that never go out of style: listen, learn and help businesses and individuals reach their goals. These core values shape our culture, and we were recently Great Place to Work Certified because of our outstanding workplace culture and employee experience. As well, our financial strength and stability are key reasons Forbes named us one of the Best 100 Banks in America for the ninth consecutive year.
With more than $16 billion in assets and 135 branch locations throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California, we understand our role in the economy and take that responsibility seriously. In addition to offering a source of capital to personal banking clients and businesses of all sizes, we place a high importance on employee volunteerism and donate millions of dollars each year to community organizations.
The Strategic Sourcing Director is responsible for the negotiation, development and administration of vendor contracts as well as the ongoing relationship with Banner Bank’s strategic vendors. The director leads the vendor management program and provides oversight and coordination of vendor management contracting and relationships across the company. This role is responsible for implementation and leadership of the vendor management lifecycle, including sourcing, negotiation, contracting, performance management and improvement and for ensuring appropriate discipline and procedures are in place to support effective vendor performance. The role also provides enterprise-wide consultation on sourcing strategies, contract management systems and strategic level negotiations in addition to adoption of disciplined vendor management processes and program compliance.

EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s Degree: Related Field required (an equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered)

EXPERIENCE

• 12 or more years of related experience that includes vendor management, preferably in a role related to banking and/or IT that includes experience developing strategy, negotiating contracts and structuring agreements (minimum of 15 years)
• 6 or more years of experience in a supervisory/management role leading a project, process or team required

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Extensive understanding of strategic sourcing & procurement practices, third-party risk management, regulatory compliance and vendor due diligence and onboarding
• Strong negotiation & vendor management skills including complex deal structuring, negotiating SLA’s and KPI’s, performance scorecards and governance
• Possess financial & analytical acumen with a strong understanding of spend analysis and forecasting, budget alignment and ROI tracking, benchmarking and market intelligence
• Demonstrated ability to lead sourcing teams and initiatives, change adoption, policy enforcement and training

• Create multi-year plans that defines when renewals are due; the HW depreciation schedule; & licensing metrics to begin negotiations within logical timing. Includes having a negotiation strategy for the renewals based on usage forecasting and the vendor sourcing strategy.
• Lead the preparation, selection and processing of vendors including selecting the right vendors (RFx process), negotiations, and making the purchase. Assist leaders with contracting activities including identification and facilitation of positive solutions to contracting opportunities and mentoring and counseling both vendors and leaders related to proposals and fee arrangements
• Ensure the right elements are in the contract & follow through the process to signature for key engagements. Elements include, but are not limited to: SLAs, data security/privacy, DR/BR, implementation milestones, deliverables/requirements, early termination conditions, etc.
• Establish direction for strategic vendor sourcing and management practices across the company including vendor management tools and best practices, cost management, and ongoing measurement and monitoring of overall program performance. Communicate and translate Banner Bank’s organizational objectives to the Executive Leaders to influence ongoing activities
• Manage and provide leadership and guidance to the IT Department on vendor management practices, including a governance and decision-making framework. Ensure governance structures and processes are implemented to maximize the value and operational success of new collaborations. Ensure that all contract arrangements are proactively tracked and monitored to ensure contractual obligations including financial commitments, program milestones and timelines are achieved.
• Lead cross-functional teams including business segments, senior leadership and subject matter experts through the negotiation process for Strategic Vendors driving needed performance, cost savings and mitigating risk while ensuring alignment of vendor to Banner Bank’s standards of performance.
• Identify and facilitate opportunities for improved performance of vendors, identifying opportunities and supporting the resolution of performance issues. Lead and facilitate strategic vendor performance and risk reviews and ensure mitigation plans are implemented
• Collaborate with and advise stakeholders and departments on projects involving new or revised vendor relationships regarding project execution methodology and tools in order to maintain alignment of the overall methodology with Banner Bank standards and to ensure vendor management program compliance.