The Director, External Partner Relationships is responsible for relationship oversight on one or more specific external partner relationships. This individual will partner with business units and corporate functions to drive and facilitate strategy for the specific external partner(s) in alignment with enterprise-wide strategy. This individual will work closely with the business units to support the external partner relationship management structure and create best practice standards for risk mitigation, performance management, and value creation. This individual will act as a change agent by identifying strategic opportunities based on business needs, leading transitions between business and external partners, and by strengthening key enterprise relationships to deliver on stronger outcomes.
Principal Duties and Responsibilities Include:
Manage specific relationship(s) for services provided by external partners – ITO, BPO, BPaaS, KPO, etc.
Establish and foster successful, positive working relationships between internal stakeholders and external partners, especially business owners and partner delivery lead
Work with internal stakeholders to solicit external partner performance feedback and develop roadmaps to drive business goals and delivery of desired business outcomes
Maintain a broad understanding of Master Service Agreement (MSA) and in-depth knowledge of Statement of Work (SOWs) for the respective functions
Ownership of successful contract performance, including monitoring, supplier adherence, measurement, reconciling and overall stewardship of supplier contracts to mitigate risk
Lead large sourcing transitions to selected external partners, from early pre-transition planning to knowledge transfer and ramp up to ‘go live’ followed by steady state
Conduct and coordinate periodic partner-level due diligence (e.g. site visits, compliance reviews, etc.) and monitor the external partner portfolio to optimize business
Work with the business partners to create standard SLA’s, metrics and scorecard programs to effectively measure and manage performance of external partners
Develop forward looking (3-5 years ahead) strategic roadmap for the relationship
Conduct research on external partner news, trends, templates and tools, maintain information on partner profiles and capabilities, and distribute as appropriate
Facilitate and support periodic business reviews (e.g., quarterly) with external partners and business partners where reports, metrics and partner scorecards are shared to drive continuous improvement and consistently high quality, high value results – includes developing efficient processes and mechanisms in coordination with Legal, Risk, ISO, Compliance, Global Security, IT architecture, and other corporate functions
Manage ongoing supplier relationship in regard to business continuity, change management, and escalation
Define and manage proper controls for financials including validation, reconciliations, risk management and adjustments
Develop negotiation strategies, gain alignment from stakeholders, and implement appropriate supplier risk analysis
Partner with business leaders and senior executives to support enterprise initiatives to identify and implement valued-based opportunities associated with external partnerships (e.g. capability, quality, talent, coverage, and cost efficiency)
Own and drive the fulfillment of all specified governance practices and events, including related communications, issue resolution and escalation, and action item tracking and closure
Work closely with consulting initiatives related to the External Partner relationship(s)
Performs other duties as assigned
Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management or related degree or equivalent work experience. MBA preferred 6 – 8 years overall experience, with 3 to 5 years of business operations and management experience
Strong relationship and change management skills
Use of operational excellence tools and processes (e.g. Lean/Six Sigma)
Regulatory compliance and auditing experience is desirable
Minimum 3 years in strategy development, process management/operations experience
Experience with disability, life, accident or critical illness insurance products and processes a plus
Experience in working with external partners with 3+ years in sourcing and strategic initiatives including designing engagement frameworks, performance management, cost management and benchmarking, and defining operating models and control mechanisms, process mapping and analysis. Strong analytical background
Strong acumen and experience in planning and executing sourcing transitions, specializing in business process transitions. Successful sourcing transition experience in Finance & Accounting and Benefits and Claims functions strongly preferred
Ability to influence peers and senior managers in partner organizations and to work across organizations to gain buy-in and build consensus to deliver on objectives. Superior oral and written communication and interpersonal skills
Innovative problem solving and strategic thinking skills, along with strong business acumen and analytical capabilities. Strong conceptual thinking skills with adeptness to lead others through ambiguous and/or complex issues
Background or exposure to large external partner engagements, large or critical deals that include contract negotiation strategies, service level agreements, and follow-on monitoring, issue resolution, performance evaluation and optimization is preferred
Knowledge of risk management related disciplines (e.g. risk assessments and ratings, information security, FCPA, onsite due diligence and external partner surveys)
Experience in financial services industry, supplier management and project management, lean management, or Six Sigma is a plus
Strong initiative with ability to set stretch goals and define steps to achieve results
Experience successfully driving cross-functional initiatives, teams and collaboration
Demonstrated ability to produce Executive Management reports on current operating procedures, risks and controls
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