Senior IT Vendor and Contract Manager at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota – Eagan, Minnesota

At Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, we are committed to paving the way for everyone to achieve their healthiest life. Blue Cross of Minnesota is an Equal Opportunity Employer and maintains an Affirmative Action plan, as required by Minnesota law applicable to state contractors. All qualified applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to, and will not be discriminated against based on any legally protected characteristic.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota

Position Title: Senior IT Vendor and Contract Manager
Location: Hybrid | Eagan, Minnesota
Career Area: Procurement
About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota

At Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, we are committed to paving the way for everyone to achieve their healthiest life. We are looking for dedicated and motivated individuals who share our vision of transforming healthcare. As a Blue Cross associate, you are joining a culture that is built on values of succeeding together, finding a better way, and doing the right thing. If you are ready to make a difference, join us.

The Impact You Will Have

The Senior IT Vendor and Contract Manager is a key member of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of MN Procurement Services team, with primary responsibility for leading the end‑to‑end management of complex IT contracts and commercial agreements. This role owns the contract lifecycle from negotiation and execution through ongoing administration, renewal, and termination, ensuring contractual terms, pricing, SLAs, and compliance obligations are clearly defined, well understood, and consistently enforced. The Senior IT Vendor and Contract Manager partners closely with Legal, Procurement, IT, and business stakeholders to negotiate favorable contractual terms, manage contract changes, and resolve contractual issues. The role oversees vendor adherence to contractual commitments, including service levels, performance metrics, financial controls, and regulatory requirements, and leads remediation and “get‑well" efforts when contractual expectations are not met.

Your Responsibilities

• Independently develop and maintain strong relationships with vendors, fostering effective communication and collaboration.
• Monitor vendor performance, conduct regular reviews, and address any issues or concerns.
• Identify and alert leadership of opportunities and solutions for performance improvement and cost reduction through vendor optimization and other means.
• Works closely with business partners to ensure SLAs, deliverables, compliance requirements and expectations are adequately incorporated into RFXs and vendor contracts to facilitate the management of vendor performance. Support the position of Blue Cross in vendor discussions.
• Communicate with assigned business partners to ensure they are properly educated on Blue Cross expectations throughout the lifecycle of the relationship.
• Works closely with Blue Cross Procurement Services Leadership to ensure Relationship Managers understand their contractual requirements for any engagement. Addresses instances were recommendations are not followed.
• Establish and monitor vendor scorecards (quantitative and qualitative measures of performance against selected SLAs and metrics) to monitor and manage vendor performance based on a defined set of criteria. Establish new criteria as vendors, technology, and reporting ability evolves.
• Provides on-going vendor scorecard reporting and analysis to Relationship Managers and Performance Managers to facilitate their ability to adequately monitor, review and act on vendors operational performance.
• Leads the execution of various vendor management tasks, such as quarterly business reviews, semi-annual business portfolio reviews, vendor scorecards, as well as other performance management activities and reporting as required.
• Facilitate regular business reviews with assigned portfolio of vendors to discuss vendor performance reporting, SLAs, deliverables, compliance requirements, other contract expectations, relationship health and improvement plans.
• Navigate ambiguity and provide support, recommendations, and functional expertise to Relationship Managers, Performance Managers and Compliance Managers for problem resolution with assigned portfolio vendors.
• With Blue Cross Procurement Services Leadership awareness, works closely with Business partners to diagnose poor vendor performance and assists to put in place "get well" plans. Jointly with the Leadership facilitates the resolution of escalated vendor-related issues.
• Lead cross-functional efforts across the enterprise, including teams such as operations, finance, compliance, security and legal to ensure seamless procurement processes.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to develop and implement procurement strategies that align with business objectives.
• Facilitate effective communication and collaboration between internal teams and external suppliers.
• Mentors Analysts on the team and is able to lead workstreams.

Required Skills and Experience

• 5+ years of related professional experience. All relevant experience including work, education, transferable skills, and military experience will be considered.
• Prior experience related to health plans, vendor management, and contracting activities.
• Ability to develop and maintain relationships with leadership across the organization.
• Ability to work independently, in a team, or lead a project.
• Advanced problem-solving skills, conflict resolution, facilitation and consensus building skills.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, including presentations to senior leadership.
• Demonstrated experience communicating with diverse internal and external audiences.
• Relationship management skills with internal and external stakeholders.
• Able to influence internal and external stakeholders to achieve desired outcomes.
• Ability to proactively identify and resolve problems.
• Advanced organization and prioritization skills and the ability to manage multiple concurrent requests while delivering exceptional customer service and guiding others on service expectations.
• High school diploma (or equivalency) and legal authorization to work in the U.S.

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in business or related field

Compensation and Benefits:

Pay Range: $90,800.00 - $120,300.00 - $149,800.00 Annual

Pay is based on several factors which vary based on position, including skills, ability, and knowledge the selected individual is bringing to the specific job.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package which may include:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Life insurance
• 401k
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Volunteer Paid Time Off (VPTO)
• And more

To discover more about what we have to offer, please review our benefits page.

Role Designation

Hybrid

Anchored in Connection

Our hybrid approach is designed to balance flexibility with meaningful in-person connection and collaboration. We come together in the office two days each week - most teams designate at least one anchor day to ensure team interaction. These in-person moments foster relationships, creativity, and alignment. The rest of the week you are empowered to work remote.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Individuals with a disability who need a reasonable accommodation in order to apply, please contact us at: talent.acquisition@bluecrossmn.com.

Blue Cross® and Blue Shield® of Minnesota and Blue Plus® are nonprofit independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.