Director MSP Service Delivery

Ascend Learning, LLC•Gilbert, AZ

4d•$165,500 - $236,610•Hybrid

About The Position

Ascend Learning, a leading healthcare and learning technology company, is seeking a Director MSP Service Delivery to report to the Chief Information Officer. This senior leadership role is responsible for the operational and commercial relationship with Managed Service Provider (MSP) partners, strategic SaaS vendors, and the software ecosystem. The role ensures partners are held accountable to outcomes and SLAs, and is critical to the success of the MSP delivery model. The Director will lead a team of Service Delivery Managers and an Operational Analyst responsible for cost transparency, license management, and operational metrics. This team will be the daily point of contact for MSP delivery leadership, conducting operational reviews, participating in scrums, managing SLA performance, escalating issues, ensuring operational runbooks are maintained, and tracking financial performance against contracts. The role also involves partnering with business stakeholders to translate business priorities into a technology roadmap, ensuring initiatives are anchored in measurable business outcomes. The Director will champion a modern product mindset, an AI-first approach, and a culture where Technical Product Owners understand the business processes they support. Beyond MSP governance, this role manages strategic vendor relationships (Adobe, Microsoft, Snowflake, HubSpot, Wrike, etc.) to ensure maximum value extraction. The Director will establish operational governance, contract performance, and continuous improvement disciplines to support business scaling, including international expansion and new market entry.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in business, technology, or related field required; MBA or relevant graduate degree preferred.
10+ years of experience in IT service delivery, vendor management, sourcing, or commercial technology operations; 4+ years of people management.
Direct, hands-on experience managing MSP or outsourced delivery partner relationships at an enterprise scale.
Deep familiarity with ITIL service management practices; ITIL Foundation or higher certification preferred.
Experience with Technology Business Management (TBM), IT financial management, and tools such as Apptio.
Strong contract negotiation experience including MSA, SOW, and SaaS enterprise agreements.
Financial acumen — able to manage multi-million-dollar IT operating budgets and articulate value to executive stakeholders.
Familiarity with major SaaS and software ecosystems (Adobe, Microsoft, Snowflake, HubSpot, ServiceNow, AWS, Azure).
Experience standing up or evolving an MSP delivery model preferred.
Vendor risk management experience, including security and compliance reviews.
Demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders both inside the company and with external partners.
A change agent that delivers operational excellence and commercial discipline.

Responsibilities

Lead and develop the Service Delivery & Vendor Governance team, including Service Delivery Managers for each MSP partner and an Operational Analyst.
Own NASM’s relationship with strategic MSP partners, holding partners accountable to outcomes, enhancement delivery, project assignments, service levels, operational health, runbooks and contractual commitments.
Establish service level frameworks, operational governance cadences, and escalation protocols across all MSP and strategic vendor relationships.
Manage strategic SaaS and software vendor relationships including Adobe, Microsoft, Snowflake, HubSpot, and other key partners.
Govern contract performance and commercial terms; lead renewals, SOW execution, and commercial negotiations in partnership with Procurement and Legal.
Establish cost transparency, showback/chargeback, and technology business management practices that give business leaders visibility into IT spend and value.
Drive software license optimization and asset management across the enterprise.
Establish operational dashboards and metrics covering MSP performance, SLA attainment, incident management, cost performance, and risk.
Lead executive-level service reviews with MSP partners and internal stakeholders on a recurring cadence.
Drive continuous improvement in MSP service quality, velocity, and unit economics; champion a culture of accountability and outcomes.
Partner with the Manager of Business Partnership, Principal Architect, and Director of Data & AI to ensure MSP delivery meets product, architecture, and data standards.
Manage vendor risk, including security, compliance, business continuity, and concentration risk.