Manager, Carrier Relations/Vendor Management

Finger Lakes Technologies Grp•Albany, NY

56d

About The Position

FirstLight is seeking an experienced Manager, Access Management responsible for leading a small team to work with carrier partners to obtain off-net connectivity solutions and pricing, and to place and manage orders for 3rd party Lit Circuits, Dark Fiber and Colocation facilities throughout the lifecycle. The manager will work closely with the Sales and Sales Engineering teams to provide timely, accurate off-net solutions to support sales, close deals and drive increased top-line revenue. Similarly, the manager will ensure close cooperation and coordination with the Service Delivery team to deliver 3rd party facilities on time and accurately. Working under the guidance of the Director, Access Management, the Manager will create and foster a culture of continual process assessment and improvement, develop and implement metrics and create reports to guide these initiatives and promote consistency and quality of work throughout the team.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in business, Telecommunications, or a related field- or equivalent experience.
10+ years of experience in carrier/vendor management, operations, procurement, or telecom contract negotiations.
Strong understanding of telecom networks, carrier services, ordering systems, ASRs, LSRs.
Proven track record in managing vendor quotes and orders.
Excellent leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
Ability to work in a fast-paced, global environment with cross-functional teams.
Experience with Ethernet EVPL, EPL,darkfiber,colocation space/power and cloud-based connectivity solutions.

Responsibilities

Lead, coach and manage a team of up to ten people, based indifferent locations throughout the service footprint.
Represent the team within the company and to external partners to maintain a positive, professional reputation.
Assign Quote Requests to the team in a timely manner.
Assume hands-on ownership of some of the Quoting assignments as able.
Complete Quoting requests within established SLAs. Produce and display performance reports by carrier and product.
Work cooperatively with Sales and Sales Engineering teams to provide additional support for large, complex multi-location opportunities.
Implement a Quality Assurance program to ensure quoting information is received and entered accurately and consistently across the team.
Work proactively with Director to identify, design and implement process improvement, automation and tools where possible.
Assign order requests (New, Move, Add, Change, Disconnect) to the team in a timely manner.
Assume hands-on ownership of some of the installation orders as able.
Manage orders throughout the lifecycle -order, install, billing through disconnect.
Establish and implement internal escalation rules
Work cooperatively with Service Delivery for joint management of large, complex multi-location installations.
Produce and display installation performance reports by carrier and product.
Work proactively with Director to identify, design and implement process improvement, automation and tools where possible.
Develop and maintain manager-level working relationships with domestic and international telecom partner carriers.
Review and sign orders within manager approval levels. Ensure pricing and terms are correct, and that they align with the proper Master Service Agreement where applicable. Obtain higher level approvals as needed.
Work with Director to assist with contract negotiations, renewals and performance reviews and secure the best pricing and service agreements.
Organize and manage vendor records for all contractual documents and transactions.
Track portability data and use portability efficiently to reduce unnecessary costs
Proactively manage expiration dates of key contracts -e.g.IRUs, Leases