Manager, Vendor Performance

Jostens • Minneapolis, MN

12h • $100,000 - $120,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

Are you passionate about driving vendor accountability, performance, and value? As Manager, Vendor Performance, you will own the development and execution of vendor governance frameworks that ensure our supplier base consistently delivers on quality, service, compliance, and cost expectations. You’ll collaborate cross-functionally across sourcing, legal, operations, and finance to establish robust performance metrics, mitigate risk, and enable strategic decision-making.

Requirements

• Education. Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Operations, Finance, or a related field.
• Vendor Performance Experience. 5–8+ years in vendor management, procurement, sourcing, supply chain, or operations.
• Performance Management Expertise. Proven ability to lead vendor reviews, manage KPIs and scorecards, and drive accountability.
• Experience supporting supplier risk assessments and mitigation strategies.
• Data-Driven Approach. Skilled in analyzing performance data and surfacing actionable insights.
• Contract and SLA Knowledge. Strong understanding of supplier agreements, service level metrics, and compliance frameworks.
• Cross-Functional Partnership. Experience collaborating with Procurement, Legal, Operations, and Finance teams.
• Issue Resolution Skills. Demonstrated ability to manage corrective action plans, performance gaps, and escalations.
• Communication and Influence. Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to lead without formal authority.
• Excel and Analytics Proficiency. Comfortable working in Excel and other data tools to create reports and dashboards.

Nice To Haves

• Preferred APICS / ASCM, ISM, or similar supply chain certifications.
• Preferred experience in manufacturing, apparel, or distribution environments.
• Preferred familiarity with quality systems, audits, and corrective action processes (e.g., ISO, supplier quality).
• Preferred experience conducting or supporting quarterly business reviews (QBRs).
• Preferred understanding of total cost of ownership (TCO) concepts.
• Preferred exposure to direct materials or finished goods suppliers.
• Preferred experience working with ERP systems and vendor performance or VMS tools.
• Bilingual language skills (e.g. Spanish) a plus.

Responsibilities

• Establish and manage vendor performance frameworks.
• Develop and maintain standardized processes for onboarding, scorecards, performance reviews, and escalations across all categories.
• Serve as the point of contact for vendor issues.
• Lead resolution efforts related to contract adherence, service failures, or performance gaps.
• Partner with sourcing and legal.
• Ensure contract terms are enforceable, measurable, and clearly communicated to all stakeholders.
• Support renewals and strategic decisions.
• Provide performance data and recommendations to guide contract extensions and vendor selections.
• Ensure vendor compliance.
• Monitor adherence to service level agreements, contract terms, and regulatory requirements.
• Mitigate vendor risk.
• Conduct vendor risk assessments, support business continuity planning, and address high-risk or single-source dependencies.
• Maintain vendor master data.
• Oversee contract records, pricing agreements, and vendor information to support audit readiness and accuracy.
• Drive continuous improvement.
• Analyze trends in vendor performance and identify opportunities to improve cost, quality, or service.
• Collaborate with key partners.
• Work closely with sourcing and procurement to inform category strategies and decision-making.
• Support payment and AP issues.
• Partner with finance to resolve invoice challenges and streamline vendor payment processes.
• Lead performance review cadence.
• Support quarterly business reviews and vendor meetings to track accountability and progress.

Benefits

• We care about your health. We offer competitive healthcare (health, dental, vision, coverage) in addition to voluntary benefits including home and car insurance, pet insurance, flexible spending account, amongst many more.
• We invest in your future. Our 401K plan has immediate vesting, so you can start saving for retirement right away.
• We believe in flexibility. We offer a hybrid schedule with on-site work 3 days a week.
• We want you to unplug when needed. We believe in taking your time off without guilt and offer accrued paid time off and company paid holidays. For Washington residents, you will receive 13 vacation days, 8 paid sick leave, 8 company paid holidays, and family paid leave.
• We care about your development. We support tuition reimbursement after 6 months of service.
• We believe in pay transparency. The salary range is $100,000 to $120,000 with annual bonus eligibility.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees