Principal Sourcing & Contract Manager

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota•Eagan, MN

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is looking for a Principal Sourcing & Contract Manager to join their organization. In this role, the Principal Sourcing and Contract Manager leads strategic sourcing and contract negotiations for a broad portfolio of vendors across the organization, with a focus on cost optimization, risk mitigation, and effective cross‑enterprise partnerships. This role supports high‑impact vendor categories including medical management and member health programs, government markets (Medicare and Medicaid‑related vendors), and corporate services spanning marketing, finance, HR, legal, and strategy. Operating as a senior individual contributor, this role owns the full sourcing lifecycle—identifying vendors, leading competitive sourcing events, negotiating pricing and terms, and drafting and executing contracts. While vendor management is provided primarily at a strategic level, the core emphasis is on sourcing rigor, strong negotiation, and contract structures that protect the organization and enable long‑term value. The role works across a wide and complex stakeholder landscape, partnering with multiple VPs and cross‑functional teams, including Finance, Compliance, and business leaders with differing priorities. Success requires the ability to navigate competing goals, drive alignment, and apply critical thinking to balance financial discipline with operational and regulatory needs.

Requirements

7+ 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, sourcing, and contract drafting and negotiation activities.
Ability to develop and maintain relationships with leadership across the organization.
Ability to work independently, in a team, or lead a large-scale project.
Excellent complex problem-solving skills, conflict resolution, facilitation and consensus building skills.
Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, including communication and presentations to executives.
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, mitigating costs and risk for the enterprise.
Expert organizational skills with an ability to lead complex, cross‑functional work while establishing customer service standards, ensuring timely execution across teams, and driving continuous improvements in service delivery.
High school diploma (or equivalency) and legal authorization to work in the U.S.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in business or related field

Responsibilities

Lead supplier identification and evaluation for high‑impact or enterprise‑critical efforts, developing evaluation frameworks, assessing strategic fit, and guiding stakeholders toward suppliers that optimize quality, cost, reliability, and long‑term value.
Implement industry trends into best practices.
Collaborate with internal stakeholders to understand their requirements, recommend additional requirements based on expertise, and provide sourcing support.
Strongly recommend vendor RFx events for underperforming vendors, and those vendors who have been with the organization for multiple years.
Lead vendor selection and negotiation processes to secure favorable terms and a strong long-term partnership, using negotiation techniques to better the strategic position of Blue Cross.
Own the drafting, reviewing, and negotiation of contracts, and service level agreements with suppliers, needing minimal legal or contracting center of excellence (COE) assistance.
Ensure that contract terms and conditions align with organizational goals and are more favorable then current contracting standards when applicable.
Mitigate contractual risks and ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
Collaborate with shared service teams, including but not limited to Legal, Risk, Technology, and Compliance, both facilitating and ideating resolution of contractual issues and ensuring alignment with corporate governance.
Manage contract repository and maintain accurate documentation for audits and reporting.
Manage contract pipeline, ensuring renewal dates are known, managed appropriately, and allow time for changes in contract terms.
Develop and maintain strong relationships with vendors, fostering effective communication and collaboration.
Identify and implement solutions to drive performance improvement and cost reduction through vendor optimization and other means.
Provide complex problem resolution through support, influence, and expertise to Relationship Managers, Performance Managers and Compliance Managers.
Lead and facilitate the resolution of escalated vendor-related issues, bringing in Vendor Governance Team as applicable and Leadership following unsuccessful attempt(s).
Support enterprise-level or high-value negotiations with vendors to secure favorable pricing, terms, and conditions.
Support cost savings initiatives through effective negotiation strategies, involving more complex strategies such as longer term consolidation or alignment of term dates.
Collaborate with business stakeholders to understand their needs, making strong recommendations to ensure and align negotiation outcomes with organizational objectives and cost savings.
Work closely with cross-functional teams such as operations, finance, compliance, security and legal to ensure seamless sourcing processes.
Bring sourcing strategy ideas to internal stakeholders that may align with business objectives or enterprise objectives.
Drive cross-functional alignment through effective communication and collaboration between internal teams and external vendors.
Serve as a SME, train others, and represent the Blue Cross Procurement Services team with senior leaders.