Senior Manager 2, Technology Vendor Management - (Seattle, Hybrid)

Nordstrom•Seattle, WA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Nordstrom Technology relies on a vendor portfolio that has grown substantially in scale, complexity, and strategic importance over the past several years. We are building the Technology Vendor Management Office (TVMO) into a function that is recognized for the quality of its thinking and the strength of the partnership it brings to the table. This is one of the most senior individual contributor seats on that team, and it is built for someone who is genuinely excited to help shape what good looks like. In this role, you will lead a meaningful portion of our portfolio and partner closely with senior leaders across Technology, Sourcing, Legal, Finance, Software Asset Management, and Risk, as well as with the leadership teams at our largest vendors. The portfolio you focus on may shift as the business evolves, and we are looking for someone who welcomes that kind of breadth. Under new leadership, TVMO is entering a meaningful new chapter. The Director leading the function has set a clear vision for what vendor management can be at Nordstrom, and there is real momentum behind it across Technology. This role is a chance to come in as a senior contributor at the front end of that journey, with both the influence and the support to help shape how it takes form. TVMO exists to help Nordstrom Technology get more out of its vendor relationships across every dimension that matters to the business: cost, risk, performance, and the kind of strategic optionality that comes from running these partnerships thoughtfully. Cost is part of the conversation, but it is not the whole conversation, and the leaders who hire well into this role are looking for someone who naturally thinks across all of those dimensions at once. Our job is not to make the final call on vendor decisions. Our job is to bring leadership a clear and complete picture of what is going on, the options worth considering, the trade-offs that come with each, and a well-reasoned recommendation. The leaders we serve make better decisions because of the work we do, and that is the standard we hold ourselves to. We are looking for someone who is intellectually curious, naturally analytical, and motivated by the chance to make a real difference. You are an owner by instinct. You sense what matters and lean in without waiting to be told, and you have the confidence and judgment to set your own priorities thoughtfully. You are credible in front of senior leaders without being performative, humble enough to keep learning, and clear enough in your thinking that people pay attention to your point of view. You bring genuine energy and follow-through to your work, and you take pride in the quality of what leaves your hands.

Requirements

A track record of operating at a senior level in vendor management, strategic sourcing, technology operations, procurement strategy, or an adjacent function where executive-level ownership was simply how the work was expected to be done.
Strong structured problem solving. You can move from a complex situation to a clear, defensible point of view, and you can walk through your reasoning when others want to pressure-test it.
Excellent written and verbal communication, with the range to engage credibly with VP and SVP audiences as well as working teams and vendor account leadership.
Commercial fluency in enterprise technology. You can engage substantively with technology leaders and vendor solutions teams on what the technology does, how it is consumed, and where the commercial levers sit, even if your background is not in engineering.
Real analytical depth. You are comfortable with data, willing to build your own models when the situation calls for it, and use quantitative work to sharpen recommendations rather than to dress them up.
A genuine appetite for ambiguity and change. You see a function being built and are excited to help build it, rather than waiting for it to settle into a familiar shape.
Bachelors Degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Data Science or related experience required.

Nice To Haves

Background at a top-tier strategy or management consulting firm, investment bank, venture capital firm, corporate strategy group, or competitive technology company where structured thinking and executive-level engagement are part of the everyday standard.
Exposure to enterprise vendor portfolios that span software, infrastructure, and hardware.

Responsibilities

Lead the strategic direction of a meaningful slice of the Nordstrom Technology vendor portfolio, including some of our most consequential relationships.
Develop and maintain a thoughtful point of view on each significant vendor, including how the market around them is shifting and how Nordstrom is best positioned over the next 12 to 18 months.
Partner with Sourcing, Legal, Finance, Risk, and Technology leadership to translate vendor strategy into commercial outcomes that protect Nordstrom and create durable leverage over time.
Lead vendor performance and accountability conversations, including the analysis behind them. When something is off track, you dig into the root cause, develop a clear view, and work with partners to get to a resolution that holds.
Bring well-prepared, decision-ready recommendations to senior leaders, presenting the situation, the options, the trade-offs, and the path you would suggest, in a way that is respectful of their time and easy to act on.
Identify and surface opportunities to reduce cost, consolidate footprint, retire risk, and improve how the work itself gets done.
Mentor colleagues across TVMO and contribute to how the function continues to evolve.