Sr. Vendor Relations Specialist II

Pacific Life•Newport Beach, NC

16h•Onsite

About The Position

Providing for loved ones, planning rewarding retirements, saving enough for whatever lies ahead – our policyholders count on us to be there when it matters most. It’s a big ask, but it’s one that we have the power to deliver when we work together. We collaborate and innovate – pushing one another to transform not just Pacific Life, but the entire industry for the better. Why? Because it’s the right thing to do. Pacific Life is more than a job, it’s a career with purpose. It’s a career where you have the support, balance, and resources to make a positive impact on the future – including your own. We’re actively seeking a talented Sr. Vendor Relations Specialist in our Newport Beach, CA or Charlotte, NC office. This role is on-site. You’ll work at our Newport Beach, CA or Charlotte, NC office.

Requirements

5+ years relevant experience
Strong desire to deliver a superior customer service experience.
Ability to work independently with minimal instruction, guidance, and direction from others.
Ability to communicate in writing moderately complex thoughts and ideas, verbally and in writing.
Proficient in Life insurance and Annuity operations activities and strong understanding of various outsourcing pricing models.
Proficient in Microsoft Office with aptitude for Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint
Solid understanding of project management processes/methodologies.
Experience working in the IT sector and/or managing IT vendor relationships.
Strong analytics skills.
Strong critical thinking skills.
Proficient Leadership skills- ability to prioritize and manage competing priorities.
4-year degree or equivalent experience.

Responsibilities

Cultivate and nurture strong working relationships with vendors to foster productive and collaborative partnerships.
Act as liaison between company and vendors, ensuring clear communication and mutual understanding as appropriate for the relationship.
Drive moderately complex initiatives, bringing in new perspectives to solve business problems with a goal of improving customer experience and operational efficiency.
Provides guidance for the documentation of procedural changes in partnership with the Knowledge Management team to support vendor processing and related Pacific Life processes as needed.
Proficient knowledge in supporting Technology areas ranging from Incident Management, SaaS, Cloud and Hybrid Environments, Data Centers, IT Operations and more.
Lead vendor performance monitoring to identify trends and implement changes as appropriate.
Identify areas for improvement and collaborate with vendors and senior team members to implement necessary changes.
Collaborate with internal teams to identify and communicate vendor opportunity trends that support our strategic goals.
Lead weekly/monthly vendor performance calls, as assigned to discuss performance metrics, improvements, and feedback, leading as necessary.
Keep track of service level agreements (SLAs) and quality standards with vendors to ensure that commitments are met and exceeded when possible.
Establish best practices, ensuring contract/invoicing compliance, maintain pricing oversight and adherence to fee approval limits.
Serve as primary point of contact for vendor inquiries, addressing questions and resolving day-to-day issues as appropriate with minimal guidance form senior team members.
Foster open lines of communication to promote transparency and effective collaboration.
Provide timely responses to vendor-related inquiries, maintaining a high level of professionalism and accuracy.
Keep vendors informed about relevant initiatives, changes, and updates that impact the vendor relationship.
Partner closely with internal teams to enhance the vendor experience and address any challenges collaboratively.
Works closely with Data teams to leverage, interpret, and apply sound analytics to internal and external data sources to support informed decision making.
Ensures all assigned initiatives adhere to Ops project oversight expectations; Stakeholder needs and business requirements vetted and documented, business impacts evaluated, project outcomes/ decisions tracked and communicated; Keeps tasks in line with project scope through completion; Collaborates effectively with business partners across enterprise to gain consensus and ensure long term sustainability while meeting objectives; Feedback sought and/or provided to measure and evolve shape work quality.
Viewed as the SME by the Business Operations area on any assigned vendor relationships and is highly regarded as a key partner in managing the day-to-day operations.
Feedback received from Business Operations should be reflective of this partnership, criticality of this role and ability to drive outcomes with our vendors.
Visible and active participant in any issues related to the assigned vendor relationships with an eye towards identifying and communicating ways in which business operations can run more effectively/efficiently within the context of the vendor engagement.

Benefits

Medical
Dental
Vision
Wellbeing Reimbursement Account
Paid Time Off
Holiday Schedules
Financial Planning Time Off
Paid Parental Leave
Adoption Assistance Program
Competitive 401k savings plan with company match and an additional contribution regardless of participation