Support Services Vendor Manager

BAKERRIPLEY•Houston, TX

4d•Onsite

About The Position

The Support Services Vendor Manager provides operational, procurement, vendor-administration, and inquiry-response support exclusively to BakerRipley’s Workforce Solutions Financial Aid Services Office. The role ensures vendor onboarding, purchasing requests, purchase orders, financial documentation, reconciliations, and 1099-related activities are completed accurately, on time, and in compliance with applicable requirements. It serves as a central point of coordination for questions and information requests from the Gulf Coast Workforce Board, the Houston-Galveston Area Council (HGAC), the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), Financial Aid Services leadership, vendors, auditors, and other authorized stakeholders. The manager researches inquiries, coordinates input from subject-matter experts, validates supporting information, and helps prepare complete and accurate responses within established deadlines. The position also supports financial and procurement controls, reporting, audit and monitoring activities, recordkeeping, procedure development, and process improvement. It works with Financial Aid Services staff and internal departments to resolve operational, purchasing, and payment issues, and escalates sensitive, overdue, unresolved, or high-risk matters as appropriate.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in business administration, accounting, finance, public administration, supply chain, or a related field; relevant professional experience may substitute for some education requirements, consistent with organizational policy.
At least four years of progressively responsible experience in vendor administration, procurement, purchasing, financial operations, contract administration, public programs, or a related area.
Experience researching and responding to complex management, regulatory, audit, or stakeholder inquiries.
Experience with purchase orders, vendor documentation, financial reconciliation, or 1099 administration.
Knowledge of vendor administration, procurement, purchasing, purchase orders, financial documentation, reconciliation, and internal controls.
Ability to interpret and apply policies, contracts, procedures, regulations, and funding requirements.
Ability to research complex questions and prepare clear, accurate, complete, and well-supported responses.
Strong analytical, organizational, problem-solving, follow-up, written communication, and verbal communication skills.
Ability to reconcile information from multiple systems and identify the source of discrepancies.
Ability to manage multiple priorities, inquiries, and deadlines, and work collaboratively with management, subject-matter experts, vendors, auditors, and external stakeholders.
Ability to handle confidential and sensitive financial, vendor, participant, and program information.
Strong attention to detail and commitment to accuracy.
Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Word, Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, and other applicable systems.
Ability to exercise sound judgment and appropriately escalate sensitive or high-risk matters.

Nice To Haves

Experience working in a publicly funded, regulated, nonprofit, governmental, or workforce-development environment.
Experience with Salesforce, Smartsheet, financial accounting systems, purchasing systems, or document-management platforms.

Responsibilities

Provide vendor, procurement, purchasing, and administrative support to the Financial Aid Services Office, coordinating with staff to resolve operational issues, meet deadlines, monitor outstanding requests, address delays, and escalate unresolved matters.
Coordinate vendor onboarding, including applications, W-9 forms, certifications, supporting documentation, system setup, and approvals; review documentation and maintain accurate vendor records.
Coordinate vendor updates, renewals, suspensions, and closures, and respond to vendor questions about documentation, purchase orders, payments, and 1099 information.
Review procurement requests and determine the appropriate purchasing method under established policies; prepare and process purchase requisitions and purchase orders with required funding information, documentation, and approvals.
Track open purchase orders, balances, amendments, renewals, expirations, and closures; identify exceptions and coordinate with internal departments to resolve purchasing and payment issues.
Reconcile vendor records, purchase orders, invoices, payments, financial reports, and supporting documentation; research and resolve discrepancies across records and systems.
Coordinate the annual 1099 review and reconciliation process for applicable Financial Aid Services vendors, validate vendor classifications, taxpayer information, and payment totals, and assist with 1099 inquiries.
Coordinate timely responses to inquiries from the Gulf Coast Workforce Board, HGAC, TWC, auditors, vendors, and other authorized stakeholders; research questions, gather relevant information, validate responses, track inquiries, and escalate sensitive, overdue, or unresolved matters.
Ensure vendor, procurement, purchasing, reconciliation, and 1099 activities comply with organizational, contractual, state, federal, and funding requirements; maintain approvals, segregation of duties, audit trails, and record-retention practices.
Identify documentation deficiencies, compliance concerns, financial risks, and control gaps; coordinate corrective action and escalate suspected fraud, misuse of funds, material errors, or significant noncompliance in accordance with procedures.
Support internal and external audits, monitoring reviews, and regulatory requests by providing accurate supporting documentation.
Prepare periodic reports on vendor activity, purchase orders, 1099 matters, outstanding requests, exceptions, and processing timelines; track key performance indicators and update Financial Aid Services leadership.
Maintain accurate, consistent, and organized information, reports, reconciliations, tracking logs, and supporting documentation across approved systems; identify recurring discrepancies and recommend preventive actions.
Develop and maintain standard operating procedures, process maps, templates, checklists, and tracking tools; provide guidance and technical assistance on vendor documentation, procurement, purchase orders, reconciliations, and inquiry responses.
Identify process bottlenecks, duplicate activities, manual processes, and internal-control weaknesses; recommend and assist with improvements to accuracy, efficiency, accountability, and service quality.
Participate in special projects and perform other Financial Aid Services duties as assigned.