Vendor Contracts Administrator - IT VMO

Inland Empire Health Plan•Rancho Cucamonga, CA

7d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Vendor Contract Administrator (VCA) – IT VMO is responsible for managing the contract life cycle, which includes participating in selection of vendors, contract development and negotiation, changes, modifications, and enforcement of performance clauses, including incentives and remedies. The VCA acts as the key contact and subject-matter expert for all contract-related activities. This includes assisting with negotiating contract terms, conditions, modifications, incentives, and remedies, while working with key stakeholders to ensure that their requirements are met. Additionally, this position manages the contract execution process, resolving problems, mitigating delays, assisting with audits, mediating disputes, and escalating issues. Commitment to Quality: The IEHP Team is committed to incorporate IEHP’s Quality Program goals including, but not limited to, HEDIS, CAHPS, and NCQA Accreditation.

Requirements

Minimum of four (4) years of relevant experience including negotiating and managing contract life cycles, with an emphasis on technology or IT service agreements required
Experience in managing large complex contracts in one or more IT categories, including hardware, software, service, and communication
Experience working with all key departments (security, compliance, finance, tax, AP, legal and procurement)
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Economics, Psychology, Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, or Finance from an accredited institution
In lieu of the required Bachelor’s degree, a minimum of four (4) years of additional relevant work experience is required for the position
This experience is in addition to the minimum years listed in the Experience Requirements above
Four (4) additional years of experience in a Purchasing Department or Equivalent Agency, in which primary responsibilities included contract negotiation, development of contract standards and procedures, and development of multi-year or major high value agreements with an emphasis on technology or IT service agreements
Must have a valid California Driver’s license
Thorough knowledge and understanding of: Procurement and vendor management practices
How to determine contractual and financial exposure and negotiate contracts
Contracting trends, licensing models and traditional and emerging contract and vendor performance models
Market knowledge of the category of IT vendor for which the contract manager is responsible
Contract risks and to work with other parts of the organization in crafting tactics and strategies for risk mitigation
Best practices for IT contract negotiation tactics and strategies
How to structure bids, evaluate bids against a broad set of evaluation criteria, and provide recommendations for vendor selection
Government and industry regulations that will influence contracting approach and vendor behavior (for example, FINRA for financial institutions, and U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act [HIPAA] for healthcare organizations).
Knowledge of IT concepts and systems
Customer-focused approach to delivering contract management services to internal customers
Strong relationship and interpersonal skills to be applied in working with vendors across the entire contract life cycle
Strong interpersonal and communication skills
Strong project and process management skills, with the ability to handle multiple vendors and multiple contracts, as well as a wide range of tasks
Proven ability to: Bridge communications between the IT and business organizations, with a focus on developing an understanding of how to structure contracts to deliver against business needs and goals
Protect the enterprise's interests, comply with applicable regulations, and mitigate risks, assembling the appropriate set of clauses and schedules, without hampering delivery methodologies and processes
Leverage interpersonal relationship strengths to manage disputes and drive change in vendor behaviors, and create a working environment where vendors receive incentives to change behaviors and meet performance goals
Adopt an analytical approach to problem solving, with a focus on managing tasks with appropriate urgency in a results-oriented team environment
Manage multiple complex contracting initiatives across organizational boundaries
Make decisions efficiently that add value and are achieved in what can be tight time frames
Communicate with clarity to internal and external stakeholders and with vendors.
Use technology and tools effectively in managing the contract life cycle
Create a customer-focused, service-based approach to working with stakeholders and vendors that emphasizes the creation and cultivation of cross-organizational relationships
Analyze and evaluate change to drive continuous improvement in the process of contract management and incorporate contract management trends
Participate in the development of the asset management mission, goals, and objectives
Communicate with IT users, legal and procurement staff, and business leaders to craft contracts that align complex needs with contractual requirements to achieve business outcomes

Nice To Haves

ITIL experience desired, but not required
Relevant Professional Certifications include, but are not limited to: Certified Professional Contract Manager™ Certified Public Procurement Officer NIGP Specialization Certificate: Technology Procurement NIGP Certified Procurement Professional

Responsibilities

Establish contract management objectives, procedures, templates, and workflow processes for vendor contracts and deliverable schedules.
Maintain a contract management database that contains all executed contracts, as well as contracts that are under development but are not yet active. Moreover, track obligations, deliverables, and contract change notes. Manage and control access to documents as appropriate.
Develop contracts that clearly outline responsibilities, deliverables and costs that can be translated to effective performance and cost management.
Work with legal representatives to develop and insert appropriate legal protections in contracts, as warranted.
Work with all teams (security, compliance and tax, HR, accounts payable [AP], etc.) to ensure that vendors are performing in accordance with existing requirements and regulatory obligations.
Develop a knowledgebase of negotiating strategies, best practices, and negotiation personnel and teams.
Make improvements to processes, procedures, workflow, and organizational structures for contract management.
Administer commercial and financial arrangements with vendors to include billing, invoicing, performance incentives and remedies, and internal chargebacks, where appropriate.
Work alongside procurement colleagues to assist with developing statements of work (SOWs) and understand any current requests for information (RFIs), requests for quotation (RFQs), and requests for proposal (RFPs) that are in the pipeline.
Work with vendors and key stakeholders to establish clear contract change control processes.
Perform any other duties as required to ensure Health Plan operations and department business needs are successful.