General Description The Vendor Relationship Officer role (or VRO), is responsible for managing vendor relationships through the full life-cycle of the commercial relationship with Popular; including onboarding, development, monitoring and off-boarding, if required. This role helps to coordinate and understand vendor management activities across the enterprise. Additionally, the VRO will serve as the main liaison between Vendors, Popular's Strategic Sourcing & Procurement Team (SS&P) and Popular's Business Units who procure goods and services. VRO's will also facilitate Ariba onboarding; perform vendor segmentation and support Engagement Owners in the monitoring and management of vendor performance. This position will report to the Vendor Management Program Lead. Essential Duties and Responsibilities Manage vendor relationships through the full life-cycle of commercial relationship with Popular Coordinate vendor management activities across the bank Serve as the main liaison between Vendors, the SS&P team and the Business Units Engagement Owners procuring goods and services Facilitate Ariba registration and onboarding of vendors Perform vendor segmentation according to defined criteria in vendor management program Work closely with Vendor Risk team to develop vendor relationship model according to segmentation Support Engagement Owners in the monitoring and management of vendor performance Ensure vendor performance management is executed according to plan Work closely with Category /Sourcing advisors, contract managers, vendor risk team and Legal and FORM groups to ensure appropriate actions are taken implemented to mitigate vendor risk Ensure vendor compliance with all of Popular's policies Further develop relationships with key vendors; understand their capabilities, and identify opportunities to increase supplier effectiveness and ability to support critical activities for Popular Gather performance feedback from Engagement Owners and provide performance feedback as needed Identify and escalate persistent performance issues, facilitate development of improvement plans Develop and manage vendor performance scorecards Facilitate preparation and execution of strategic business reviews with key vendors Execute and coordinate key vendor communications, support in the process of doing business with Popular, and manage vendor inquiries Education Bachelor's Degree from an accredited university is required. Degree concentration in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, Industrial Engineering or related field is preferred. Experience Experience interacting with vendors and/or managing 3rd party contracts, both strong pluses. Must be bilingual (English and Spanish) and be able to speak and write both languages fluently. At least 5 years of professional experience. Other Qualifications Knowledge of the nature of commercial relationships with vendors Strong negotiation and conflict resolution abilities Strong commercial analytical skills Ability to work with procurement technology and processes Ability to monitor compliance with policy, procedures, and processes Contract Management- ability to resolve contract related issues Ability to develop and manage vendor relationships Understanding of Vendor Performance Management and scorecards Leadership and people skills Project management capabilities Ability to establish strong relationships with business unit stakeholders and vendors Understand and abide by business ethical standards Very strong business writing and verbal communication (and presentation) skills; in both Spanish and English (strong must) Confident presence - Viewed as an authority Customer service oriented Results oriented with sound decision making ability Strong research skills SDL2017
