Senior Carrier Relations Lead

Company Description

Zayo provides mission-critical bandwidth to the world’s most impactful companies, fueling the innovations that are transforming our society. Zayo’s 141,000-mile network in North America and Europe includes extensive metro connectivity to thousands of buildings and data centers. Zayo’s communications infrastructure solutions include dark fiber, private data networks, wavelengths, Ethernet, and dedicated Internet access. Zayo serves wireless and wireline carriers, media, tech, content, finance, healthcare and other large enterprises.

Our Senior Carrier Relations Lead is responsible for managing strategic relationships with global telecommunications carriers and network infrastructure providers. This role leads complex contract negotiations, drives cost‑optimization initiatives, and improves service assurance performance across a diverse portfolio of network services. The ideal candidate combines deep telecommunications industry experience with strong commercial acumen and the ability to leverage AI‑driven analytics and automation to enhance pricing models, operational efficiency, and carrier performance monitoring.

Preferred candidates will also bring hands‑on experience with dark fiber procurement, IRU and lease agreements, long‑haul and metro optical networks, as well as familiarity with data center ecosystems, including interconnection models, cross‑connect strategy, colocation environments, and facility‑level operational considerations. This role sits at the intersection of commercial strategy, technical infrastructure planning, and vendor ecosystem management, enabling the organization to scale its network reliably, cost‑effectively, and intelligently.

Key Responsibilities

Carrier & Vendor Management

• Serve as the primary liaison for assigned carriers, fostering strong partnerships and ensuring alignment with business priorities.

• Implement AI‑enhanced scorecards, dashboards, and governance models to maintain transparency and accountability.

Contract Negotiation & Commercial Management

• Lead complex commercial negotiations (MSAs, SLAs, pricing schedules, renewals).

• Use AI‑assisted pricing analytics and scenario modeling to support negotiation strategy and benchmark competitiveness.

• Conduct market assessments using predictive tools to inform long‑term commercial strategy.

Cost Optimization

• Identify and execute cost‑reduction initiatives across transport, IP transit, voice, DIA, and cloud connectivity services.

• Utilize AI solutions to analyze spend patterns, detect anomalies, forecast savings, and optimize vendor portfolios.

• Support Finance and Procurement with AI‑enhanced financial modeling to validate savings.

Service Assurance & Performance Improvement

• Partner with NOC and Engineering teams to monitor carrier performance and manage chronic escalations.

• Apply AI‑based monitoring, event correlation, and predictive insights to improve reliability, MTTR, provisioning intervals, and overall service quality.

• Lead RCA reviews with carriers and track commitments using data‑driven follow‑up frameworks.

Cross‑Functional Collaboration

• Work with Product, Engineering, Legal, Procurement, and Network Planning teams to ensure carrier solutions align with service and expansion needs.

• Provide subject‑matter expertise during RFPs, network expansions, and new service introductions, incorporating AI tools where beneficial.

Data, Reporting & Automation

• Build dashboards and executive reporting leveraging AI/ML models for forecasting, SLA compliance, commercial performance, and risk identification.

• Maintain accurate inventories, contract records, and pricing documentation using automation tools to increase accuracy and reduce manual workload.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of seven (7) years of experience in telecommunications wholesale carrier relations, procurement, or network operations.

• Deep knowledge of carrier technologies (IP networks, fiber transport, Ethernet, voice, cloud connectivity).

• Demonstrated success negotiating large‑scale commercial agreements.

• Experience applying AI or automation tools in areas such as spend analysis, network monitoring, pricing analytics, or performance management.

• Strong analytical, financial, and contractual capability.

• Excellent communication and relationship‑building skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with global carrier ecosystems and telecomm