Senior Director, Vendor Management

Company

Cox Automotive - USA

Job Family Group

Business Operations

Job Profile

Sr Director, Vendor Management

Management Level

Sr Director

Flexible Work Option

Hybrid - Ability to work remotely part of the week

Travel %

Yes, 15% of the time

Work Shift

Day

Compensation

Compensation includes a base salary in the range of $179,600.00 - $299,400.00. The base salary may vary within the anticipated base pay range based on factors such as the ultimate location of the position and the selected candidate’s knowledge, skills, and abilities. Position may be eligible for additional compensation that may include an incentive program.

Job Description

Position Summary

The Senior Director, Technology Vendor Management is a strategic, execution-focused leader responsible for the full lifecycle management of the organization's third-party labor program and its software and hardware technology purchasing. This leader serves as the primary steward of vendor relationships, program excellence and spend optimization across a diverse portfolio that spans product engineering tools, enterprise platforms, and an accelerating suite of AI-powered solutions — both for internal workforce enablement and as embedded capabilities within the software products the company sells.

Operating at the intersection of supply chain, technology, finance, legal, and business operations, this role demands an individual who can move quickly in a fast-paced environment while maintaining rigorous governance, managing risk, and delivering measurable value. The Senior Director directly leads two managers and the programs they oversee, and works cross-functionally with Product Engineering, Supply Chain, IT, Finance, Legal, and executive stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Vendor & Spend Leadership

• Own the overall technology vendor management strategy, aligning procurement priorities with organizational goals across product development, enterprise IT, and AI initiatives.
• Establish and maintain a vendor portfolio governance framework covering risk, performance, compliance, and spend — with a particular focus on rapid evaluation and onboarding of AI tools.
• Partner with executive stakeholders and business unit leaders to anticipate needs and proactively drive sourcing decisions before bottlenecks occur.
• Develop and manage annual and multi-year vendor spend budgets; identify and deliver cost optimization opportunities without compromising operational agility.

Third-Party Labor Program

• Oversee our Strategic Supplier Program which covers our main partners in software and platform engineering, including contractor and contingent workforce sourcing, staffing vendor relationships, MSP/VMS platform management, and compliance with co-employment policies.
• Partner with Product Engineering, and HR leadership to forecast and fulfill contract labor needs that support product delivery timelines.
• Drive competitive bidding, rate benchmarking, and SLA enforcement across staffing suppliers.
• Ensure the program scales efficiently with organizational growth while managing risk and legal exposure.

Software, Hardware & Technology Category Management

• Lead all technology purchasing across a broad portfolio including:
• Product and engineering tools (e.g., IDEs, DevOps platforms, cloud infrastructure, AI coding assistants)
• Enterprise IT platforms (e.g., Salesforce, ServiceNow, Microsoft 365, collaboration tools)
• Marketing and sales technology (e.g., CRM add-ons, analytics tools, enablement platforms)
• AI tools and platforms for internal productivity and product integration
• Hardware, peripherals, and endpoint management
• Execute renewals, renegotiations, and new contracts with discipline and speed — balancing legal terms, pricing, and business requirements.
• Manage software license optimization, including utilization tracking, true-up management, and license right-sizing.
• Maintain a technology category management practice: grouping spend by category, applying market intelligence, and improving commercial outcomes over time.

Technology Category & Asset Governance Program

Own and operate a formal program that establishes clear category ownership and technology asset accountability across the enterprise. This program serves as the connective tissue between procurement, technology strate