A Career of Your Calling

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota

At Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, we are committed to paving the way for everyone to achieve their healthiest life. We are looking for dedicated and motivated individuals who share our vision of transforming healthcare. As a Blue Cross associate, you are joining a culture that is built on values of succeeding together, finding a better way, and doing the right thing. If you are ready to make a difference, join us.

The Impact You Will Have
We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Sourcing and Vendor Management professional to join our team. As a key member of our Business Partnerships and Negotiations department, you will be responsible for sourcing, contracting, vendor management, negotiations, and fostering collaboration between our vendors and business partners.  Your expertise in these areas will be crucial in ensuring efficient procurement processes, cost savings, and maintaining strong relationships with our vendors. This individual will work with business units to establish and monitor vendor scorecards, as well as quantitative and qualitative measures of performance against contracted Service Level Agreements (SLA). They will align to an assigned business portfolio of vendors under the direction of Business Partnerships and Negotiations Leadership.

Your Responsibilities

Sourcing:

• Identify and evaluate potential suppliers based on quality, cost, reliability, and other relevant factors.
• Conduct market research to stay informed about industry trends and best practices.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to understand their requirements and provide procurement support.

Contracting:

• Draft, review, and negotiate contracts, purchase orders, and service level agreements with suppliers.
• Ensure that contract terms and conditions are favorable and aligned with organizational goals.
• Mitigate contractual risks and ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.

Vendor Management:

• Develop and maintain strong relationships with vendors, fostering effective communication and collaboration.
• Monitor vendor performance, conduct regular reviews, and address any issues or concerns.
• Identify opportunities for performance improvement and cost reduction through vendor optimization.
• Works closely with business partners to ensure SLAs, deliverables, compliance requirements and expectations are adequately incorporated into RFXs and vendor contracts to facilitate the management of vendor performance.
• Communicates with assigned business partners to ensure they are properly educated on Blue Cross expectations throughout the lifecycle of the relationship.
• Works closely with Business Partnerships and Negotiations Leadership to ensure Relationship Managers understand their contractual requirements for any engagement.
• Establish and monitor vendor scorecards (quantitative and qualitative measures of performance against selected SLAs and metrics) to monitor and manage vendor performance based on a defined set of criteria.
• Provides on-going vendor scorecard reporting and analysis to Relationship Managers and Performance Managers to facilitate their ability to adequately monitor, review and act on vendors operational performance.
• Leads the execution of various vendor management programs, such as quarterly business reviews, semi-annual business portfolio reviews, vendor scorecards, as well as other performance management activities and reporting as required.
• Facilitate regular business reviews with assigned portfolio of vendors to discuss vendor performance reporting, SLAs, deliverables, compliance requirements, other contract expectations, relationship health and improvement plans.
• Provides support to Relationship Managers, Performance Managers and Compliance Managers for problem resolution with assigned Program portfolio vendors.
• Under the direction of the Business Partnerships and Negotiations Leadership, works closely with Business partners to diagnose poor vendor performance and assists to put in place "get well" plans. Jointly with the Leadership facilitates the resolution of escalated vendor-related issues.

Negotiations:

• Lead negotiations with suppliers to secure favorable pricing, terms, and conditions.
• Drive cost savings initiatives through effective negotiation strategies.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to understand their needs and align negotiation outcomes with organizational objectives.

Collaboration:

• Work closely with cross-functional teams such as operations, finance, compliance, security and legal to ensure seamless procurement processes.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to develop and implement procurement strategies that align with business objectives.
• Facilitate effective communication and collaboration between internal teams and external suppliers.

Required Skills and Experience

• 5+ years of related professional experience. All relevant experience including work, education, transferable skills, and military experience will be considered.
• Prior experience related to health plans, vendor management, sourcing, and contracting activities.
• Ability to develop and maintain relationships with leadership across the organization.
• Ability to work independently or on a team.
• Strong problem-solving skills, conflict resolution, facilitation and consensus building skills.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, including presentations.
• Demonstrated experience communicating with diverse internal and external audiences.
• Relationship management skills with internal and external stakeholders.
• Able to influence internal and external stakeholders to achieve desired outcomes.
• Ability to proactively identify and resolve problems.
• Highly organized with a track record of delivering a high level of customer service in a timely manner.
• High school diploma (or equivalency) and legal authorization to work in the U.S.

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Business or related field

Compensation and Benefits:

Pay Range: $88,600.00 - $117,400.00 - $146,200.00 Annual

Pay is based on several factors which vary based on position, including skills, ability, and knowledge the selected individual is bringing to the specific job.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package which may include:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Life insurance
• 401k
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Volunteer Paid Time Off (VPTO)
• And more

To discover more about what we have to offer, please review our benefits page.

Role Designation

Hybrid

Anchored in Connection

Our hybrid approach is designed to balance flexibility with meaningful in-person connection and collaboration. We come together in the office two days a week—one designated anchor day with your team, and one day of your choosing. These in-person moments foster relationships, creativity, and alignment. The rest of the week you are empowered to work remote.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

At Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, we are committed to paving the way for everyone to achieve their healthiest life. Blue Cross of Minnesota is an Equal Opportunity Employer and maintains an Affirmative Action plan, as required by Minnesota law applicable to state contractors. All qualified applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to, and will not be discriminated against based on any legally protected characteristic.

Individuals with a disability who need a reasonable accommodation in order to apply, please contact us at: talent.acquisition@bluecrossmn.com.

Blue Cross® and Blue Shield® of Minnesota and Blue Plus® are nonprofit independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.