Senior Analyst, Vendor Relationship - Payments

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GENERAL FUNCTION:

The Senior Analyst, Vendor Relationship is the primary owner of a portfolio of complex, cross functional vendor relationships deployed throughout the division. Responsibilities include the oversight of the entire lifecycle of the contractual relationships with the vendors including: selection and onboarding of new vendors or new services with existing vendors, invoice processing and cost allocation, contract management, access management, demand management, performance management, risk management, budgeting/funding processes and termination/off-boarding process when necessary. Ensures the division works within all vendor and vendor-related Bank processes while also building, maintaining and championing processes and procedures to facilitate efficient execution of work.

Responsible and accountable for risk by openly exchanging ideas and opinions, elevating concerns, and personally following the policies and procedures as defined. Accountable for always doing the right thing for customers and colleagues, and ensure that actions and behaviors drive a positive customer experience. While operating within the Bank's risk appetite, achieves results by consistently identifying, assessing, managing, monitoring, and reporting risks of all types.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Create, manage and monitor a central database of the division’s vendors, related contracts, and key terms and conditions.
• Proactively manage contract expirations and auto renewals, working directly with the Lines of Business (LOBs), Procurement Business Partners,  and external vendors to address contract expirations in advance of contractual notice provisions to ensure the ability to modify or terminate services without financial penalty as well as ensure uninterrupted vendor service to the division.
• Oversee and manage processes to achieve compliance with various internal policies impacting vendor contracts.
• Ensure that contracts exist with existing vendors where required by policy.
• Work directly with the LOBs, Third Party Procurement, and external vendors to obtain copies of previously executed contracts or to create and execute new/replacement contracts when necessary.
• Ensure contracts are loaded in the 53Connect Supplier Management System and supplier data in 53Connect is correct.
• Manage system access and user requests/deletions to division-owned technology.
• Perform periodic reconciliations of users lists for systems and applications.
• Work with vendors to set up/remove access for employees.
• Work directly with external vendors to analyze, structure, capture, and catalog the spend related to a large volume of invoices for complex vendor relationships to align with services, LOBs, and internal cost centers.
• Oversee and manage processes to achieve compliance with various internal policies impacting expenses.
• Ensure that spend is properly supported with Appropriations Requests (ARs) where required.
• Monitor status of previously approved ARs to ensure ARs are sufficient to support anticipated spend, properly aligned to contracts, amended as needed, and renewed in a timely manner.
• Ensure creation of purchase orders to facilitate payment of vendor invoices via the payment process.
• Ensure invoices are accurate, properly authorized by the LOBs and align with the vendor contracts in effect.
• Coordinate with Finance to ensure that payments to vendors are correctly forecasted as well as assigned to the proper cost centers and GL accounts.
• Perform research as needed and work directly with external vendors to resolve contract or billing problems in a timely manner.
• Implement ongoing monitoring plans for each vendor including the establishment of scorecards, facilitation of performance reviews and business reviews, onsite visits and management of contingency plans and exit strategies.
• Manage the process for identifying and resolving vendor issues including tracking of issues, working with the vendor, LOBs and IT in developing action plans, communicating effectively to key stakeholders.
• Scope services and perform spend analysis to gain complete understanding of the bank's consumption and total spend with the vendor.
• Work with Finance and the LOBs during annual budgeting process to accurately budget for changes in business needs and related vendor spend for the next year.
• Create, analyze and present complex business cases including spend detail, scope of service and business need justification related to complex vendor relationships to senior executives.
• Administer vendor risk management oversight plans.
• Work with Vendor Risk Management on all required vendor risk reviews and action plans.
• Develop and produce actionable reports on vendor relationships and activities.
• Creation and/or maintenance of vendor management documentation, outlining the responsibilities of vendor ownership.  Ensure vendor management training across the division, supporting accountability and ownership, adhering to related processes including contract and spend approval signing authorities.
• Other projects and responsibilities as assigned.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

May be responsible for providing employees timely, candid and constructive performance feedback, developing employees to their fullest potential and providing challenging opportunities that enhance employee career growth, developing the appropriate talent pool to ensure adequate bench strength and succession planning and recognizing and rewarding employees for accomplishments.

MINIMUM KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES REQUIRED:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 5+ years of related business experience. Expertise in vendor management, contracts administration, and/or portfolio management required, preferably in a financial services company.
• Proven ability to read, understand, explain and enforce complex financial agreements.
• Strong analytical skills and experience with spend analysis and business case development.
• Ability to understand, interpret and effectively apply bank policy and procedure.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with colleagues at all levels including the ability to communicate complex concepts effectively to senior management.
• Strong interpersonal, negotiation and relationship building skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively with cross-functional partners in a broad and silo-ed organization.
• Proficient in Microsoft office products such as Access, Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Outlook.
• Ability to work independently with minimum supervision.
• Ability to multitask and effectively prioritize the demands of a large portfolio with multiple competing priorities and deadlines impacting stakeholders across the enterprise.
• Excellent critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Organized with an ability to understand the entire relationship but have an attention to details.

Fifth Third Bank, National Association is proud to have an engaged and inclusive culture and to promote and ensure equal employment opportunity in all employment decisions regardless of race, color, gender, national origin, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, military status, veteran status or any other legally protected status.