Associate Director IT Supplier Management

Role Summary

As Associate Director IT Supplier Management, you will lead Tech@Lilly's third-party management capability, partnering with engagement owners and functional teams to optimize supplier relationships across the IT landscape. You will act as a trusted advisor to internal stakeholders and external vendors, enabling effective relationship management, performance monitoring, and risk oversight. You will leverage data, automation, and AI-enabled tooling to drive value, cost optimization, and continuous improvement in the third-party ecosystem. You will collaborate with Procurement, Legal, Security, and IT teams to ensure alignment and clarity across geographies and disciplines.

Responsibilities

• Execute Tech@Lilly’s third-party management strategy, including a centralized center of excellence, self-service support model, and AI-enabled data platform engine.
• Support cost optimization, innovation, and value realization initiatives by analyzing supplier performance, spend, and outcomes.
• Translate supplier management strategy into repeatable processes, playbooks, and day-to-day execution.
• Stay current with industry trends, emerging technologies, and supplier market dynamics to inform strategy.
• Support contract lifecycle activities by ensuring tools, data, and processes enable effective SLA/KPI tracking and compliance monitoring.
• Partner with Procurement during RFP/RFI activities, supplier evaluations, onboarding, and renewals.
• Analyze contractual obligations and performance metrics to identify risks, gaps, and improvement opportunities.
• Leverage ITSM frameworks (e.g., ITIL) to align supplier performance with service delivery.
• Coordinate supplier deliverables across IT domains including infrastructure, applications, cybersecurity, and cloud.
• Analyze performance metrics, dashboards, and incident trends to drive improvements.
• Collaborate with corporate risk functions to ensure adherence to regulatory compliance (GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2).
• Manage third-party risk across operational, financial, reputational, and cyber dimensions.
• Support contingency and exit planning to reduce dependency risks.
• Enable third-party governance to support the evolution of supplier relationships from transactional to outcome-focused partnerships.
• Provide guidance, tools, and insights to Engagement Owners to help them manage suppliers effectively.
• Facilitate issue resolution and support escalation processes as needed across geographies and cultures.
• Collaborate closely with Procurement, Legal, Security, and IT teams to ensure alignment and clarity.
• Use qualitative and quantitative data to assess supplier compliance, SLA achievement, service quality, and risk posture.
• Configure, maintain, and enhance dashboards and reporting to drive visibility and accountability.
• Support the development and adoption of digital agents and automation to streamline supplier management processes.
• Contribute to quarterly automation and continuous improvement goals through data-driven recommendations.
• Apply cost-benefit analysis to supplier proposals and renewals.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of IT experience
• 5+ years of supplier/vendor management and governance
• 3+ years of working within IT Service Management frameworks
• 1+ years supporting risk, compliance, or control oversight
• Experience working with third-party/vendor management processes, tools, or governance frameworks.
• Experience managing or supporting SLAs, KPIs, and vendor service performance reviews with external vendors or partners.
• Authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis.

Skills

• Demonstrated ability to execute and deliver projects across the global enterprise
• Experience collaborating with cross-functional teams, including IT, Procurement, Legal, and Security, to support vendor onboarding, compliance, or operational initiatives.
• Strong written, verbal, and visual communication skills, including ability to explain complex topics in business terms
• Experience in translating complex, ambiguous concepts into actionable plans
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build rapport and influence internal and external partners

Education

• Bachelor's degree in IT, Business, or related field