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About the Role

The Senior Director, Technology Vendor Management is a strategic leader responsible for the full lifecycle management of the organization's third-party labor program and its software and hardware technology purchasing. This role serves as the primary steward of vendor relationships, program excellence, and spend optimization across a diverse portfolio including product engineering tools, enterprise platforms, and AI-powered solutions.

Responsibilities

Own the overall technology vendor management strategy, aligning procurement priorities with organizational goals.
Establish and maintain a vendor portfolio governance framework covering risk, performance, compliance, and spend.
Partner with executive stakeholders and business unit leaders to anticipate needs and proactively drive sourcing decisions.
Develop and manage annual and multi-year vendor spend budgets; identify and deliver cost optimization opportunities.
Oversee the Strategic Supplier Program covering software and platform engineering partners, including contractor and contingent workforce sourcing, staffing vendor relationships, MSP/VMS platform management, and compliance.
Partner with Product Engineering and HR leadership to forecast and fulfill contract labor needs.
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.
Lead all technology purchasing across a broad portfolio including product and engineering tools, enterprise IT platforms, marketing and sales technology, AI tools, and hardware.
Execute renewals, renegotiations, and new contracts, 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.
Own and operate a formal program that establishes clear category ownership and technology asset accountability across the enterprise.
Define and maintain a structured technology category taxonomy.
Establish and chair a recurring Category Review cadence with technology and business stakeholders.
Own the technology asset register: maintain an authoritative inventory of all licensed software, SaaS subscriptions, hardware assets, and contracted services.
Drive adoption of asset ownership accountability across the organization.
Identify and eliminate redundant, underutilized, or misaligned tools through a structured rationalization process.
Produce regular governance reporting (spend by category, asset utilization, renewal pipeline, risk exposure) for technology leadership and Finance.
Develop and enforce technology procurement policies and intake processes.
Lead the procurement lifecycle for AI tools being adopted internally and those integrated into the company's commercial software products.
Establish a lightweight, fast-track vendor evaluation process for AI tools.
Partner with Supply Chain, Legal, Security, and Engineering to ensure AI vendor contracts address data privacy, model governance, IP ownership, and compliance requirements.
Stay current on the rapidly evolving AI vendor landscape and serve as an informed advisor.
Support and occasionally lead negotiation of complex, high-value vendor agreements.
Manage contract renewals calendar and proactively surface renewal risk and opportunity.
Maintain vendor risk assessments and ensure appropriate due diligence for critical and strategic suppliers.
Work closely with Legal and Security teams to ensure vendor contracts reflect current data protection, security, and compliance requirements.
Lead, mentor, and develop two direct reports.
Foster a high-performance team culture built on accountability, continuous improvement, and stakeholder responsiveness.
Act as a trusted advisor and escalation point for vendor disputes, contract issues, and procurement decisions.
Build strong cross-functional relationships with Supply Chain, Product, Engineering, IT, Finance, Legal, and People teams.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline and 12 years’ experience in a related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
7+ years’ experience in a management or leadership role.
10+ years of experience in technology procurement, vendor management, or strategic sourcing — with meaningful exposure to a software product development environment.
5+ years in a senior individual contributor or leadership role, with demonstrated ability to influence outcomes and manage cross-functional stakeholders.
Proven experience managing both third-party/contingent labor programs and software/hardware technology purchasing.
Demonstrated ability to negotiate complex technology agreements including SaaS, ELAs, MSAs, and SOWs.
Familiarity with enterprise IT platforms (e.g., Salesforce, ServiceNow) AND product engineering toolchains.
Experience with AI tool evaluation, procurement, and contractual risk management — or a clear ability to ramp quickly in this domain.
Strong financial acumen; ability to manage and optimize multi-million-dollar spend portfolios.
Exceptional communication skills with the ability to influence without authority and present clearly to senior leaders.
Highly organized, self-directed, and comfortable operating at pace in a rapidly evolving environment.
Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Information Systems, or a related field; MBA or advanced degree a plus.
Experience in a technology company that develops and sells software products.
Certifications in procurement or vendor management (e.g., CPSM, CSMP, or equivalent).
Experience working with VMS/MSP platforms (e.g., Xylo, ServiceNow).
Familiarity with software asset management (SAM) tooling and practices.
Exposure to AI/ML platform procurement or AI vendor risk frameworks.
Must clear a pre-employment drug test (marijuana excluded for this position).
Applicants must currently be authorized to work in the United States for any employer without current or future sponsorship.

Skills

Technology procurement
Vendor management
Strategic sourcing
Software product development
Negotiation
SaaS
ELAs
MSAs
SOWs
Enterprise IT platforms
Product engineering toolchains
AI tool evaluation
AI tool procurement
Contractual risk management
Financial acumen
Communication
Influence
Presentation
Organization
Self-direction
Pace management
VMS/MSP platforms
Software asset management (SAM)

Location

Work Type

Hybrid
Remote
Full-time

Experience Level

Sr Director
Management
Leadership

Education Level

Bachelor's degree
Master's degree
Ph.D.

Salary/Compensations

$179,600.00 - $299,400.00

Benefits

Flexible vacation with pay
Seven paid holidays
Up to 160 hours of paid wellness annually
Bereavement leave
Time off to vote
Jury duty leave
Volunteer time off
Military leave
Parental leave
Health care insurance (medical, dental, vision)
Retirement planning (401(k))

About the Company

Cox Automotive is transforming the way the world buys, owns, sells – or simply uses – cars through groundbreaking technology and a commitment to stellar experiences for drivers and dealers.
Employees get to work on iconic consumer brands like Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book and industry-leading dealer-facing companies like vAuto and Manheim.
Enjoy a people-centered atmosphere that is central to life at Cox.

Equal Opportunity

Cox is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer – All qualified applicants/employees will receive consideration for employment without regard to that individual’s age, race, color, religion or creed, national origin or ancestry, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, physical or mental disability, veteran status, genetic information, ethnicity, citizenship, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Cox provides reasonable accommodations when requested by a qualified applicant or employee with disability, unless such accommodations would cause an undue hardship.
EOE, including disability/vets.