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About the Role

Partner with business leaders to develop and execute category strategies that deliver value, foster innovation, identify savings opportunities, and mitigate risk. Lead high-visibility sourcing initiatives from requirements definition through supplier selection and contract negotiation while building trusted relationships across Finance, Legal, technology, and business teams. This role offers the opportunity to influence senior leaders, strengthen Guardian’s supplier portfolio, and accelerate impact across the enterprise.

Responsibilities

Run and lead end-to-end execution of high visibility and complex RFPs, RFIs, vendor selection and contract negotiations in the Professional Services Category.
Partner with Head of Professional Services Category to develop and integrate category management strategies across the business units.
Drive and deliver on vendor consolidation on professional services suppliers being used across the different LOBs.
Partner with key finance leadership to review category spend and drive savings opportunities.
Develop strategic sourcing strategy on complex deals and showcase leadership and drive sourcing influence to senior level leaders and their teams.
Handle technology and non-technology professional services sourcing projects.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to define requirements, evaluate proposals, and ensure timely decision-making.
Research and advise Guardian senior leaders on supplier options, deal structuring and other deal aspects, including deal duration, selection criteria and supplier KPIs.
Create evaluation sheets and perform qualitative and quantitative analysis to drive to consensus on supplier selection.
Provide detailed analysis of supplier proposals to stakeholders, including pricing and business terms.
Provide the first layer of review prior to sending matters to legal and will need to directly interface with suppliers and internal business partners.
Become familiar with Guardian’s contract landscape, supplier base, and manage key suppliers.
Engage the business early in the sourcing process to understand requirements, propose category management ideas and cost saving opportunities.
Manage and prioritize key complex and high value contracts and sourcing projects simultaneously.
Build trusted relationships with IT, Legal, Finance, and business leaders.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in technology, finance, legal studies, business, or a related discipline.
At least 10 years of experience in strategic sourcing, category management, and contract negotiations.
Demonstrated knowledge of the end-to-end sourcing and contracting process, including requests for proposal, requests for information, supplier evaluation, and commercial negotiations.
Experience leading professional services sourcing projects across both technology and non-technology engagements.
Strong in contract review, redlining, and drafting contract language.
Ability to analyze supplier proposals, pricing, business terms, and legal terms, and to redline contracts to accurately capture negotiated business requirements.
Proficiency with Microsoft Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
Experience negotiating large-volume of consulting, technology implementation, managed services, outsourcing, or transformation contracts.
Experience developing alternative commercial models such as fixed-fee, milestone-based, outcome-based, consumption-based, or blended-rate structures rather than relying solely on time-and-materials arrangements.
Experience using should-cost analysis, benchmarking, rate-card analysis, and competitive market intelligence to develop negotiation positions.
Experience managing strategic suppliers through supplier performance management, QBRs, KPIs, SLAs, and continuous improvement programs.
MBA preferred.
Must be legally authorized to work in the United States, without the need for employer sponsorship/support now or at any time in the future.

Skills

Strategic sourcing
Category management
Contract negotiations
RFP/RFI process
Supplier evaluation
Commercial negotiations
Contract review
Contract redlining
Contract drafting
Proposal analysis
Pricing analysis
Business terms analysis
Legal terms analysis
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Word
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Excel
Should-cost analysis
Benchmarking
Rate-card analysis
Competitive market intelligence
Supplier performance management
QBRs
KPIs
SLAs
Continuous improvement
Analytical judgment
Clear communication
Active listening
Adaptability
Integrity
Accountability
Problem-solving
Organizational skills
Multi-tasking
Detail-oriented
Priority management

Location

Hybrid
Hudson Yards NYC
Holmdel NJ

Work Type

Hybrid
Full-time

Experience Level

Lead
At least 10 years of experience

Education Level

Bachelor's degree
MBA preferred

Salary/Compensations

$103,450.00 - $169,960.00

Benefits

Support and flexibility to achieve professional and personal goals
Skill-building
Leadership development
Philanthropic opportunities
Opportunities to build communities and grow your career
Contemporary, supportive, flexible, and inclusive benefits and resources

About the Company

At Guardian, you’ll have the support and flexibility to achieve your professional and personal goals.
Through skill-building, leadership development and philanthropic opportunities, we provide opportunities to build communities and grow your career, surrounded by diverse colleagues with high ethical standards.
As part of Guardian’s Purpose – to inspire well-being – we are committed to offering contemporary, supportive, flexible, and inclusive benefits and resources to our colleagues.
Explore our company benefits at www.guardianlife.com/careers/corporate/benefits.
Benefits apply to full-time eligible employees.
Interns are not eligible for most Company benefits.

Equal Opportunity

Guardian is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to age, race, color, creed, religion, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, marital status, disability, military or veteran status, or any other classification protected by applicable law.
Guardian is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities.
Guardian also provides reasonable accommodations to qualified job applicants (and employees) to accommodate the individual's known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless doing so would create an undue hardship.
If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact MyHR@glic.com.
Guardian Life is not currently or in the foreseeable future sponsoring employment-based visas (e.g., such as an H-1B).
As part of Guardian’s job application process, Guardian may use artificial intelligence tools (“AI Tools") to automate the sorting and filtering of information provided by applicants as part of its preliminary screening.
At Guardian, we do not use AI Tools to substantially assist or replace human judgment or discretionary decision making in our hiring process. All hiring decisions will be made by Guardian colleagues.
Please be aware that if you apply for a specific position with Guardian, you will have the choice of opting out of Guardian’s use of AI Tools during the job application process.
If you would like to request an alternative process that does not utilize AI Tools or would like to request a reasonable accommodation, within ten business days of your position application, you must email your request to MyHR@glic.com, making sure to provide your name and job requisition identification number.
Guardian will retain your applicant materials and resume and all information therefrom in accordance with Guardian’s document retention policy, a copy of which you may request via MyHR@glic.com.
Additionally, at applicable times, Guardian will make public the most recent bias audit results for such AI tools, which may be found here.
Current Guardian Colleagues: Please apply through the internal Jobs Hub in Workday.