Manager, Vendor Operations

Workforce Classification:

Hybrid

Join Our Team: Do Meaningful Work and Improve People’s Lives 

Our purpose, to improve customers’ lives by making healthcare work better, is far from ordinary. And so are our employees. Working at Premera means you have the opportunity to drive real change by transforming healthcare.

Premera is committed to being a workplace where people feel empowered to grow, innovate, and lead with purpose. By investing in our employees and fostering a culture of collaboration and continuous development, we’re able to better serve our customers. It’s this commitment that has earned us recognition as one of the best companies to work for. Learn more about our recent awards and recognitions as a greatest workplace.

Learn how Premera supports our members, customers and the communities that we serve through our Healthsource blog:  https://healthsource.premera.com/.

Are you a strategic operations leader who thrives on turning complex partnerships into measurable results? As Manager of Vendor Operations, you will lead the performance and governance of our Contact Center’s strategic partners, leading critical work transitions from readiness through stabilization while ensuring high-quality, compliant, and cost-effective service. You will lead a high-performing team, partner across the enterprise, manage key escalations, and drive accountability for supplier performance, financial outcomes, and continuous improvement. You will also have a key voice in readiness-based transition decisions that help shape our operational success. Some travel is required.

 
What you will do:

• Provide operational oversight and guidance to the Contact Center’s strategic partners by setting performance expectations, monitoring results, and conducting regular reviews; including the vendor governance cadence (scorecards, KPIs/SLAs, escalation pathways).

• Design and manage the governance and readiness framework for work transitions, and coordinate with the business to execute them.

• Lead people management for the Partner Management Team, including hiring, talent development, succession planning, and performance calibration; coach staff to build capability.

• Partner with Workforce Management to align vendor capacity, staffing, schedules, and ramp plans with forecasted demand, and hold vendors accountable to staffing models.

• Serve as primary liaison among internal teams, vendors, business units, and external stakeholders; manage escalations with executive-ready communication.

• Manage vendor financials, including budget planning, invoice validation, cost adherence, and cost optimization.

• Partner with Strategic Sourcing/Procurement and Legal on contract lifecycle activities (SOWs, change control, renewals, SLA/penalty recommendations) to ensure operational requirements are reflected in agreements.

• Identify process gaps and implement best practices to improve efficiency and quality, including standardization, Lean, and automation.

• Ensure vendor audit readiness by validating controls, evidence retention, and corrective action plans with Compliance, Privacy, and Security.

• Maintain business continuity and risk mitigation plans for offshore operations, including vendor dependency risk and stabilization criteria.

• Other duties as assigned.

What you will bring:

• Bachelor’s degree in business, operations, management, or related field OR 4 years equivalent related experience (Required), and:

• 5 years of progressively responsible operations experience including 3 years of people leadership, including managing programs, processes, or operational workflows; and leading teams, including performance management and development (Required).

• 2 years demonstrated experience managing external vendor based and/or globally distributed teams, including vendor relationship management, performance oversight, issue escalation, and contract compliance support (Required).

• Experience managing external or third-party vendor operations in a highly regulated environment.

• Health insurance and/or operations experience, including work in a highly regulated environment.

• Demonstrated experience developing and leading vendor governance practices (scorecards, KPI/SLA management, and escalation frameworks) and facilitating monthly/quarterly business reviews.

• Experience leading process improvement, operational transformation, and/or automation initiatives.

• Experience leading large scale work transitions and change management, including defining readiness criteria, approving transition gates, and validating stabilization metrics post-transition.

• Experience partnering with Workforce Management on forecasting, staffing models, capacity planning, ramp readiness, and skill coverage to ensure vendor delivery meets demand and contractual commitments.

• Experience supporting system implementations, UAT, operational transformations, and leading cross-functional work (Operations, IT, Finance, Compliance/Legal) to support operational readiness and/or work transitions.

What you will gain:

• Strategic partnership leadership: Turn vendor relationships into high-performing strategic partnerships by designing governance frameworks, scorecards, and business reviews that drive real results.

• Transformation and change leadership: Lead complex, readiness-based work transitions from start to finish, a highly sought-after skill set for leaders shaping the future of operations.

• Financial and commercial acumen: Sharpen your business instincts through budget ownership, cost optimization, and hands-on partnership with Procurement and Legal on contracts and service agreements.

• Executive influence and cross-functional collaboration: Build your presence with senior leaders through executive-ready communication, high-stakes escalation management, and partnerships across Operations, IT, Finance, Compliance, and Legal.

Premera total rewards

Our comprehensive total rewards package provides support, resources, and opportunities to help employees thrive and grow. Our total rewards are more than a collection of perks, they're a reflection of our commitment to your health and well-being. We offer a broad array of rewards including physical, financial, emotional, and community benefits, including:

• Medical, vision, and dental coverage with low employee premiums.

• Voluntary benefit offerings, including pet insurance for paw parents.

• Life and disability insurance.

• Retirement programs, including a 401K employer match and, believe it or not, a pension plan that is vested after 3 years of service.

• Wellness incentives with a wide range of mental well-being resources for you and your dependents, including counseling services, stress management programs, and mindfulness programs, just to name a few.

• Generous paid time off to reenergize.

• Looking for continuing education? We have tuition assistance for both undergraduate and graduate degrees.

• Employee recognition program to celebrate anniversaries, team accomplishments, and more.

For our hybrid employees, our on-campus model provides flexibility to create your own routine with access to on-site resources, networking opportunities, and team engagement.

• Commuter perks make your trip to work less impactful on the environment and your wallet.

• Free convenient on-site parking.

• Subsidized on-campus cafes make lunchtime connections with colleagues fun and affordable.

• Participate in engaging on-site activities such as health and wellness events, coffee connects, disaster preparedness fairs and more.

• Our complementary fitness & well-being center offers both in-person and virtual workouts and nutritional counseling.

• Need a brain break? Challenge someone to a game of shuffleboard or ping pong while on campus.

Equal employment opportunity/affirmative action:

Premera is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Premera seeks to attract and retain the most qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.

If you need an accommodation to apply online for positions at Premera, please contact Premera Human Resources via email at [email protected] or via phone at 425-918-4785.

The pay for this role will vary based on a range of factors including, but not limited to, a candidate’s geographic location, market conditions, and specific skills and experience.

The salary range for this role is posted below; we generally target up to and around the midpoint of the range.

National Plus Salary Range:

$101,900.00 - $173,200.00

*National Plus salary range is used in higher cost of labor markets including Western Washington and Alaska.

We’re happy to discuss compensation further during the interview because we believe that open communication leads to better outcomes for all. We’re committed to creating an environment where all employees are celebrated for their unique skills and contributions.