Senior Leader of Vendor Management

About the role

Do you aspire to drive continuous and steady improvement of our vendor KPI's and to serve as the primary interface for vendor relationships? Our vendors are an extension of Aviva and directly contribute to the overall customer experience, this role focuses on managing a team of vendor managers who manage risks associated with vendor outsourcing, using data to deliver successful business outcomes and drive vendor performance to reduce indemnity, reduce cycle time and enhance the customer experience.

Responsibilities

• Know and understand your people and the challenges which they face by being in the work with them. Support and develop their capability in the role and work with them to support career aspirations
• Have honest, constructive conversations with your people, set clear direction and goals giving frequent, honest, clear and constructive feedback to improve their performance and achieve business goals
• Look for new and incremental ways to improve things every day for our customers
• Understand and apply risk management controls proportionately and help your team to meet our compliance obligations
• Use the data, insight, and expertise of the frontline to determine how we improve our overall performance and results
• Think creatively to develop solutions or identify problems
• Take the lead on project management and change initiatives within your team
• Develop and recommend the strategic direction for your department
• Represent your team in senior management discussions, internally and externally
• Have a clear understanding of financial elements of our claims function to ensure we remain financially strong year over year. Use that understanding to identify and report on any suspicions of fraud or financial irregularities
• Travel periodically to meet with vendors and between our Markham and Oakville offices
• Be the point of contact for vendor-related inquiries
• Manage a team that tracks, develops and analyzes data to assess vendor performance; identify trends and gaps so as to steadily improve business metrics such as NPS, cycle time and indemnity spend
• Be a key contributor to vendor related initiatives
• Be the key contact for our strategic partners
• Resolve appropriate vendor coverage
• Use financial data to identify, assess and propose savings opportunity and build detailed business plans outlining business recommendations
• Assist with the resolution of vendor related complaints and disputes
• Provide operational oversight for negotiations of vendor agreements, SLAs and contract evaluations in conjunction with Procurement, Aviva Legal and applicable cross-functional teams and ensure that strategy activities include supplier governance
• Conduct quality assurance reviews as required and share findings with the appropriate parties
• Lead the development of tools and templates to support the ongoing strategy
• Ensure accurate and impactful risk identification, evaluation, continuous monitoring and escalation protocols to support management of vendor relation/management deficiencies and mitigation of client and operational risk
• Regularly evaluate and assess vendor relationships and contracts, based on ongoing needs, to ensure efficient value, quality and innovation
• Coordinate vendor-related efforts during catastrophic events with a focus on proactivity and speed while ensuring specific reporting needs are being met
• Act as a Change Champion, drive continuous improvement of vendor performance and engage the community for feedback.
• Participate in in-person Client and team meetings (approximately 25% travel is required)

Requirements

• 5+ years in a Relationship Management, Vendor Management, Account Management, or similar roles
• 2+ years background working in restoration construction, preferably in project management
• Solid understanding of construction
• Preferably, possesses a university degree in business, finance or other related field
• Operational Improvement and/or Project Management certification preferred
• Significant metric/result-driven mentality, with a bias for speed and action
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to translate data into insights. Proficient with Excel, Qlik and PowerPoint
• Understanding of finance fundamentals
• Proven track record of delivering major and balanced financial savings and customer experience improvements
• Validated sophisticated leadership skills
• Validated courage and self-confidence
• Ability to mediate conflict and resolve issues by identifying altern

Additional Information

Experience Aviva Individually we are people, but together we are Aviva. Individually these are just words, but together they are our Values - Care, Commitment, Community, and Confidence. At Aviva Canada, we put people first, our employees, our customers, and our communities. We're proud of a culture built on care, inclusion, and collaboration, where your voice matters and your growth is supported. We're not just about insurance; we're about making a real difference by protecting what matters most.

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