IT Vendor Management​/Relations

Summary

Our present and future success depends on the creative and dedicated people of our company who demonstrate the principles outlined in the APS Promise:
Design for Tomorrow, Empower Each Other and Succeed Together.

As an IT Vendor Relations Manager at APS, you will ensure that our IT vendors supporting our business are effectively managed and properly contracted with to ensure reliable, high‑quality services that help keep power flowing to the communities we serve. By acting as the bridge between internal teams and IT vendors, this role helps APS get the most value from its technology investments, reduces service disruptions, and supports a dependable, modern energy grid that Arizona communities count on every day.

• Build strong, trusted relationships with IT vendors while serving as a go‑to partner for internal business teams
• Collaborate with stakeholders to negotiate vendor services with business needs and resolve service gaps
• Lead vendor conversations around performance, expectations, and issue resolution
• Partner with Supply Chain to ensure the appropriate legal framework is in place to support technology engagements with contracted vendors
• Navigate complex, multiple stakeholder challenges amid changing priorities to deliver solutions that balance stakeholder expectations and IT budgets

• Experienced in negotiating, contracting, and managing IT vendor contracts including SaaS, PaaS, or other cloud‑based services
• A strategic, relationship focused professional with strong collaboration and communication skills and the ability to work across business units and external partners
• Comfortable leading conversations around performance, accountability, and service expectations
• Problem‑solving and assertive mindset with the ability to resolve complex issues involving multiple stakeholders around budgeting challenges, performance, and service expectations
• Proven track record in the negotiation and management of application managed services focusing on incident management and cost reduction over time
• Ability to author and negotiate waterfall and agile scopes of work for complex system integration activities from design, build, testing, hyper‑care and warranty phases of new software implementation projects and programs

• Bachelor's degree in business, information systems administration or related field
• PLUS 8 years' experience managing vendor and supplier relationships in the area of licensing, software (especially vendor relationships involving SaaS, PaaS and other cloud type software services), IT application, development and maintenance services, or related experience
• Prior experience working with and negotiating with suppliers and strategic vendor initiatives
• Demonstrated ability to build relationships with key suppliers and liaise between vendor and internal organizations to resolve conflicts
• Demonstrated ability to track and negotiate contract requirements including Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
• Ability to lead using informal authority to drive organizational objectives

• Full knowledge and experience with IT vendor relationship management as a discipline
• Ability to maintain composure in critical negotiations, communicating effectively with both internal and external clients
• Perform advanced business and financial analysis of vendor engagements
• Build strong relationships with key vendors and the internal IT organization to ensure delivery of IT services
• Demonstrated ability to solve complex problems and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of overall vendor relationships across the IT organization
• Demonstrated ability to lead using informal authority and personal influence to drive organizational objectives