# Director, IT Vendor LiaisonCedar Rapids, IAFull-Time# Director, IT Vendor LiaisonCedar Rapids, IAFull-TimeFeb 03, 2026Accounting**Job Family**Vendor ManagementAt Transamerica, hard work, innovative thinking, and personal accountability are qualities we honor and reward. We understand the potential of leveraging the talents of a diverse workforce. We embrace an environment where employees enjoy a balance between their careers, families, communities, and personal interests.Ultimately, we appreciate the uniqueness of a company where talented professionals work collaboratively in a positive environment — one focused on helping people look forward and plan for the best life possible while providing tools and solutions that make it easier to get there.**Who We Are**We believe everyone deserves to live their best life. More than a century ago, we were among the first financial services companies in America to serve everyday people from all walks of life.Today, we’re part of an international holding company, with millions of customers and thousands of employees worldwide. Our insurance, retirement, and investment solutions help people make the most of what’s important to them.We’re empowered by a vast agent network covering North America, with diversity to match. Together with our nonprofit research institute and foundation, we tune in, step up, and are a force for good — for our customers and the communities where we live, work, and play. United in our purpose, we help people create the financial freedom to live life on their terms.**What We Do**Transamerica is organized into three distinct businesses. These include 1) World Financial Group, including Transamerica Financial Advisors, 2) Protection Solutions and Savings & Investments, comprised of life insurance, annuities, employee benefits, retirement plans, and Transamerica Investment Solutions, and 3) Financial Assets, which includes legacy blocks of long term care, universal life, and variable and fixed annuities. These are supported by Transamerica Corporate, which includes Finance, People and Places, General Counsel, Risk, Internal Audit, Strategy and Development, and Corporate Affairs, which covers Communications, Brand, and Government and Policy Affairs.Transamerica employs nearly 7,000 people. It’s part of Aegon, an integrated, diversified, international financial services group serving approximately 23.9 million customers worldwide.\* For more information, visit .**Job Description Summary**Enterprise Technology (formerly Global Technology Services) is a global organization within Transamerica. We provide dedicated support to Transamerica and we bring all of Aegon's business units together through the use of technology. We provide the backbone - the infrastructure - for how everything works. We’re creating the company’s AI environment, building a flexible ‘cloud experience’ for internal hosting services, designing frameworks for data governance and management, and ensuring the security and stability the company’s technology. In short, we enable the business units to move more quickly and deliver to our clients in the best possible way. Whether customers are interested in insurance products or annuities or financial services, we're here to ensure they don't have to worry whether their information is safe.
The people we employ are incredibly diverse, both in terms of backgrounds and skill sets. There are over 1,000 of us representing a dozen or so nationalities and located in the UK, the US, the Netherlands, and Hungary, Spain, and Hong Kong. Our global teams are comprised of experts in the areas such as application development, information security, infrastructure services, data & analytics, risk & controls, procurement, program management, and architecture. With the breadth of functions within Enterprise Technology, individuals can pursue a wide variety of careers, and we have a focus on supporting employees’ development. In particular, our Talent Marketplace enables colleagues to take on gigs to broaden their experience and try out different responsibilities, which can be extremely rewarding.
The most important quality in the people who join us is curiosity. A lot of what we do is problem solving, requiring colleagues to take what they know and apply it to new situations. We have many mature processes, but we’re always looking for opportunities to improve, so we want people who are naturally inquisitive and confident enough to challenge the way we do things. Technology is constantly, rapidly changing – we need you to help us continue to change with it.**Job Description****Job Description Summary:**The Director, Vendor Liaison is a strategic leader responsible for overseeing the lifecycle of IT third-party technology vendors, ensuring alignment with Enterprise Technology goals, optimizing vendor performance, and mitigating risk. This role partners closely with IT leaders, procurement, finance, risk, and legal teams to drive value, innovation, and compliance across the vendor ecosystem.**What You Will Do:**Strategic Vendor Oversight* Develop and execute the Technology-wide vendor management strategy for IT services, software, infrastructure, and outsourcing.* Establish governance frameworks for vendor selection, onboarding, performance monitoring, and offboarding in partnership with global risk and strategic sourcing teams.Performance & Relationship Management* Lead vendor scorecard development and quarterly business reviews to ensure service delivery, SLAs, and KPIs are met.* Partner across enterprise functions to ensure performance and governance frameworks are supportive of organizational guiderails and goals.* Foster strategic partnerships with key vendors to drive innovation, cost savings, and continuous improvement.* Act as a point of escalation to resolve vendor disputes and support issue resolution.Contract & Financial Management* Collaborate with procurement and legal to negotiate contracts, renewals, and amendments.* Monitor and forecast vendor spend and identify cost optimization opportunities.* Support IT teams in defining objective terms and expectations for vendors that align execution with expected outcomes.Risk & Compliance* Ensure vendors comply with regulatory, cybersecurity, and data privacy requirements.* Conduct risk assessments and implement mitigation plans for critical vendor relationships in alignment with third-party risk management.Cross-Functional Partnership and Leadership* Partner across enterprise functions to ensure that global standards and expectations are enforced while representing Enterprise Technology in processes and ways of working.* Partner with IT service owners, finance, and business stakeholders to align vendor pool and capabilities with technology roadmaps.* Lead vendor-related transformation initiatives, including outsourcing transitions and vendor consolidation.**Qualifications*** Bachelor’s degree in in business administration, operations management, or applicable field, or equivalent experience.* 10+ years of relevant experience, including five years working directly with vendors.* Thorough knowledge of vendor management best practices and industry trends.* Ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing to a broad audience.* Project management, organization and prioritization skills to handle multiple projects.* Decision-making and problem-solving skills.**Preferred Qualifications*** Direct experience in vendor management, IT sourcing, or technology procurement.* Proven leadership in managing complex vendor ecosystems within large-scale IT environments.* Strong negotiation, financial acumen, and contract management skills.* Familiarity with ITIL, COBIT, or other IT governance frameworks.* Experience with TBM (Technology Business Management) principles is a plus.* Executive presence with strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills.* #J-18808-Ljbffr
The people we employ are incredibly diverse, both in terms of backgrounds and skill sets. There are over 1,000 of us representing a dozen or so nationalities and located in the UK, the US, the Netherlands, and Hungary, Spain, and Hong Kong. Our global teams are comprised of experts in the areas such as application development, information security, infrastructure services, data & analytics, risk & controls, procurement, program management, and architecture. With the breadth of functions within Enterprise Technology, individuals can pursue a wide variety of careers, and we have a focus on supporting employees’ development. In particular, our Talent Marketplace enables colleagues to take on gigs to broaden their experience and try out different responsibilities, which can be extremely rewarding.
The most important quality in the people who join us is curiosity. A lot of what we do is problem solving, requiring colleagues to take what they know and apply it to new situations. We have many mature processes, but we’re always looking for opportunities to improve, so we want people who are naturally inquisitive and confident enough to challenge the way we do things. Technology is constantly, rapidly changing – we need you to help us continue to change with it.**Job Description****Job Description Summary:**The Director, Vendor Liaison is a strategic leader responsible for overseeing the lifecycle of IT third-party technology vendors, ensuring alignment with Enterprise Technology goals, optimizing vendor performance, and mitigating risk. This role partners closely with IT leaders, procurement, finance, risk, and legal teams to drive value, innovation, and compliance across the vendor ecosystem.**What You Will Do:**Strategic Vendor Oversight* Develop and execute the Technology-wide vendor management strategy for IT services, software, infrastructure, and outsourcing.* Establish governance frameworks for vendor selection, onboarding, performance monitoring, and offboarding in partnership with global risk and strategic sourcing teams.Performance & Relationship Management* Lead vendor scorecard development and quarterly business reviews to ensure service delivery, SLAs, and KPIs are met.* Partner across enterprise functions to ensure performance and governance frameworks are supportive of organizational guiderails and goals.* Foster strategic partnerships with key vendors to drive innovation, cost savings, and continuous improvement.* Act as a point of escalation to resolve vendor disputes and support issue resolution.Contract & Financial Management* Collaborate with procurement and legal to negotiate contracts, renewals, and amendments.* Monitor and forecast vendor spend and identify cost optimization opportunities.* Support IT teams in defining objective terms and expectations for vendors that align execution with expected outcomes.Risk & Compliance* Ensure vendors comply with regulatory, cybersecurity, and data privacy requirements.* Conduct risk assessments and implement mitigation plans for critical vendor relationships in alignment with third-party risk management.Cross-Functional Partnership and Leadership* Partner across enterprise functions to ensure that global standards and expectations are enforced while representing Enterprise Technology in processes and ways of working.* Partner with IT service owners, finance, and business stakeholders to align vendor pool and capabilities with technology roadmaps.* Lead vendor-related transformation initiatives, including outsourcing transitions and vendor consolidation.**Qualifications*** Bachelor’s degree in in business administration, operations management, or applicable field, or equivalent experience.* 10+ years of relevant experience, including five years working directly with vendors.* Thorough knowledge of vendor management best practices and industry trends.* Ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing to a broad audience.* Project management, organization and prioritization skills to handle multiple projects.* Decision-making and problem-solving skills.**Preferred Qualifications*** Direct experience in vendor management, IT sourcing, or technology procurement.* Proven leadership in managing complex vendor ecosystems within large-scale IT environments.* Strong negotiation, financial acumen, and contract management skills.* Familiarity with ITIL, COBIT, or other IT governance frameworks.* Experience with TBM (Technology Business Management) principles is a plus.* Executive presence with strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills.* #J-18808-Ljbffr