Supplier Relationship Specialist, Consultant

Job Description

Your Role

The Supplier Relationship Specialist, Consultant will report to the Sr. Manager of Procurement Operations and Risk Management within the Global Business Services (GBS) organization, which operates within the Finance business unit. GBS teams lead the Enterprise Procurement practice as a partner with business and functional stakeholders to plan, select and contract with third-party suppliers, which includes advancement of environmental, social and governance outcomes of supplier relationships.

As a key member of the procurement team, you will support procurement operations, supplier governance, and risk management activities. Your role will focus on ensuring compliance, reducing enterprise risks, and strengthening supplier relationships through structured processes and continuous improvement initiatives.

Responsibilities

Your Work

In this role you will:

• Support procurement due diligence activities, ensuring alignment with enterprise policies and controls
• Contribute to the Procurement Center of Excellence by identifying opportunities for process improvements and risk mitigation
• Assist in supplier selection, onboarding, contracting, management, and termination processes
• Drive the supplier governance program with minimal supervision. Calibrate the annual plan with GBS leadership and business stakeholders, with flexibility to add/remove suppliers throughout the year as required, and ability to scale over time
• Support the organization and facilitation of quarterly business reviews, preparing materials in collaboration with stakeholders and suppliers
• Manage all document repositories with related assets, permissions and workflows to enable collaborative inputs and access for each supplier's business relationship owner team (e.g. slide decks, centralized reporting and governance history) and for the program overall (e.g. calendars, stakeholders, program slides)
• Manage the accuracy, effectiveness and accessibility of the list of critical suppliers through continuous governance, audits, reporting and innovation
• Conduct Source to Excellence (S2X) training sessions to reinforce supplier relationship best practices. Maintain and manage all training content and updates
• Deliver a self-serve model of supplier governance for other business relationship owners to implement rigor and discipline in managing suppliers outside of the GBS Governance Program
• Support escalation of issues that arise between the supplier and internal business units
• Support the administration of the Balanced Scorecard model to assess supplier risks across performance, security, financial viability, and compliance. Partner with cross-functional partners in GBS, Information Security Management, Enterprise Risk Management and Business Operations teams
• Assist in annual and biannual supplier risk evaluations in collaboration with enterprise teams. Guide partners through annual and biannual cycles to measure supplier resilience and efficiency along key control categories (Business Performance, Security Posture, Finance Viability and Compliance). Track remediation plans, monitor progress, and escalate risks when necessary
• Conduct adhoc assessments of critical suppliers across key control categories, to be executed virtually or onsite as needed
• Contribute to improvements in risk assessment processes to enhance efficiency and effectiveness
• Track and measure the effectiveness of controls at mitigating supplier risk over time. Analyze trends, identify opportunities, develop strategies and implement solutions for reducing risk and increasing compliance of suppliers
• Help align supplier contract language with enterprise policies to ensure compliance with evolving risk factors
• Continuously deepen GBS's Third Party Risk Management (TPRM) expertise by staying informed on third-party risk management (TPRM) best practices and regulatory updates

Qualifications

Your Knowledge and Experience

• Requires a bachelor's degree or equivalent experience
• Minimum of 7 years of relevant experience in procurement, risk management, vendor relationship management, internal audit, or compliance
• Strong understanding of Procurement functions, processes and systems
• Experience in large organizations, preferably within regulated industries
• Requires an auditor's mindset - analytical, attention to detail, objective, ethical, recognizes risk and vulnerabilities, assesses and mitigates controls and processes, clearly articulates findings, solves problems methodically, adaptable to change, continuously learns and understands organization's operations, industry and regulatory environment
• Requires high competency in driving enterprise-wide programs/projects that involve multiple internal stakeholders, and which have accountability to cross-functional framework and charter. Ability to drive stakeholder alignment, roles/responsibilities and accountability, while communicating risks and necessary adjustments in a timely manner
• Requires ability to communicate clearly and effectively about highly complex content and processes in (both verbal and written), as well as to listen and observe in ways that promote trust, collaboration, consensus and thought partnership
• Requires strong time management skills, adept at balancing priorities, driving measured progress and delivering on schedule. Ability to manage multiple projects concurrently
• Requires high competency in all Microsoft Office applications (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc), with preferred competency in applying Microsoft 365 platform and apps (SharePoint, Teams, Lists, Power Automate etc)
• Preferred experience with Agile methodologies for business process improvements

About the Team

About Blue Shield of California

As of January 2025, Blue Shield of California became a subsidiary of Ascendiun. Ascendiun is a nonprofit corporate entity that is the parent to a family of organizations including Blue Shield of California and its subsidiary, Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan; Altais, a clinical services company; and Stellarus, a company designed to scale healthcare solutions. Together, these organizations are referred to as the Ascendiun Family of Companies.

At Blue Shield of California, our mission is to create a healthcare system worthy of our family and friends and sustainably affordable. We are transforming health care in a way that genuinely serves our nonprofit mission by lowering costs, improving quality, and enhancing the member and physician experience.

To achieve our mission, we foster an environment where all employees can thrive and contribute fully to address the needs of the various communities we serve. We are committed to creating and maintaining a supportive workplace that upholds our values and advances our goals.

Blue Shield is a U.S. News Best Company to work for, a Deloitte U.S. Best Managed Company and a Top 100 Inspiring Workplace. We were recognized by Fair360 as a Top Regional Company, and one of the 50 most community-minded companies in the United States by Points of Light. Here at Blue Shield, we strive to make a positive change across our industry and communities - join us!

Our Values:

• Honest. We hold ourselves to the highest ethical and integrity standards. We build trust by doing what we say we're going to do and by acknowledging and correcting where we fall short.
• Human. We strive to listen and communicate effectively, showing empathy by understanding others' perspectives.
• Courageous. We stand up for what we believe in and are committed to the hard work necessary to achieve our ambitious goals.

Our Workplace Model:

At Blue Shield of California and the Ascendiun Family of Companies, we believe in fostering a workplace environment that balances purposeful in-person collaboration with flexibility. As we continue to evolve our workplace model, our focus remains on creating spaces where our people can connect with purpose - whether working in the office or through a hybrid approach - by providing clear expectations while respecting the diverse needs of our workforce.

Two Ways of Working:

• Hybrid (Default): Work from a business unit-approved office at least two (2) times per month (for roles below Director-level) or once per week (for Director-level roles and above).Exceptions:

o Member-facing and approved out-of-state roles remain remote.

o Employees living more than 50 miles from their assigned offices are expected to work with their managers on a plan for periodic office visits.

o For employees with medical conditions that may impact their ability to work in-office, we are committed to engaging in an interactive process and providing reasonable accommodations to ensure their work environment is conducive to their success and well-being.

• On-Site: Work from a business unit-approved office an average of four (4) or more days a week.

Physical Requirements:

Office Environment - roles involving part to full time schedule in Office Environment. Based in our physical offices and work from home office/deskwork - Activity level: Sedentary, frequency most of work day.

Please click here for further physical requirement detail.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

External hires must pass a background check/drug screen. Qualified applicants with arrest records and/or conviction records will be considered for employment in a manner consistent with Federal, State and local laws, including but not limited to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regards to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status or disability status and any other classification protected by Federal, State and local laws.