IT Vendor Manager, Strategic Suppliers

About this role

We anticipate the application window for this opening will close on - 20 Aug 2026   Careers that change lives start here. Medtronic is a global leader in healthcare technology with a Mission to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life. Our 95,000 employees work across more than 150 countries to put patients first — developing innovative medical technologies that improve the lives of 72+ million patients each year. Your unique talents will help shape the future of healthcare while building a career grounded in purpose, growth, and impact.

A Day in the Life At Medtronic, we bring bold ideas forward with speed and decisiveness to put patients first in everything we do. In-person exchanges are invaluable to our work. We're working onsite 4 days a week as part of our commitment to fostering a culture of professional growth and cross-functional collaboration as we work together to engineer the extraordinary. The person in this role will work from the Medtronic facility located in Mounds View, Minnesota.

This role will require 5% of travel to enhance collaboration and ensure successful completion of projects.

The IT Vendor Manager, Strategic Suppliers, will be responsible for the direction and execution of Medtronic’s vendor management strategy for a subset of its top hardware, software, and telecom suppliers. Working directly with Global IT capability leaders, internal customers, and shared service partners, this position will drive improved governance and partnership across our key IT supplier relationships. Reporting to the VP, VMO, success in this role will consist of effectively managing 8-10 strategic suppliers, delivering sustained improvement in cost, quality, risk mitigation, and innovation.

This is a high-visibility vendor management role, requiring experience in supplier lifecycle management, inclusive of asset, contract, resource, and financial optimization. The ideal candidate will be grounded in the principles of vendor governance, while also demonstrating an aptitude for strategy, market insights, and continuous improvement.

Bring your talents to an industry leader in medical technology and healthcare solutions – we’re a market leader and growing every day. You can be proud to be a part of technologies that are rooted in our long history of mission-driven innovation. You will be empowered to shape your own career. We encourage and support your growth with the training, mentorship, and guidance you need to own your future success. Together, we can transform healthcare. Join us for a career in IT that changes lives.                     CAREERS THAT CHANGE LIVES • Develops and improves the vendor management strategy for a subset of Global IT’s hardware, software, and telecom suppliers. Takes a long-term view that considers cost, quality, substitutes, platforms and standards, competitive leverage, and market dynamics

• Works collaboratively with Global IT leadership, internal customers, and shared service teams (Finance, Legal, Sourcing, etc.) to align strategy with execution

• Part of a global team of IT vendor managers whose goal is providing programmatic governance of its Top 50 strategic suppliers. Expected outcomes are measurable performance improvement through SLAs and KPIs, as well as value-added partnership elements such as executive sponsorship, roadmaps, industry perspective, and executable use cases involving AI, automation, and innovation

• Creates and maintains relationships with 8-10 strategic suppliers, inclusive of executive sponsors, product and delivery leads, sales and service account teams. Able to use these relationships to map out priorities, influence outcomes, and ensure Medtronic’s needs are met in partnership with our suppliers

• Communicates past, present, and future IT narratives effectively. Takes a data-driven, objective view of performance and uses internal and external feedback to create continuous improvement in product and service delivery

• Delivers measurable quality and performance improvements year-over-year, as seen in both monthly SLA/KPI metrics and customer satisfaction scores

• Delivers measurable financial value year-over-year, coming from cost savings, cost avoidance, and supplier-driven AI, automation, process and resource efficiency

MUST HAVE (Minimum Qualifications) • 5+ years of experience with a bachelor’s degree or 3+ years of experience with an advanced degree

NICE TO HAVE (Preferred Qualifications) • 8+ years working in some combination of IT operations, procurement, or vendor management; where managing contractual performance and influencing supplier outcomes were core components of the position

• 6+ years working with IT suppliers, with particular emphasis on large, strategic companies such as Microsoft, SAP, AWS, Verizon, etc.

• Experience working with vendor management data (SLAs, KPIs, financials) to measure and hold suppliers accountable for defined standards of performance

• Experience working with global teams in a follow-the-sun model; effective working with people and teams across APAC, EMEA, and the Americas

• Strong written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills, specifically as it relates to working with internal customers and a variety of IT suppliers

• Ability to influence – both internally and externally – using an objective, data-driven approach to reach the right solution

• Optimistic and solution focused – brings a positive outlook to the team, with a belief that we can always find a better, faster, cheaper way to deliver vs. the status quo

• Experience working with IT companies, specifically in a customer-supplier context where vendor management was a key part of the position

• Experience working with multinational firms, customers, and/or leadership teams; able to communicate and influence across people, cultures, and time zones

• Strong written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills, specifically as it relates to working with internal and external teams to maintain ef

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