Blend makes the process of getting a loan simpler, faster, and safer. With its industry-leading digital lending platform, Blend helps financial institutions like Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank increase productivity and deliver exceptional customer experiences. The company processes nearly $2 billion in loans daily, helping millions of consumers get into homes and gain access to the capital they need to lead better lives.

Blend is looking for a dynamic individual to join our Legal & Compliance team who’s motivated to solve hard problems—the more complex the better. As Procurement & Vendor Manager, you’ll have a broad range of responsibilities as you provide subject matter expertise to help build the Procurement & Vendor Management function at Blend. This role is an excellent opportunity for a self-starter to be part of an expanding team, partnering with business stakeholders and risk owners to actively handle risks and generate value that align with Blend’s goals and priorities.

Our team helps navigate a growing FinTech company through an evolving and complex financial legal and regulatory environment. Specifically, the Procurement & Vendor Management team supports vendor selection, business terms negotiations and category strategy. The team is responsible for implementing a risk-based approach to vendor lifecycle management, from selection and onboarding through maximizing third-party performance through continuous monitoring and oversight. 

Responsibilities:

• Review commercial agreements and lead business term negotiations to drive value and efficiencies across the organization
• Act as a trusted consultant to business owners in vendor selection (sourcing events), requirements gathering (defining SLAs), vendor performance management and category strategies
• Lead all aspects of vendor onboarding activities including planning, inherent risk assessment and initial due diligence
• Partner cross-functionally with Legal & Compliance, Finance, Security, IT, and other risk stakeholders to identify, mitigate and handle third-party risks
• Collaborate with business owners on vendor oversight and monitoring activities, including QBRs, annual reviews, onsite visits, vendor scorecards and performance surveys
• Lead continuous improvement efforts such as vendor rationalization, optimizing existing relationships, managing residuals risks and ensuring program compliance
• Consistently provide a high level of service through effective communications with a keen sense of urgency
• Generate periodic and ad hoc reports, and build dashboards with key metrics for senior management
• Maintain and iterate use of our third-party assessment and contract management platforms as central repositories for all vendor-related workflow, metadata, assessments and action items
• Support internal and external audit requests
• Lead and support ad hoc projects

Requirements:

• 3-4 years of procurement, vendor management, consulting, and/or risk management experience in a fast-paced environment
• Excellent contract negotiations skills, including understanding key commercial terms, issue spotting and developing robust SLAs
• Strategic sourcing experience across technology and non-technology categories
• Skilled at defining, influencing and driving procurement category strategies
• Outstanding business acumen and creative problem solving to get to “yes”
• Masterful at building strong relationships and understanding business needs
• Ability to identify risks, propose mitigations and document and escalate risks-
• Experience developing and scaling procurement, and vendor management processes and procedures
• Strong critical thinking, project management and execution abilities
• Experience with various vendor management, contract management and financial accounting platforms
• Skilled in building dashboards and generating reports
• Comfortable with balancing multiple, competing priorities and changes in scope/direction
• Independent, self-starter with adaptive, can-do attitude
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, technology start-up environment
• Potential travel up to 10%

Nice to Haves:

• Professional accreditation in procurement or sourcing a plus
• Experience at a cloud technology or FinTech company
• Relevant experience in consumer finance/mortgage space

Blend is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity, inclusion and belonging. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We will consider for employment all qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records in a manner consistent with applicable law, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.