Vendor Specialist

Join the Cleveland Clinic team where you will work alongside passionate caregivers and provide patient-first healthcare. Here, you will receive endless support and appreciation while building a rewarding career with one of the most respected healthcare organizations in the world.

As a Vendor Specialist, you will lead the strategic oversight, performance management, and risk governance of third-party suppliers supporting a large and complex healthcare organization. You will manage the full vendor lifecycle, from onboarding and due diligence through ongoing performance and risk management, contract renewal, and offboarding, while partnering with business, clinical, compliance, legal, procurement, information security, and other key stakeholders to ensure supplier strategies align with organizational priorities, regulatory requirements, operational needs, and patient-care objectives. You will provide leadership and subject matter expertise in third-party risk management, vendor governance, and supplier performance, driving accountability, continuous improvement, risk mitigation, and strong supplier relationships within a highly regulated healthcare environment.

A caregiver who excels in this role will:  

• Manage the full vendor lifecycle including onboarding, due diligence, ongoing governance, renewal, and offboarding.
• Ensure vendors meet organizational, regulatory, contractual, and compliance requirements throughout the relationship.
• Lead and coordinate third-party risk management activities including risk assessments, issue remediation, and ongoing monitoring.
• Partner with Compliance, Legal, IT Security, Privacy, Enterprise Risk, and business stakeholders to manage supplier risk.
• Establish and manage supplier performance frameworks including KPIs, SLAs, scorecards, and corrective action plans.
• Monitor vendor performance trends, escalate issues, and drive continuous improvement initiatives.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for vendor governance and supplier relationship management.
• Facilitate supplier business reviews and performance discussions and provide recommendations on vendor performance, risk posture, and optimization opportunities.
• Support the development and execution of supplier-focused strategies aligned to organizational goals.
• Ensure effective communication and coordination between vendors and internal teams by facilitating cross-functional alignment on vendor priorities, risks and opportunities.
• Maintain accurate vendor records, documentation, and reporting within vendor management systems.
• Contribute to the enhancement of vendor management policies, processes, and governance frameworks.

Minimum qualifications for the ideal future caregiver include:  

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Management, Risk Management, Supply Chain, Healthcare Administration, or a related field
• Two years of experience in vendor management, supply chain, sourcing, contract administration, operations, finance, or a related analytical or administrative role
• Master’s degree and one year of experience may substitute work experience requirement.
• Demonstrated knowledge of supply chain management principles and concepts including sourcing, contracting and vendor management.

 Preferred qualifications for the ideal future caregiver include: 

• Experience with vendor management, sourcing, or other related experience
• Experience in a healthcare or highly regulated environment

• Ability to perform work in a stationary position for extended periods.
• Ability to operate a computer and other office equipment. 
• Ability to communicate and exchange accurate information.
• Ability to travel throughout the health system.

• Follows Standard Precautions using personal protective equipment as required.

The policy of Cleveland Clinic Health System and its system hospitals (Cleveland Clinic Health System) is to provide equal opportunity to all of our caregivers and applicants for employment in our drug free environment. All offers of employment are followed by testing for controlled substances.

Cleveland Clinic Health System administers an influenza prevention program. You will be required to comply with this program, which will include obtaining an influenza vaccination on an annual basis or obtaining an approved exemption.

Decisions concerning employment, transfers and promotions are made upon the basis of the best qualified candidate without regard to color, race, religion, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, ancestry, status as a disabled or Vietnam era veteran or any other characteristic protected by law. Information provided on this application may be shared with any Cleveland Clinic Health System facility. 

If applying for a Florida position, please see the following website for more information on the background screening requirements required by the Agency of Health Care Administration: https://info.flclearinghouse.com/

Please review the Equal Employment Opportunity poster. 

Cleveland Clinic is pleased to be an equal employment opportunity employer.