Senior Associate Category Management

About the Client

Founded in 1993, our client is an investment management firm focused on investments in mortgage and consumer credit, including whole loans, asset-backed securities, mortgage servicing rights, and other credit‑related assets.

The Senior Associate, Category Management supports the full lifecycle of vendor engagement and oversight across our client’s firm and its affiliates. This role focuses on both technology and non‑technology categories—including IT, HR, professional services, and operations‑related suppliers—facilitating contract reviews with Legal, and compliance with the company’s third‑party risk framework. The Senior Associate partners closely with business stakeholders, Legal, and Risk teams to enable efficient vendor onboarding, manage renewals, and drive continuous improvement in vendor governance.

• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to understand business needs, advise on sourcing strategies, and assist with identifying optimal vendors for both IT and non‑IT spend categories.
• Facilitate early engagement with business units to ensure alignment with procurement and risk management processes.
• Act as first line of defense in assessing risk when onboarding third parties by understanding the nature of the product/service, type of data shared with third party and propose commensurate mitigation risk measures (contract modification, additional SME reviews, data minimization etc.)
• Serve as a point of contact for vendor‑related inquiries, issue resolution, and ongoing performance monitoring.

• Partner with Legal and Risk partners to ensure appropriate contract terms, compliance language, and risk mitigation are in place.
• Manage all correspondence with vendors and stakeholders during the contract review process, ensuring timely execution and accurate documentation.
• Maintain up‑to‑date contract records in our client’s TPRM platform and coordinate renewals or expirations with relevant stakeholders.

• Ensure vendor risk assessments are completed for new and existing vendors in partnership with Risk, Data Privacy, and Information Security teams.

• Track and report key vendor management metrics, including due diligence completion, and contract cycle times
• Support category reporting and spend review to identify opportunities for supplier rationalization.
• Assist in developing dashboards or reporting through tools such as Excel or Power BI
  .

• 3–5 years of experience in strategic sourcing, vendor management, procurement, or third‑party risk
  , preferably in the financial services or mortgage servicing industry
  .
• Experience reviewing and interpreting vendor contracts and understanding key commercial, legal, and operational terms.
• Familiarity with third‑party risk management practices
  , regulatory expectations, and vendor due diligence processes.
• Strong interpersonal skills to build relationships and provide high levels of service to internal stakeholders.
• Excellent organizational and analytical skills with attention to detail.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Self‑starter who can manage multiple priorities in a fast‑paced, collaborative environment.

• Experience reviewing and redlining vendor contracts and negotiating commercial terms.
• Exposure to vendor risk management programs in the financial services sector.
• Proficiency with Excel
  , Power BI
  , and other reporting or contract management tools.