Category Lead (Enterprise Sourcing & Procurement)

Medica is a nonprofit health plan with more than a million members that serves communities in Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Missouri, and beyond. We deliver personalized health care experiences and partner closely with providers to ensure members are genuinely cared for. We're a team that owns our work with accountability, makes data-driven decisions, embraces continuous learning, and celebrates collaboration — because success is a team sport. It's our mission to be there in the moments that matter most for our members and employees. Join us in creating a community of connected care, where coordinated, quality service is the norm and every member feels valued. The Category Lead role serves as the strategic and operational bridge between Medica and its vendor partners, ensuring alignment with Medica’s sourcing strategy, compliance standards, and enterprise objectives. The role is actively involved in leading key aspects of the vendor lifecycle, including vendor selection, onboarding, performance management, and offboarding, with a focus on driving innovation, managing risk, and delivering measurable value. Through strong cross-functional collaboration and effective partnership with vendors, the role supports informed, data-driven decision-making and continuous improvement across vendor relationships. Operating in a fast-paced and evolving environment, the Vendor Manager plays a critical role in strengthening partnerships, influencing outcomes, and ensuring vendors contribute positively to Medica’s business goals and the needs of the teams served. There are two open Category Lead roles supporting the following business categories: Operations, Legal & Finance Products, Health Services & Human Resources Key Accountabilities Lead Vendor Lifecycle & Relationship Management Lead the full vendor lifecycle, including vendor selection, onboarding, performance reviews, renewals, amendments, and offboarding activities. Serve as the primary liaison between Medica and assigned vendors, fostering strong relationships, trust, and long-term collaboration. Facilitate vendor engagement activities such as Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs), strategic planning sessions, and operational check-ins. Influence vendor counterparts, including senior leaders when appropriate, to drive service improvement, innovation, and issue resolution. Contract Execution, Performance, Risk & Compliance Partner with ES&P and business units to ensure timely execution of contract renewals, amendments, and terminations. Monitor vendor performance against contractual obligations, service-level agreements (SLAs), and regulatory requirements. Track, manage, and support remediation plans, audit findings, and risk mitigation activities in collaboration with internal stakeholders. Maintain accurate vendor documentation, records, scorecards, and performance dashboards to support transparency and accountability. Vendor Performance Analytics, Reporting & Value Delivery Analyze vendor performance data, service metrics, and trends to identify performance gaps, risks, and improvement opportunities. Develop and present reporting on vendor performance, savings achievements, service-level compliance, and value realization. Partner with ES&P analytics teams to define meaningful performance metrics and dashboards. Conduct ad-hoc analyses and scenario modeling to support decision-making and prioritization. Strategic Collaboration & Sourcing Partnership Partner with ES&P sourcing teams on RFI, RFP, and RFQ processes, including vendor evaluations and contract negotiations. Analyze vendor portfolios to identify overlaps, reduce duplicative spend, and recommend consolidation opportunities where appropriate. Lead or support cross-functional initiatives requiring coordination across vendors and Medica teams, including Operations, Compliance, Product, and Risk. Translate vendor insights into actionable recommendations that improve business outcomes and the Medica experience. Vendor Management Pr…

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