Vendor Management Analyst (Finance)

SUMMARY

The Vendor Management Analyst (Finance) is responsible for the full lifecycle of third-party vendor relationships with a primary focus on financial integrity, billing accuracy, and contractual compliance. Sitting within the Finance Division, this role owns the vendor invoice audit and approval process, ensures all vendor charges are reconciled against active agreements, and maintains the controls and documentation required for audit readiness. The analyst also administers the Microsoft Partnership Agreement, governs contract renewals, maintains compliance documentation, manages vendor performance scorecards, and supports Marketing's Market Development Fund (MDF) reporting. The ideal candidate combines strong financial acumen with a detail-oriented, process-driven approach to vendor oversight. 

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Financial Reconciliation & Invoice Audit 

• Audit all recurring vendor invoices for accuracy, ensuring billed quantities, SKUs, and unit costs align with active agreements and contracted rates before any invoice proceeds to payment. 
  

• Reconcile vendor billing against internal agreement records on a monthly basis; identify, document, and resolve variances including overbilling, underbilling, and unauthorized charges. 
  

• Manage the end-to-end vendor credit and dispute process — submitting requests, tracking resolution timelines, and escalating unresolved items to Finance leadership. 
  

• Enforce invoice approval controls, including segregation of duties between invoice receipt, reconciliation, and payment authorization; no vendor invoice is released for payment without documented approval. 
  

• Maintain a complete monthly audit file for each vendor, including original invoices, reconciliation worksheets, variance notes, credit requests, and agreement corrections. 
  

• Coordinate with Accounts Payable, internal operations teams, and vendor billing contacts to resolve discrepancies and implement agreement corrections in a timely manner. 
  

• Escalate high-value variances, repeat billing errors, and unresolved disputes to Finance leadership in accordance with the company's escalation policy. 
  

• Identify and forward missing or unbilled SKUs to the appropriate internal teams (Contracts and assigned CSM/STP) for resolution; own validation/follow up that all required corrections have been completed, including updating agreement quantities, adding or removing SKUs, implementing client change orders where needed, and aligning billing effective dates. 
  

• Support internal and external audit requests by providing reconciliation documentation, approval records, and supporting evidence. 
  

2. Microsoft Partnership Agreement Administration

• Serve as the primary internal owner of the Microsoft Partner Agreement (MPA) and all associated licensing programs including CSP, EA, and MPSA frameworks. 
  

• Track partner competency requirements, renewal deadlines, and certification milestones; coordinate with IT and HR to ensure requirements are met. 
  

• Manage the Microsoft Partner Center portal, ensuring accuracy of the company's partner profile, solutions designations, and benefit utilization. 
  

• Monitor Microsoft-issued credits, incentives, and co-sell opportunities; reconcile Partner Earned Credits (PEC) against billing statements and report variances to Finance. 
  

• Liaise with Account Executives and Partner Development Managers to optimize program participation and maximize incentive capture. (Both Direct and Indirect)  
  

• Maintain a library of Microsoft licensing agreements, amendments, and addenda; distribute updates to relevant internal stakeholders.
  

3. Contract & Renewal Governance 

• Own the contract lifecycle management (CLM) process for all vendor agreements from execution through expiration, renewal, or termination. 
  

• Maintain a centralized contract repository with accurate metadata: contract value, term dates, renewal options, auto-renewal clauses, and owner assignments. 
  

• Proactively alert Finance leadership and relevant stakeholders 90, 60, and 30 days in advance of contract expirations and renewal decision deadlines. 
  

• Conduct annual contract and pricing reviews; assess contracted rates against current market pricing, confirm active utilization of all SKUs, and flag auto-renewal windows requiring action. 
  

• Coordinate distribution of annual contract review findings to VP of Finance and other relevant leadership for sign-off prior to any renewal, renegotiation, or termination decision. 
  

• Collaborate with Legal and Finance leadership to negotiate favorable renewal terms including pricing adjustments, SLA improvements, and exit provisions. 
  

• Track and report contract spend versus budget; identify opportunities for consolidation or renegotiation. 
  

4. Compliance Documentation & Risk Management 

• Maintain up-to-date compliance documentation for all active vendors including certificates of insurance, W-9 forms, SOC 2 reports, GDPR/CCPA data processing agreements, and NDAs. 
  

• Conduct annual vendor risk assessments; classify vendors by risk tier and flag deficiencies for remediation. 
  

• Ensure vendor information security questionnaires (VSQs) are completed, reviewed, and archived per company policy. 
  

• Maintain a compliance calendar with key attestation dates and regulatory deadlines; distribute advance reminders to stakeholders. 
  

• Work with Legal and IT Security to resolve compliance gaps identified during vendor reviews or incident reports. 
  

• Prepare compliance status summaries for Finance leadership and board-level reporting as required. 
  

5. Vendor Performance Scorecards 

• Design, implement, and maintain a vendor performance scorecard program tracking KPIs such as billing accuracy, credit resolution time, invoicing timeliness, SLA compliance, and service quality. 
  

• Collect performance data from internal stakeholders quarterly; aggregate results and calculate weighted scores for each critical vendor. 
  

• Host formal Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) with strategic vendors; distribute scorecards in advance and facilitate structured performance discussions. 
  

• Document improvement plans (PIPs) for underperforming vendors and track remediation milestones through resolution. 
  

• Publish a semi-annual vendor performance dashboard to Finance leadership. 
  

6. Market Development Funds (MDF) Reporting & Administration 

• Support the Marketing team in tracking, requesting, and reporting on Market Development Funds (MDF) and co-op funds from technology partners, including Microsoft. 
  

• Maintain the MDF budget tracker; reconcile approved fund balances against submitted claims and reimbursements received. 
  

• Coordinate MDF activity submissions by collecting proof-of-performance (POP) documentation from Marketing and submitting claims through partner portals. 
  

• Assist Marketing in confirming that planned campaigns qualify under partner program guidelines before commitments are made. 
  

• Produce quarterly MDF utilization reports for Finance and Marketing leadership; identify unclaimed fund balances at risk of expiration.
  

7. Deal Registration & One-Time Purchase Negotiation 

• Register large, one-time vendor deals through the appropriate partner and vendor portals to protect pricing, secure deal-specific discounts, and ensure the company receives full credit for sourced opportunities. 
  

• Lead price negotiations on significant one-time purchases, working directly with vendor account teams and distributors to obtain the most competitive pricing, promotional incentives, and favorable payment terms. 
  

• Collaborate with Sales, Finance, and technical teams to understand project scope and requirements prior to engaging vendors, ensuring deal registrations accurately reflect the full opportunity. 
  

• Track all active deal registrations including expiration dates and approval status; follow up with vendors to maintain registration validity through the close of each transaction. 
  

• Benchmark proposed pricing against market rates, contract tiers, and comparable past purchases; escalate to Finance leadership when vendor pricing does not meet acceptable margin thresholds. 
  

• Document all negotiated one-time deals including final pricing, discounts applied, vendor commitments, and approval sign-offs; maintain records for cost tracking and audit purposes. 
  

• Identify and leverage applicable vendor programs, promotions, and partner incentives to reduce cost on large purchases; coordinate with the Microsoft Partnership program and other strategic vendors to maximize deal-level savings. 
  

• Handles material order processing for select customers, including, but not limited to Brightpath and Gothams. 
  

8. Additional Day-to-Day Responsibilities 

• Coordinates end-to-end onboarding of new vendors including due diligence, system setup, and communication of company policies.  
  

• Vendor Onboarding: Acts as the central point of contact between Finance, IT, Marketing, and Legal and external vendors to resolve issues and facilitate escalations.  
  

• Stakeholder Communication: Documents and reports cost avoidance and savings achieved through negotiations, billing corrections, credit recoveries, and program optimization.  
  

• Savings Tracking: Keeps internal service catalogs and vendor rate cards current; communicates pricing changes to relevant business units. Rate Card Maintenance: 
  

• Builds and maintains productive relationships with vendor account teams; keeps meeting notes, action logs, and touchpoint schedules.  
  

• Vendor Relationship Management: Continuously evaluates vendor management and reconciliation workflows; recommends enhancements to tools, templates, and SOPs.  
  

• Process Improvement: Maintains data integrity within PSA systems; generates ad hoc reports and dashboards as requested by Finance leadership.  
  

• System Administration: Develops and maintains internal SOPs, policy documents, and training materials related to vendor management and invoice audit procedures.  
  

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or a related field required.
  

• Master's degree or MBA with a Finance or Accounting concentration preferred.
  

• 3–5 years of experience in vendor management, Finance operations, or contract administration. 
  

• Demonstrated experience executing invoice reconciliation and billing audit processes in a managed services, technology, or channel environment. 
  

• Prior experience with Microsoft partner programs (CSP, EA, MPA) and MDF administration strongly preferred. 
  

• Strong financial acumen with hands-on experience in invoice reconciliation, cost validation, and billing dispute resolution. 
  

• Proficiency with PSA/ERP platforms (e.g., ConnectWise Manage) and Microsoft Partner Center. 
  

• Knowledge in ConnectWise
  

• Experience with CLM platforms (e.g., Ironclad, Conga, DocuSign CLM) and contract administration. 
  

• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills; experience with SharePoint document management; Power BI a plus. 
  

• Exceptional organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple invoice cycles, deadlines, and vendor relationships simultaneously. 
  

• Strong written and verbal communication skills; comfortable presenting financial summaries to senior leadership. 
  

• Detail-oriented with a demonstrated ability to identify billing discrepancies and drive resolution to closure. 
  

• Collaborative mindset with cross-functional experience across Finance, Legal, IT, and Marketing. 
  

• Commitment to audit-ready documentation and rigorous internal controls. 
  

JOB REQUIREMENTS 

• Should be willing to accept a long-term work-from-home arrangement. 
  

• Should be amenable to a permanent night shift schedule (Eastern Time, Monday to Friday)