Director, Vendor Management (Hybrid)

At Selective, we don't just insure uniquely, we employ uniqueness.

Selective is a midsized U.S. domestic property and casualty insurance company with a history of strong, consistent financial performance for nearly 100 years. Selective's unique position as both a leading insurance group and an employer of choice is recognized in a wide variety of awards and honors, including listing in Forbes Best Midsize Employers in 2025 and certification as a Great Place to Work® in 2025 for the sixth consecutive year.

Employees are empowered and encouraged to Be Uniquely You by being their true, unique selves and contributing their diverse talents, experiences, and perspectives to our shared success. Together, we are a high-performing team working to serve our customers responsibly by helping to mitigate loss, keep them safe, and restore their lives and businesses after an insured loss occurs.

Overview

The Director, Vendor Management Office (VMO) is a senior leader within the IT organization responsible for establishing this new centralized function designed to govern a consistent, enterprise wide approach to vendor management that improves performance, reduces risk, controls costs, and enables strategic partnerships through standardized processes, metrics, and governance. Once the office is established, the Director will then drive the execution and adoption of the enterprise vendor management framework within a federated operating model, where vendor managers are embedded delivery areas.

Reporting to the AVP, Transformation Office, the Director will take end-to-end ownership of establishing the function, then driving key initiatives working both independently and collaboratively across stakeholders. The role will focus on operationalizing standards, enabling vendor managers, driving consistent governance practices, and partnering closely with Human Resources and Procurement to ensure vendors are managed effectively.

Responsibilities

• Set the vision and build a roadmap for establishing the vendor management function.
• Own the execution of enterprise vendor management standards, frameworks, and tools—driving deliverables from concept through implementation.
• Drive consistent adoption of core practices, including Vendor segmentation and tiering, Performance management, Governance forums and cadence, Issue management and remediation practices
• Serve as a primary point of contact for vendor managers—owning questions, removing roadblocks, and ensuring actions are driven to closure.
• Support onboarding, training, and ongoing enablement through communities of practice, knowledge sharing, and best-practice exchange.
• Partner with Procurement, Legal, Finance, and business stakeholders to resolve escalations related to vendor performance, service delivery, compliance, and improvement opportunities.
• Support vendor management reporting, dashboards, and insights to drive ongoing maturity improvements across the vendor management lifecycle.

Knowledge and Requirements

Working knowledge of vendor performance management practices, including SLA/KPI development, performance reviews, remediation planning, and ongoing service optimization.

Understanding of vendor contracts and commercial frameworks, including pricing models, statements of work (SOWs), amendments, and financial controls.

Familiarity with third party risk management, governance frameworks, and compliance requirements, including audit readiness and regulatory considerations.

Education And Experience

• 8+ years of experience in vendor management, procurement, or related role within a complex corporate environment
• Experience in supporting a Technology organization in financial services or insurance industry a plus
• Proven track record aggregating, analyzing, and translating vendor performance data into insights and actions
• Strong problem-solving, communication, and stakeholder management skills; able to influence across levels without direct authority
• Experience defining, developing and maintaining vendor management policies, standards, processes, roles, and responsibilities
• Proficient in vendor management frameworks with a strong strategic and execution mindset
• Familiarity with change management and continuous improvement methodologies
• Ability to operate effectively in a matrixed environment, working independently, taking ownership, and partnering collaboratively to drive outcomes to completion
• Bachelor's degree or higher

Selective Insurance offers a total rewards package that includes a competitive base salary, incentive plan eligibility at all levels, and a wide array of benefits designed to help you and your family stay healthy, achieve your financial goals, and balance the demands of your work and personal life. These benefits include comprehensive health care plans, retirement savings plan with company match, discounted Employee Stock Purchase Program, tuition assistance and reimbursement programs, and 20 days of paid time off. Additional details about our total rewards package can be found by visiting our benefits page.

The actual base salary is based on geographic location, and the range is representative of salaries for this role throughout Selective's footprint. Additional considerations include relevant education, qualifications, experience, skills, performance, and business needs.

Pay Range

USD $163,000.00 - USD $220,000.00 /Yr.

Additional Information

Selective is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. That means we respect and value every individual’s unique opinions, beliefs, abilities, and perspectives. We are committed to promoting a welcoming culture that celebrates diverse talent, individual identity, different points of view and experiences – and empowers employees to contribute new ideas that support our continued and growing success. Building a highly engaged team is one of our core strategic imperatives, which we believe is enhanced by diversity, equity, and inclusion. We expect and encourage all employees and all of our business partners to embrace, practice, and monitor the attitudes, values, and goals of acceptance; address biases; and foster diversity of viewpoints and opinions.

For Massachusetts Applicants

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.