CX Vendor Relationship Manager ( Washington, DC)

Summary

Gainwell is the leading provider of technology solutions that are vital to the administration and operations of health and human services programs. This role oversees all aspects of managing outsourced customer contact center operations, including front-office (call center) and back-office functions (claims, finance processing, mailroom). The primary focus is on ensuring vendors deliver exceptional performance, meet contractual obligations, and adhere to compliance standards. The position drives operational excellence and fosters continuous improvement and competitive benchmarking. Collaborates with vendor managers at the account level, CX leaders, and internal stakeholders across Gainwell you’ll partner to influence, drive, and deliver upon strategic sourcing and transformation plans.

Your role in our mission

• Manage the full vendor lifecycle: onboarding, performance monitoring, continuous improvement, and offboarding. Serve as the single point of contact for vendor escalations, inquiries, and issue resolution. Monitor KPIs daily, weekly, and monthly; proactively address performance gaps.
• Build and maintain strong executive-level relationships with vendor leadership.
• Navigate and mediate conflicts effectively, fostering transparent and collaborative partnerships.
• Align vendor contracts with evolving business needs; collaborate with procurement on amendments and renewals.
• Partner with Shared Service to evolve and expand scorecards, dashboards, and reporting routines to track vendor performance trends.
• Facilitate cross-vendor calibration sessions and best-practice sharing to elevate performance. Conduct vendor risk assessments and audits; ensure adherence to compliance standards and business continuity plans.
• Drive competitive benchmarking across vendors to identify top performers and uplift underperformers. Provide actionable insights to leadership for strategic decisions based on comparative analysis.
• Mitigate risks related to security, brand reputation, and operational disruptions.
• Partner with account teams to implement cost-reduction initiatives and productivity incentives. Influence strategic sourcing efforts to deliver cost savings and long-term value.

What we're looking for

• Minimum of eight (8) or more years managing complex vendor relationships in outsourced customer contact environments, and at least eight (8) years of leading front/back-office contact center operations (voice, non-voice, claims, finance, mailroom) required.
• Proven ability to lead strategic and organizational change delivering measurable outcomes required.
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills; ability to interpret data and make fact-based decisions required.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills for influencing at executive levels required.
• Experience with managed service agreements and SLA governance is required, but familiarity with MMIS or healthcare operations is helpful but not required.

What you should expect in this role

• This is a full-time permanent regular salaried (W-2) employee position.
• Monday through Friday work schedule.
• Health (medical, dental, vision) benefits start on day 1 of employment.
• Company match 401K and other benefits available within months of starting.
• New employees are eligible to take advantage of flexible vacation policy after ninety (90) calendar days of employment. Any exception requires manager approval prior to employee's Gainwell start date.
• Company provided computer for work use.
• This position requires working from our Washington, DC office on 19th Street.
• Video cameras must be used during all interviews, as well as during the initial week of orientation if hired.

• This position is intended for pipelining. We will accept applications on an ongoing basis. Applying does not gurantee an interview.

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