Overview

Reporting to the VP, Enterprise Solutions, the Manager, Strategic Partnerships is responsible for leading the governance, performance management, and strategic alignment of CAA North & East Ontario’s enterprise partner and vendor ecosystem. They have a critical leadership function in ensuring the organization’s strategic partners deliver measurable business value, support operational excellence, and contribute to the organization’s digital, technology, and service transformation objectives.

The Manager serves as the primary relationship owner for designated strategic partners and is accountable for the lifecycle management of strategic partner agreements, including commercial governance, legal compliance, performance oversight, and renewals. They ensure partnerships are effectively structured, commercially sound, and aligned to CAA NEO’s strategic priorities, while proactively identifying risks, performance concerns, and opportunities to strengthen long-term partner value.

In addition, the Manager provides governance visibility and advisory support for external partner contracts across the organization, helping to strengthen enterprise contract discipline, reduce risk, and improve coordination of third-party relationships. They ensure partnerships and contracts are structured to support organizational priorities, align with compliance standards, and protect the organization’s commercial and legal interests. This includes maintaining visibility into contractual obligations and vendor investments, providing legal and commercial guidance to business leaders.

The Manager plays an important enterprise coordination role, working closely with Technology, Finance, Operations, and Lines of Business to ensure vendor activities are governed effectively, investments are optimized, and contractual commitments are managed proactively. They balance strategic thinking with operational execution, strengthening partner accountability, maintaining strong relationships, and bringing structure and clarity to an evolving partner landscape.

Responsibilities

Strategic Partner Relationship Management

• Serve as the primary relationship owner for designated strategic enterprise partners, ensuring strong alignment between partner capabilities and organizational priorities.
• Develop and maintain strategic partner engagement plans to maximize value, performance, and innovation opportunities.
• Build and maintain effective working relationships with senior partner representatives and internal executives.
• Act as an escalation point for strategic partner performance or commercial issues during active initiatives, working in collaboration with project and operational leaders.
• Monitor partner performance against contractual obligations, service levels, and business expectations.

Vendor Governance & Portfolio Management

• Maintain and evolve the enterprise Vendor & Partner Classification Framework to ensure clear segmentation and governance of partner relationships.
• Conduct periodic vendor portfolio reviews to identify risks, consolidation opportunities, performance improvements, and strategic alignment opportunities.
• Classify new vendor engagements in accordance with governance practices prior to contract execution.
• Identify and assess potential new strategic partners that support organizational priorities and service expansion.

Strategic Partner Agreements (Type 2)

• Manage the full lifecycle of strategic partner agreements including renewals, amendments, statements of work, and new engagements in collaboration with Legal and Procurement.
• Support contract negotiations by providing performance history, commercial insights, benchmarking data, and market context to strengthen CAA NEO’s commercial position.
• Ensure strategic partner contracts include appropriate performance measures, service level agreements, governance structures, financial controls, and risk mitigation provisions.
• Maintain a centralized inventory of strategic partner agreements including key terms, contract values, renewal dates, performance obligations, and governance requirements.
• Monitor strategic partner contractual compliance and proactively address risks or performance concerns.

External Partner Contracts (All Other Partner Types)

• Provide advisory review support on external partner contracts as requested to identify contractual risk, non-standard terms, financial exposure, and cross-functional impacts.
• Support Lines of Business by providing governance guidance, contract structure recommendations, and commercial best practices where appropriate.
• Partner with Finance, Legal, and Procurement to support visibility into contractual commitments, financial obligations, and vendor spend where required.

Governance, Reporting & Financial Oversight

• Establish and maintain partnership governance practices including business reviews, performance tracking, and escalation processes.
• Prepare executive-level reporting on partner performance, portfolio health, risk exposure, and strategic value realization.
• Partner with Finance to monitor vendor spend, support forecasting activities, and ensure alignment with approved budgets.
• Support development of reporting frameworks that improve transparency and decision-making related to vendor investments.

Organizational Growth & Integration Support

• Support partnership and vendor considerations related to acquisitions, integrations, or organizational expansion initiatives.
• Assist in assessing vendor landscapes, identifying overlap, and supporting transition planning where required.
• Coordinate with Technology, Finance, Legal, Procurement, and Operations stakeholders to ensure vendor activities align with broader business plans.
• Support operational coordination of joint initiatives with strategic partners where required.

Requirements

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education and Experience

• Post-secondary degree in Business Administration, Commerce, Law, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• MBA or equivalent advanced business experience is an asset.
• Minimum 7 years of progressive experience in vendor management, strategic partnerships, business development, contract management, or a related commercial role.
• Proven experience supporting contract review, negotiations, and full contract lifecycle management including MSAs, SOWs, RFQs, and RFIs, with a strong understanding of legal considerations, risk mitigation, and compliance requirements.
• Experience developing vendor governance practices and performance management approaches.
• Experience working within cross-functional environments including Technology, Finance, and Operations.
• Professional certifications in vendor management, procurement, contract management, or project management (PMP) are considered assets.
• Additional training in commercial negotiations, contract law, or governance is an asset.

Leadership

• Strong relationship management skills with the ability to build credibility with executives, partners, and internal stakeholders.
• Demonstrated negotiation, influencing, and conflict resolution capabilities.
• Proven ability to manage complex escalations and drive accountability with external partners.
• Ability to lead through influence within a matrixed environment.
• High degree of professionalism, discretion, and sound business judgment.

Technical Knowledge

• Strong understanding of vendor and contract lifecycle management including governance, compliance, and performance management.
• Knowledge of commercial contract structures including pricing models, SLAs, risk provisions, and termination clauses.
• Familiarity with vendor classification frameworks and multi-stakeholder governance models considered an asset.
• Strong financial acumen with the ability to interpret vendor spend and contract value.
• Familiarity with vendor management tools and procurement processes considered an asset.

Competencies

• Strategic and structured thinker with the ability to align partnerships to organizational priorities.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
• Excellent communication and executive presentation skills.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and timelines.
• Results-oriented with strong ownership and accountability.
• Collaborative, adaptable, and comfortable operating in a dynamic environment.

Compensation

• Salary: $90,000 - $100,000
• 5% Annual Performance Bonus
• Health & Dental Benefits
• Pension Plan
• 3 Weeks Vacation
• CAA Membership

Employment is contingent on a successful Criminal Background Check and references.

Job applicants who have disabilities shall be provided with reasonable accommodation throughout the recruiting process