Vendor Management Specialist

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative was founded in 2015 by Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg to harness the power of technology to pursue some of society’s most ambitious goals — from curing or preventing all disease to transforming how students learn. At CZI, you’ll join a deeply collaborative, mission-driven community where your work helps drive breakthroughs across our flagship nonprofit organizations, Biohub and Learning Commons. Whether enabling scientific breakthroughs via open science and AI-powered biology or strengthening the tools teachers and students rely on every day, your contributions help turn bold ideas into real-world impact. Our teams operate at the intersection of innovation and scale, building the infrastructure, partnerships, and capabilities that allow scientists, educators, and innovators to tackle some of the most complex challenges of our time — and to do so with urgency, integrity, and optimism. The Team The Operations team is a key partner in enabling Biohub’s pioneering work to combine frontier AI with frontier biology to solve disease and Learning Commons’ mission to build AI infrastructure that aligns how students learn with the tools that shape their learning experiences. Operations includes our Central Tech, Finance, Marketing & Communications, People, and Real Estate / Workplace / Events / Facilities / Security (REWFS) teams. Together, these teams create the systems, programs, and experiences that empower our partners and colleagues across Biohub and Learning Commons to drive impact. This work requires strategic and operational rigor, creativity, and deep collaboration. Whether designing world-class employee experiences, safeguarding data and infrastructure, or shaping how we communicate our impact, Operations plays a critical role in helping deliver meaningful change at scale. The Opportunity As CZI continues to mature its Vendor Management Office (VMO) within Central Technology, this role, Vendor Management Specialist, will support high-volume contract execution and operational vendor management across Central Tech. The role is accountable for driving efficient, accurate, and compliant processing of vendor agreements, renewals, and amendments in close partnership with Legal, Finance, Security, and business stakeholders. This is an execution-intensive position requiring strong attention to detail, process discipline, and the ability to manage a high throughput of concurrent contracts. The role is critical to enabling the organization to operate at scale through reliable, high-quality contract execution. Within a growing function, this role helps standardize and scale vendor workflows, ensuring contracts progress quickly and compliantly from intake through signature. The position offers meaningful exposure to cross-functional partners and establishes a foundation for progression into higher-complexity vendor management and program ownership over time. What You'll Do Contract Execution & Lifecycle Management Execute end-to-end contract workflows including intake validation, drafting support, redlining coordination, approvals, and signature routing Manage a high volume of vendor contracts, renewals, and amendments while maintaining strong accuracy and adherence to SLAs Ensure compliance with internal policies, approval thresholds, and contracting playbooks Track contract status across multiple workflows and proactively follow up to remove blockers and drive timely execution Operational Excellence Maintain clean and accurate contract data across systems (e.g., CLM, SaaS management, and project management tools) Identify and resolve operational bottlenecks in contract workflows Support continuous improvement of vendor management processes, templates, and intake mechanisms Contribute to documentation and standardization of repeatable processes Stakeholder Coordination Serve as a point of contact for routine vendor management requests and contract-related inquiries Coordinate across Legal, Finance, Security, and business stakeholders to ensure timely execution Communicate clearly on status, risks, and required actions to stakeholders Deliver strong internal customer support by ensuring stakeholders receive responsive, transparent, and service-oriented contract management throughout the engagement lifecycle Support vendor onboarding and offboarding activities Assist in tracking vendor usage, renewals, and basic spend insights Escalate risks or inconsistencies to senior team members when needed What You'll Bring 1–3 years of experience in vendor management, procurement, contract operations, or a related operational role Demonstrated ability to manage high-volume, detail-oriented work with strong accuracy and organization Familiarity with contract lifecycle processes and systems (e.g., CLM, procurement tools) Strong task prioritization and time management skills across multiple concurrent workflows Clear and effective communication skills when working with cross-functional stakeholders Ability to follow structured processes while identifying opportunities for incremental improvements Proactive mindset with sound judgment on when to escalate issues or ask for guidance Comfort operating in a fast-paced, execution-focused environment Strong customer service skills and mindset  Compensation The Redwood City, CA base pay range for a new hire in this role is $118,000 - $148,000. New hires are typically hired into the lower portion of the range, enabling employee growth in the range over time. Actual placement in range is based on job-related skills and experience, as evaluated throughout the interview process.  This position may be eligible to participate in our discretionary annual performance bonus program. Bonus eligibility and targets are determined in accordance with our total rewards philosophy and may vary by role. Better Together As we grow, we’re excited to strengthen in-pers