MetLife

Location - Virtual but required in-office 1x a month if within 50 miles of a MetLife office.

The Team You Will Join

This new team sits within MetLife’s Dental Product organization in the Group Benefits division. It oversees all external vendor partnerships supporting MetLife’s dental insurance solutions. These partnerships help maintain a strong provider network, competitive pricing, and a positive experience for employer groups and members by ensuring access to quality care and operational excellence.

The Opportunity

The Dental Products Vendor Relations Manager is responsible for the central oversight, management, and coordination of all external vendor relationships supporting MetLife’s Dental Product across the U.S. Guided by our purpose—always with you, building a more confident future—and our New Frontier strategy focused on stronger growth, attractive returns, and all‑weather performance, this role strengthens vendor performance, improves operational execution, and enhances the customer experience.

In this position, you will lead vendor governance, partner with internal teams, and elevate the effectiveness of our dental provider networks and administrative capabilities. You will influence strategic partnerships, deliver cost savings, and help ensure MetLife continues providing exceptional solutions to clients and their employees.

Key Responsibilities

A dedicated MetLife leader responsible for central oversight, management, and coordination of external vendor relationships for Dental Product. Responsibilities include:

Contract & Relationship Management

• Lead contract oversight, compliance, contract change management, and vendor onboarding, including risk assessments.
• Manage corporate-level relationships with domestic and overseas vendors and serve as a primary liaison.

SLA / KPI & Performance Management

• Oversee SLA management, define KPIs, and manage overall performance.

Governance & Operations

• Facilitate governance forums, manage escalations, oversee ongoing monitoring, and coordinate invoice auditing and PO processes.

Operational Management

• Manage day‑to‑day operations, issue resolution, vendor/MetLife requests, and operational continuity.

Forecasting & Strategy

• Lead forecasting and demand planning aligned with business needs.
• Support strategic initiatives, including business cases, requirements gathering, program management, and SOW development for new initiatives.
• Align and coordinate SMEs and process owners for initiatives and issue resolution.

Required Qualifications

• 8–10 years of vendor management experience.
• Demonstrated ability to resolve complex customer/vendor issues while maintaining high satisfaction.
• Proven experience collaborating across departments to achieve business objectives.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree.
• 8–10 years of dental industry‑related experience.
• Experience managing team members/direct reports.
• Experience with advanced product/business workflows, systems, and transaction management.