Principal Analyst, Transparency Services Vendor and Contract Management

About FINRA

FINRA is dedicated to protecting investors and ensuring market integrity. As an independent, not-for-profit organization, we oversee brokerage firms and exchange markets, writing and enforcing rules governing the ethical activities of all registered broker-dealer firms and registered brokers in the United States. Every day, we work to safeguard the investing public against fraud and bad practices, making us a vital force in maintaining trust and fairness in America's financial markets.

The Opportunity

Step into a pivotal role where contract expertise meets strategic partnership. As Principal Analyst in Transparency Services Vendor and Contract Management, you'll serve as the central liaison orchestrating complex agreements that power FINRA's market transparency operations. This isn't just contract administration-it's strategic relationship management across the complete contract lifecycle. You'll negotiate with vendors, collaborate with legal and senior leadership, ensure service delivery excellence, and protect FINRA's interests while maintaining the vendor partnerships that support our transparency mission.

If you thrive at the intersection of contracts, relationships, and operational excellence, this is your opportunity to drive impact in a critical regulatory function.

What You'll Do

• Orchestrate the Contract Lifecycle: Lead all phases of contract management from initial negotiation through renewal or termination, serving as the central point of coordination between Legal, Procurement, senior management, and business stakeholders
• Drive Strategic Negotiations: Participate in discussions and drive contract preparation for agreements with third-party providers, ensuring terms align with Transparency Services objectives and protect FINRA's interests
• Analyze and Synthesize: Collaborate with business subject matter experts and vendors to gather and analyze complex data, providing clear contract updates and status information to stakeholders at all organizational levels
• Ensure Financial Accuracy: Review and validate that vendor invoices align with contractual terms, partnering with Finance to ensure timely and accurate payment processing
• Monitor Vendor Performance: Lead periodic vendor review meetings to assess service delivery against SLAs, identify opportunities for improvement, and ensure contractual obligations are consistently met
• Proactively Manage Risk: Identify and address issues, challenges, or risks associated with service delivery, escalating non-routine matters to leadership with recommended solutions
• Support Exit Strategies: Collaborate with leadership to develop contingency and exit plans for contracts approaching natural expiration or facing premature termination
• Champion Process Excellence: Follow and help refine established procedures for contracting, invoicing, and vendor management, surfacing process improvement opportunities

Required Qualifications:

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Business Management, Finance, or related field
• 7 years of relevant experience in contract management, vendor management, procurement, or related functions

Skills:

• Relationship building expertise: Proven ability to build and maintain productive relationships with vendors, clients, and internal stakeholders through strong communication, problem-solving, flexibility, and collaboration
• Analytical excellence: Strong analytical capabilities across technical, organizational, and business process domains with ability to interpret complex requirements
• Detail-oriented precision: Meticulous approach to reading, analyzing, and interpreting contract requirements and terms
• Exceptional communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills for diverse audiences from vendors to senior executives
• Multi-tasking capability: Demonstrated ability to manage several concurrent assignments and priorities effectively
• Contract lifecycle knowledge: Understanding of contract fundamentals including terms, conditions, SLAs, and compliance requirements

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working with business and industry leaders to craft solutions for contract-related challenges
• …