Director, Content Acquisition & Strategic Alliances

See job description below

The Director, Content Acquisition & Strategic Alliances will support a centralized function for S&P's global business divisions for the acquisition, utilization, and distribution of 3rd party content and services. The role will implement internal controls to ensure that use of 3rd party content and services contracts meet the needs of our businesses and ensure S&P's compliance with all terms and conditions.

Essential Accountability

• Lead contract negotiations - vendor selection, negotiations, approvals, and post-execution management of rights and obligations and strategic alliances globally with vendors
• Implement and promote best practices globally, including identifying opportunities to optimize and leverage data sources across the organization
• Work with the businesses to create strategies around product creation, enhancements and increased revenues and execute on strategies by presenting and procuring approvals to either but, build, or rent recommendations. Establish same with key internal business stakeholders. Coordinate with other CASA team members, including partnering with peer in CASA's EMEA/Asia-Pacific team, as necessary.
• Partner with business stakeholders to review requests for additional content and services, clearly documenting and understanding each request. Create RFI/RFP's as necessary to send to prospective vendors, managing the process.
• Negotiate commercial terms with each vendor as applicable or assigned, finalizing into a complete and executed agreement.
• Lead contract renewal process for all existing vendors and agreements assess potential for re-evaluation and re-negotiation as may best benefit the evolving needs and budgets of the business.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date summaries of all vendor relationships and related contracts and terms that the Director is responsible for managing
• Meet with business stakeholders and vendors, review news and periodicals, attend training and events to continuously grow and evolve knowledgebase of S&P's products and services, S&P's 3rd party vendor partners, and the overall financial information and market data industry.

Skills

• Bachelors degree required with 10+ years relevant experience focused on financial information/market data vendor relationship management, contract negotiations and overall market data management.
• Prior management experience a must.
• Strong negotiation skills and experience a must.
• Experience with reviewing, revising, negotiating and authoring complex commercial contract terms a must. Legal training or degree a plus, but not necessary.
• Attention to detail, follow-through on projects and multi-tasking skills a must.
• Candidate must possess a solid knowledge of financial information and market data industry - including various vendors and products available in the marketplace.
• Eventual possibility for management responsibility, so prior successful management experience a plus.
• Excellent Microsoft Office skills, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. This position will frequently work within Word for contractual review, Excel for costs/budget and other reporting, PowerPoint for presentations, and Outlook for mail & calendar
• Must have strong customer focus with demonstrated ability to be highly responsive and present solutions to requests and issues. CASA is a centralized business support team and function, and all business stakeholders within the firm are our customers.
• Comfortable liaising with internal stakeholders and external vendors.
• Excellent presentation and writing skills with ability to influence.
• Excellent organizational and team building skills. Must be highly organized and self-directed with the ability to work autonomously and adapt to change.
• Excellent interpersonal verbal and written communications skills with the ability to inspire others to find creative solutions to challenging situations or problems.

About the Company
The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP) is a Fortune500 corporation with over 20,000 global employees and over 10,000 U.S. employees. Around the world, McGraw-Hill provides people with the information and insights they need to adapt and grow in changing times. Our business spans the fields of financial services, education, and business information with leading brand names such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, Platts, and J.D. Power & Associates. By working together with our customers and partners, these brands are laying the foundation for a smarter, better world.