Ascend Learning

Director MSP Service Delivery

Ascend Learning$165K — $236K *
Enterprise Technology
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in business, technology, or related field required; MBA or relevant graduate degree preferred.
  • 10+ years of experience in IT service delivery, vendor management, sourcing, or commercial technology operations; 4+ years of people management.
  • Direct, hands-on experience managing MSP or outsourced delivery partner relationships at an enterprise scale.
  • Deep familiarity with ITIL service management practices; ITIL Foundation or higher certification preferred.
  • Strong contract negotiation experience including MSA, SOW, and SaaS enterprise agreements.
  • Financial acumen to manage multi-million-dollar IT operating budgets and articulate value to executive stakeholders.
  • Vendor risk management experience, including security and compliance reviews.

Responsibilities

  • Lead and develop the Service Delivery & Vendor Governance team, including Service Delivery Managers and an Operational Analyst.
  • Own NASM's relationship with strategic MSP partners, ensuring accountability for outcomes and contractual commitments.
  • Establish service level frameworks and governance protocols across all MSP and vendor relationships.
  • Manage strategic vendor relationships, including Adobe, Microsoft, Snowflake, and HubSpot.
  • Govern contract performance and lead renewals and negotiations in collaboration with Procurement and Legal.
  • Establish cost transparency and business management practices for IT spend and value visibility.
  • Drive software license optimization and asset management across the enterprise.

Benefits

  • Health, dental, and vision insurance
  • Company paid life insurance
  • 401(k) with company match
  • Paid time off and parental leave
  • Employee assistance program
  • Other wellness programs such as Headspace and Airvet
  • Charitable matching program
Full Job Description
WHAT YOU'LL DO:

NASM is seeking a Director MSP Service Delivery reporting to the Chief Information Officer. This senior leadership role owns the operational and commercial relationship between NASM and its Managed Service Provider (MSP) partners, strategic SaaS vendors, and software ecosystem. This role holds partners accountable to outcomes, SLAs and is the function that, more than any other, determines whether the MSP delivery model succeeds.

This role leads a team of Service Delivery Managers, each accountable for a specific business aligned Service Delivery team, the MSP partner(s), vendors and an Operational Analyst responsible for cost transparency, license management, and operational metrics and dashboards. The team is the daily counterparty to MSP delivery leadership, running operational reviews, actively participating in daily scrums, sprint planning, managing SLA performance, escalating when needed, ensuring that operational runbooks and processes are maintained, and tracks financial performance against contract.

This role partners with business stakeholders across Operations, Sales & Marketing, Commerce, Finance, and Product to translate business priorities into a coherent technology roadmap, ensuring every initiative is anchored in a measurable business outcome before work is handed to delivery partners.

The function of the Technical Product Manager is accountable for the quality of requirements provided to our delivery teams. The single biggest determinant of delivery quality, velocity, and cost. The role champions a modern product mindset, an AI-first approach to business enablement, and a culture in which Technical Product Owners deeply understand the business processes they support.

Beyond MSP governance, this role owns NASM's strategic vendor relationships across Adobe, Microsoft, Snowflake, HubSpot, Wrike, and other key SaaS and software partners, ensuring NASM extracts maximum value from every commercial relationship.

The Director establishes the operational governance, contract performance, and continuous improvement disciplines that allow NASM's technology operating model to scale with the business, including supporting international expansion and new market entry.

WHERE YOU'LL WORK

This position will work hybrid from our Gilbert, AZ office. Will consider remote work for the right candidate.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

  • Lead and develop the Service Delivery & Vendor Governance team, including Service Delivery Managers for each MSP partner and an Operational Analyst.
  • Own NASM's relationship with strategic MSP partners, holding partners accountable to outcomes, enhancement delivery, project assignments, service levels, operational health, runbooks and contractual commitments.
  • Establish service level frameworks, operational governance cadences, and escalation protocols across all MSP and strategic vendor relationships.
  • Manage strategic SaaS and software vendor relationships including Adobe, Microsoft, Snowflake, HubSpot, and other key partners.
  • Govern contract performance and commercial terms; lead renewals, SOW execution, and commercial negotiations in partnership with Procurement and Legal.
  • Establish cost transparency, showback/chargeback, and technology business management practices that give business leaders visibility into IT spend and value.
  • Drive software license optimization and asset management across the enterprise.
  • Establish operational dashboards and metrics covering MSP performance, SLA attainment, incident management, cost performance, and risk.
  • Lead executive-level service reviews with MSP partners and internal stakeholders on a recurring cadence.
  • Drive continuous improvement in MSP service quality, velocity, and unit economics; champion a culture of accountability and outcomes.
  • Partner with the Manager of Business Partnership, Principal Architect, and Director of Data & AI to ensure MSP delivery meets product, architecture, and data standards.
  • Manage vendor risk, including security, compliance, business continuity, and concentration risk.


WHAT YOU'LL NEED

  • Bachelor's degree in business, technology, or related field required; MBA or relevant graduate degree preferred.
  • 10+ years of experience in IT service delivery, vendor management, sourcing, or commercial technology operations; 4+ years of people management.
  • Direct, hands-on experience managing MSP or outsourced delivery partner relationships at an enterprise scale.
  • Deep familiarity with ITIL service management practices; ITIL Foundation or higher certification preferred.
  • Experience with Technology Business Management (TBM), IT financial management, and tools such as Apptio.
  • Strong contract negotiation experience including MSA, SOW, and SaaS enterprise agreements.
  • Financial acumen - able to manage multi-million-dollar IT operating budgets and articulate value to executive stakeholders.
  • Familiarity with major SaaS and software ecosystems (Adobe, Microsoft, Snowflake, HubSpot, ServiceNow, AWS, Azure).
  • Experience standing up or evolving an MSP delivery model preferred.
  • Vendor risk management experience, including security and compliance reviews.
  • Demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders both inside the company and with external partners.
  • A change agent that delivers operational excellence and commercial discipline.


HIRING RANGE

The current full-time, annualized base pay hiring range for this role is $165,500.00-$236,610.00. In accordance with applicable state laws, we are providing the expected pay range for this position. Individual compensation will be determined by various factors, including relevant experience, qualifications, current business needs and local market factors. Most regular, full-time employees are eligible to participate in an Ascend incentive bonus or sales plan.

BENEFITS

  • Health, dental, and vision insurance
  • Company paid life Insurance
  • 401(k) with company match
  • Paid time off and parental leave
  • Employee assistance program
  • Other wellness programs such as Headspace and Airvet
  • Charitable matching program

About Ascend Learning

Ascend Learning is a leading provider of educational content, software and analytics solutions for healthcare and other vocational industries. The company's products and services are designed to help students and professionals improve their knowledge and skills, and to help employers improve their workforce performance. Ascend Learning's portfolio includes more than 1,000 digital and print-based products, including textbooks, online courses, simulation tools, and certification and licensure exam preparation materials. The company serves a wide range of customers, including colleges and universities, healthcare organizations, and government agencies. Ascend Learning was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts.
Learn more about Ascend Learning
Size
1,500 employees
Industry
Founded
2010

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