Position Overview

The Manager, Carrier & Vendor Relations leads the carrier and telecom commercial discipline within Tract Capital's Site Communications & Network Infrastructure organization, owning the sourcing, procurement, contracting, and relationship management for all third-party connectivity and communications vendors that support the company's data center campuses. This role is accountable for carrier circuit ordering and provisioning, dark fiber and wavelength/IRU/lease negotiation, internet-access circuits, satellite and backup connectivity, CBRS spectrum leasing, vendor contracts (MSAs/SOWs), pricing and renewals, SLA setup and vendor performance management, and the carrier turn-up coordination required to bring each campus to connectivity service readiness.

Reporting to the VP, Site Communications & Network Infrastructure, this leader manages a team that includes the Carrier Relations Specialist (carrier/5G negotiation, internet-access and fiber procurement, DAS carrier agreements, construction circuit orders), the Satellite & Backup Connectivity Manager, and the Contract. The Manager turns campus connectivity requirements into sourced, contracted, schedule-certain commercial packages, drives carriers and vendors to deliver against committed dates and SLAs, and ensures a clean commercial and operational handover to the Daily Operations chain.

This is a player-coach leadership role: the Manager sets sourcing strategy and commercial standards, leads the most complex negotiations, and holds carriers and vendors accountable for delivery and performance - while leaning on the team's specialists for day-to-day ordering, satellite/spectrum procurement, and contract administration.

Job Responsibilities

The successful candidate will have practical experience across many of the following:

• Directly lead, manage, and develop a small team of three specialists - the Carrier Relations Specialist (carrier negotiation, internet-access/fiber procurement, circuit orders), the Satellite & Backup Connectivity Manager (Starlink, CBRS spectrum, temporary connectivity), and the Contract Administrator (MSA/SOW, renewals, SLA setup) - owning hiring, onboarding, goal-setting, and performance management for the group.
• Allocate work across the team, balance workloads against the campus build and turn-up schedule, and serve as the escalation point on complex carrier, spectrum, and contractual matters - while coaching each member and building cross-coverage so the small team can support multiple concurrent campuses without single points of failure.
• Source and procure third-party connectivity - lit circuits, dark fiber, wavelengths, IRUs and leases, internet-access circuits, carrier/5G, satellite/backup, and CBRS spectrum - running RFPs and quotes and managing orders across their full lifecycle (new, move, add, change, disconnect).
• Negotiate and manage pricing, terms, MSAs/SOWs, renewals, and contract expirations, partnering with Legal and Procurement, and weighing commercial trade-offs (e.g., IRU vs. lease vs. lit, build vs. buy).
• Own carrier and vendor relationship and performance management, including SLA definition, escalations, performance reporting by carrier/product, and periodic business reviews.
• Coordinate physical delivery and turn-up - provisioning timelines and ready-for-service dates, cross-connects, and meet-me-room/carrier coordination - and the acceptance/testing handoff with the engineering teams.
• Manage temporary and backup connectivity during construction (e.g., Starlink Business, temporary circuits) so campuses have connectivity throughout the build.
• Establish and maintain the renewal calendar, contract records/inventory, and pre-operations SLA setup, and drive telecom expense, invoice reconciliation, and cost-reduction initiatives.
• Drive process improvement, standardized quoting/ordering workflows, and metrics across the carrier/vendor function.
• Contribute carrier and connectivity input to client-facing solutions in support of the Client Technical Solutions chain, and partner cross-functionally with Outside Plant (OSP) Engineering, Inside Plant (ISP) Engineering, Network Engineering, Delivery Management, Finance/Procurement, Legal, and Operations - ensuring a clean commercial and SLA handover to the Daily Operations team.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Telecommunications, Supply Chain, Engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• 10+ years in carrier/vendor management, telecom procurement, network/connectivity sourcing, or carrier service delivery - or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 3+ years directly managing and developing a small team (specialists and/or administrators), in addition to leading vendors and cross-functional commercial efforts.
• Experience leading a small team whose members hold different functions; you do not need to have personally run carrier procurement, satellite/spectrum sourcing, and contract administration all at once - the ability to direct and coordinate specialists is what matters.
• Strong background in either carrier/telecom procurement and the ordering/provisioning lifecycle (e.g., circuits, Ethernet/EPL/EVPL, dark fiber, wavelengths) OR telecom contracts (MSA/SOW, SLAs, pricing, renewals) - with solid working familiarity of the other.
• Working knowledge of connectivity commercial trade-offs such as IRU vs. lease vs. lit economics.
• Experience managing vendor performance and escalations against defined SLAs and KPIs.
• Strong communication, stakeholder-management, and cross-functional collaboration skills, with the ability to influence internal teams and external carrier/vendor partners.
• Proficiency with common business and tracking tools (e.g., Excel/PowerPoint, Smartsheet or project-management software, SharePoint).
• Valid driver's license (role may require periodic travel and site visits).

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience sourcing and managing connectivity for data centers, mission-critical facilities, hyperscale/cloud campuses, or large capital projects.
• Experience supporting builds at scale across multiple concurrent sites or campuses, including greenfield environments.
• Familiarity with metro/long-haul/dark-fiber markets, route diversity, and carrier-hotel/meet-me-room interconnection.
• Experience with satellite/backup connectivity (e.g., Starlink Business) and CBRS spectrum leasing/coordination.
• Familiarity with telecom expense management (TEM) platforms and inventory/contract-management systems.
• Experience establishing sourcing standards, vendor scorecards, SLA frameworks, and renewal governance in a fast-growth organization.
• Working familiarity with OSP/optical-transport concepts sufficient to evaluate carrier proposals and route options.
• Procurement certifications (e.g., CPSM, CIPS, CPM) are a plus
• PMP is a plus.

Required Traits and Skills

• Leadership and Team Management: Inspire, guide, and develop a small team of specialists, enhancing performance, managing disputes, and fostering a collaborative environment across carrier procurement, satellite/spectrum, and contract administration.
• Influence and Negotiation: Effectively advocate for Tract Capital's commercial interests, build consensus across stakeholders, and secure favorable pricing, terms, and SLAs with carriers and vendors without compromising long-term relationships.
• Effective Communication: Clearly convey requirements and expectations to carriers, vendors, and internal stakeholders, and comfortably deliver written and verbal updates to internal leadership.
• Analytical Ability: Make data-driven decisions, model commercial trade-offs (e.g., IRU vs. lease vs. lit), and identify and mitigate cost, delivery, and SLA risks.
• Relationship Management: Cultivate trust, collaboration, and long-term partnerships across carriers and vendors, while building a network that provides benchmarking and alternative sourcing options.

Expected Salary Range

Base Salary: $175,000 - 200,000 + Discretionary Bonus

Tract employees enjoy competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits, including 100% employer-covered medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401K program, standard paid holidays, and unlimited PTO.

NOTE: This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. Employees may perform other related duties as assigned to meet the organization's ongoing needs.