IT Program Manager Jobs in Chicago, IL

INTRODUCTION

Work with a Top 20 CPA and advisory firm that Accounts for Anything. Aprio has 40 U.S. office locations, as well as international office locations and more than 3,200 team members that speak 60+ languages across the globe. By bringing together proven expertise, deep understanding, and strategic foresight for fast-growing industries, Aprio ensures clients are prepared for wherever life or business may take them. Discover a top-rated culture, vast growth opportunities and your next big career move with Aprio.

Join Aprio's Information Technology team and you will help clients maximize their opportunities. Aprio is a progressive, fast-growing firm looking for a Program Manager, IT to join their dynamic team.

Aprio’s IT Operations function manages the firm’s technology investments across infrastructure, software-as-a-service, end-user computing, and professional services. The Program Manager, IT Vendor Management sits at the intersection of IT, Finance, Legal, and Procurement — owning the program that governs how Aprio buys, renews, and optimizes its technology vendor portfolio. This is a builder-operator role for someone who can stand up the IT vendor management program, run the day-to-day vendor and renewal cadence, and mature the function from tactical procurement support into a strategic portfolio discipline.

You will own the IT vendor management program end-to-end — vendor portfolio governance, renewal calendar management, procurement intake workflow, financial analysis of technology spends, and coordination of vendor risk reviews across Cybersecurity, Legal, Privacy, and Finance. You’ll establish the cadence, the artifacts, and the rituals that turn one-off procurement activity into a repeatable program. You’ll produce the spend reports, renewal forecasts, and savings analyses that leadership uses to manage technology cost and risk. The role is part program manager, part financial analyst, part process owner — and it scales with the firm’s technology footprint.

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Vendor portfolio governance: Own the canonical inventory of technology vendors. Tier vendors by spend, criticality, and risk. Maintain vendor records — contract data, renewal dates, points of contact, business owners — in the firm’s vendor management system of record.
• Renewal lifecycle: Own a forward-looking renewal calendar with 12–24 months of visibility. Trigger renewal workflows 90–120 days ahead of expiration. Prepare renewal packets — current state, usage metrics, market comparables, negotiation positions — for IT and Procurement leadership.
• Procurement program execution: Run RFP / RFQ / RFI processes for new technology purchases. Coordinate intake, vendor sourcing, evaluation criteria, scoring, and award recommendations. Partner with firm Procurement and Legal on contract negotiation and execution.
• Financial analysis: Build and maintain technology spend dashboards by tower, vendor, business unit, and contract type. Track budget versus actual at the contract level. Produce TCO analyses, savings and cost-avoidance tracking, and quarterly spend variance reports for IT and Finance leadership.
• TBM and cost taxonomy: Categorize technology spend using Technology Business Management (TBM) Tower / sub-tower taxonomy. Improve cost transparency and unit-economics visibility for IT, Finance, and business leadership.
• Vendor risk coordination: Coordinate with Cybersecurity GRC for third-party risk assessments, with Legal for contract risk review, and with Privacy for data-processing terms. The role does not own those risk reviews — but ensures they happen, with the right artifacts, before contracts execute.
• Contract administration: Maintain accurate metadata on all active technology contracts (term, value, auto-renewal triggers, notice periods, SLAs, key commercial clauses). Surface contract risks proactively — auto-renewal cliffs, missed termination windows, price-escalation triggers, unfavorable end-of-term clauses.
• Program maturity: Own the IT procurement intake workflow. Reduce cycle time. Establish standard intake forms, evaluation rubrics, and renewal playbooks. Mature the function from tactical (transaction processing) toward strategic (portfolio rationalization, vendor consolidation, structured negotiation).

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE:

First 30–60 days: You’ve mapped the active technology vendor portfolio, identified the next 6 months of renewals, and built a baseline renewal calendar. You’ve identified at least three vendor records with missing or stale metadata and remediated them. You understand the firm’s procurement intake workflow and have proposed two or three program improvements worth making.

By 90 days: You’re independently driving renewal preparation for at least two upcoming renewals. You’ve published a first-pass IT spend dashboard with vendor-level visibility. You’ve run at least one structured intake-to-decision cycle for a new technology request from request through award recommendation.

By 6–12 months: The renewal calendar is fully forward-looking with 12+ months of visibility. Spend reporting reaches IT and Finance leadership on a monthly cadence. You’ve contributed to at least one consolidation, renegotiation, or rationalization decision with measurable savings or cost-avoidance under your name. The IT procurement intake process is documented, standardized, and used consistently across IT.

QUALIFICATIONS

• 3+ years of combined experience in IT procurement, technology sourcing, project / program management, vendor management, or IT financial analysis.
• Understanding of procurement processes end-to-end (intake RFx evaluation, contract).
• Strong financial analysis skills — comfortable building and maintaining spend reporting, budget-variance analysis, and TCO modeling.
• Hands-on experience with software, SaaS, and IT services contracts — including renewals, true-ups, and contract administration.
• Advanced spreadsheet proficiency (Excel) and the ability to learn procurement, contract, and vendor-management tooling quickly.
• Strong organizational skills — able to manage a portfolio of active contracts, renewals, and procurement projects in parallel.
• Effective written and verbal communication, including the ability to translate financial and contract data for non-finance stakeholders.
• Experience with Technology Business Management (TBM) taxonomy or other IT cost management frameworks.
• Experience reviewing IT contract terms for business risk — SLAs, indemnification, data-processing addenda, auto-renewal language (business-terms review, not legal review).
• Familiarity with software license models — per-user, per-feature, consumption-based, enterprise agreements, and the cost levers in each.
• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business, Information Systems, Supply Chain, or related field — or equivalent applicable years of experience.

The salary range for this opportunity is stated above. As such, an actual salary may fall closer to one or the other end of the range, and in certain circumstances, may wind up being outside of the listed salary range. The application window is anticipated to close on July 13, 2026, and may be extended as needed.

WHY WORK FOR APRIO:

Whether you are just starting out, looking to advance into management or searching for your next leadership role, Aprio offers an opportunity to grow with a future-focused, innovative firm.

PERKS/BENEFITS WE OFFER FOR FULL-TIME TEAM MEMBERS:

• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance on the first day of employment
• Flexible Spending Account and Dependent Care Account
• 401k with Profit Sharing
• 9+ holidays and discretionary time off structure
• Parental Leave – coverage for both primary and secondary caregivers
• Tuition Assistance Program and CPA support program with cash incentive upon completion
• Discretionary incentive compensation based on firm, group and individual performance
• Incentive compensation related to origination of new client sales
• Top rated wellness program
• Flexible working environment including remote and hybrid options

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU:

• Working with an industry leader: Be part of a high-growth firm that is passionate for what’s next.
• An awesome culture: Thirty-one fundamental behaviors guide our culture every day ensuring we always deliver an exceptional team-member and client experience. We call it the Aprio Way. This shared mindset creates lasting relationships between team members and with clients.
• A great team: Work with a high-energy, passionate, caring and ambitious team of professionals in a collaborative culture.
• Entrepreneurship: Have the freedom to innovate and bring your ideas to help us grow to become the CPA firm of choice nationally.
• Growth opportunities: Grow professionally in an environment that fosters continuous learning and advancement.
• Competitive compensation: You will be rewarded with competitive compensation, industry-leading benefits and a flexible work environment to enjoy work/life balance.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Aprio is an Equal Opportunity Employer encouraging diversity in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race; color; religion; national origin; sex; pregnancy; sexual orientation; gender identity and/or expression; age; disability; genetic information, citizenship status; military service obligations or any other category protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Aprio, LLP and Aprio Advisory Group, LLC, operate in an alternative business structure, with Aprio Advisory Group, LLC providing non-attest tax and consulting services, and Aprio, LLP providing CPA firm services.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.