Supplier Relationship Manager - 12 Month FTC in Edinburgh

At Aberdeen, our ambition is to be the UK’s leading Wealth & Investments group. Strengthening talent and culture is one of our strategic priorities. We strive to make Aberdeen a great place to work so that we can attract and retain the industry’s best talent. Our people put our stakeholders at the heart of everything they do by helping us to make a positive difference to the lives of our clients, customers, colleagues, shareholders, and society.

We are focused on growing our direct and advised wealth platforms and repositioning our specialist asset management business to meet client demand. We are committed to providing excellent client service, supported by leading technology and talent.

Aberdeen comprises three businesses, interactive investor (ii), Investments, and Adviser, each of which focuses on meeting and adapting to our clients’ evolving needs:

• Interactive investor, the UK’s second largest direct-to-consumer investment platform, enables individuals in the UK to plan, save, and invest in the way that works for them.
• Our Adviser business provides financial planning solutions and technology for UK financial advisers, enabling them to create value for their customers.
• Our Investments business is a specialist asset manager that focuses on areas where we have both strength and scale to capitalise on the key themes shaping the market, through either public markets or alternative asset classes.

About the Role

The Global Supplier Relationship Management (GSRM) team is accountable for the end‑to‑end management of strategic Third Party Administrator (TPA) relationships within Investments COO, including depositaries. The team ensures suppliers deliver commercial value, operational resilience, regulatory compliance and continuous improvement for Aberdeen.

As a Supplier Relationship Manager within GSRM, you will work with senior internal stakeholders and suppliers to govern, challenge and optimise supplier performance, lead and support commercial and contractual negotiations, manage third‑party risk, and identify opportunities to enhance outcomes through deeper, more effective relationships.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic Supplier Governance
  • Govern assigned TPA relationships in line with Aberdeen’s Third Party Risk Management framework and policy, and regulatory expectations.
  • Work collaboratively with business owners (service Engagement Owner and oversight teams) to ensure KPIs, SLAs and service outcomes are defined and monitored.
  • Act as a point of accountability for supplier contractual performance, risk, conduct and value delivery.
  • Chair/attend senior‑level supplier governance forums and manage contractual and commercial escalations to resolution.
  • Provide clear, concise management information and board‑level reporting.
• Commercial & Contract Management
  • Lead contractual and commercial negotiations with Legal and the business teams, ensuring clear service scope, obligations, controls and value.
  • Own rate card negotiations, benchmarking and commercial reviews.
  • Control supplier budgets, validate invoices and track supplier spend and payments.
  • Manage contract lifecycle activities including contract change, new services, renewals, contractual terms and notice periods, and terminations.
• Value Optimisation
  • Where required, lead supplier capability, supplier selection and RFP processes from business demand through to contract execution and onboarding.
  • Identify and deliver cost, efficiency and capability improvements through supplier innovation and optimisation.
  • Conduct commercial modelling and benchmarking to support board, product, client and investment decisions.
• Stakeholder & Relationship Management
  • Influence and align senior internal stakeholders across Aberdeen, including Operations, Investments, Legal, and Risk.
  • Build effective, outcome‑driven partnerships with supplier executives and delivery teams.
  • Provide expert advice on supplier strategy, risk, commercials and industry and market best practice.

About the Candidate:

• Proven experience managing strategic, regulated outsourcing partners.
• Ability to balance a partnership approach with robust challenge and governance.
• Strong track record in contract negotiation, rate cards, benchmarking and cost modelling.
• Commercially astute with the ability to translate detail into clear executive decisions.
• Experience operating within outsourcing, risk and regulatory frameworks in Financial Services.
• Able to evidence compliance and manage audits confidently.
• Credible operator with the ability to influence senior stakeholders without direct authority.
• Skilled at handling competing priorities and conflicting demands.
• Applies data, insight and root‑cause analysis to improve supplier outcomes.
• Confident distilling complex issues into practical actions.
• Clear, structured communicator at all levels, including board and supplier executive teams.
• Comfortable chairing governance forums and leading difficult conversations.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Committed employer. If you have a disability and would like to apply to one of our UK roles under the Disability Confident Scheme, please notify us by completing the relevant section in our candidate questionnaire. One of our team will reach out to support you through your application process.

Our benefits

There's more to working life than coming home with a good salary. We have an environment where you can learn, get involved and be supported. When you join us, your reward will be one of the best around. This includes 40 days’ annual leave, a 16% employer pension contribution, a discretionary performance-based bonus (where applicable), private healthcare and a range of flexible benefits – including gym discounts, season ticket loans and access to an employee discount portal.

An inclusive way of working

Whatever way you like to work, if you have the talent and commitment to join our team, we’d like to hear from you. At Aberdeen we’ve adopted a ‘blended working’ approach. This approach combines the benefits of face-to-face collaboration, coaching and connecting in our offices with the flexibility of working from home. It enables colleagues to find a balance that works for their roles, their teams, our clients and our business.

An inclusive culture, where diverse perspectives drive our actions, is at the core of who we are and what we do. If you need assistance with your application, or a reasonable adjustment to your interview arrangements – for example, because you are neurodivergent, or have a physical, sensory, cognitive, mental, visible or invisible disability – please let us know and we’ll be happy to help.

We’re committed to providing an inclusive workplace where all forms of difference are valued and which is free from any form of unfair or unlawful treatment. We define diversity in its broadest sense – this includes but is not limited to our diversity of educational and professional backgrounds, experience, cognitive and neurodiversity, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, religion or belief and ethnicity and geographical provenance. We support a culture that values meritocracy, fairness and transparency and welcomes enquiries from everyone.

If you need assistance or an adjustment due to a disability please let us know as part of your application and we will assist.