Vendor Manager in Manchester

Sitting within the Chief of Staff function, the role focuses on vendor governance, relationship management, financial oversight, and service performance monitoring. The Vendor Manager acts as the central point of coordination between business stakeholders, vendors, and internal functions such as procurement, finance, risk, and technology. The Vendor Manager will be expected to champion continuous improvement across current vendor management processes through the effective use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), automation, and data‑driven tools. The role will proactively identify opportunities to reduce manual administration, improve reporting and governance activities, enhance decision‑making, and increase operational efficiency. Working with business, technology, and operational teams, the Vendor Manager will help embed AI‑enabled solutions that improve productivity, accelerate outcomes, and allow teams to focus on higher‑value activities. The role does not lead procurement activities but works closely with the procurement team during vendor selection, contract negotiation, and renewals. The primary focus is on ensuring vendors deliver value, meet service expectations, and operate in alignment with the organisation's operational, regulatory, and financial requirements.

Vendor Relationship Management

• Manage day‑to‑day relationships with key vendors and strategic service providers.
• Act as the primary point of contact between the organisation and assigned vendors.
• Build strong, collaborative relationships that support effective delivery and issue resolution.
• Facilitate regular vendor governance meetings and performance reviews.
• Utilise AI‑enabled tools to streamline meeting preparation, action tracking, documentation, and stakeholder communications.
• Escalate and manage vendor‑related risks, service issues, and disputes where required.

Vendor Performance Oversight

• Monitor vendor performance against agreed service levels, contractual commitments, and operational expectations.
• Establish and maintain vendor performance reporting and service review processes.
• Leverage AI and automation tools to improve reporting efficiency, identify performance trends, and highlight potential risks or service gaps.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives to enhance service quality and delivery outcomes.
• Identify opportunities to automate recurring reporting and performance monitoring activities.

Financial Oversight

• Monitor vendor costs, invoices, and overall financial performance against contracted budgets.
• Support budget planning and financial forecasting related to third‑party service providers.
• Utilise data analytics and develop AI‑assisted tools to identify spend trends, cost optimisation opportunities, and invoice anomalies.
• Ensure vendor services deliver value for money and align with business expectations.
• Provide financial reporting and insights to senior management regarding vendor spend and performance.

Vendor Governance and Risk Management

• Work with the wider business to implement and utilise AI‑assisted analysis and monitoring tools to drive vendor consolidation, strategic account management, MI and reporting, risk identification and governance effectiveness.
• Support the development and maintenance of vendor governance frameworks and oversight processes.
• Ensure vendor activities comply with contractual obligations, internal policies, and regulatory requirements.
• Work closely with risk, compliance, and operational teams to ensure appropriate vendor oversight.
• Use AI‑assisted analysis and monitoring tools to improve risk identification, reporting, and governance effectiveness.
• Support vendor risk assessments and monitoring activities as required.

Procurement and Internal Stakeholder Coordination

• Partner closely with procurement on vendor selection, contract negotiations, and contract renewals.
• Provide operational insights and performance feedback to inform procurement decisions.
• Coordinate with internal stakeholders to ensure vendor services align with operational needs and business priorities.
• Support onboarding and offboarding of vendors in accordance with internal governance processes.
• Identify opportunities to simplify, automate, and improve vendor management processes through the use of AI and digital tools.

What You Will Bring

• Proven experience managing strategic vendor and third‑party supplier relationships across the full vendor lifecycle.
• Strong track record of overseeing vendor performance, service delivery, governance, risk, and financial management.
• Proven experience of implementing and utilising AI, automation, and digital tools to improve vendor consolidation, cost efficiencies, operational efficiencies and reduce manual processes.
• Practical experience leveraging Generative AI tools to enhance reporting, analysis, documentation, communication, and decision‑making.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret performance, financial, and operational data to drive insights and outcomes.
• Experience using reporting, dashboarding, and business intelligence tools to support data‑driven decision‑making.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen, including budgeting, forecasting, cost management, and vendor value assessment.
• Sound understanding of vendor governance, third‑party risk management, and regulatory compliance requirements.
• Continuous improvement mindset with a passion for innovation, emerging technologies, and driving operational excellence through AI‑enabled solutions.

We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds to enable us to bring diverse perspectives to our thinking and conversation. It's important to us that we strive to have a workforce that is diverse in the widest sense.