IT Operational Vendor Manager

Overview

In this role you ensure day-to-day value, compliance, and performance of third-party IT vendors, acting as the main liaison between internal IT teams and external partners. You focus on reliable service delivery, SLA/KPI adherence, and rapid issue resolution to keep IT services seamless. You will lead governance meetings, drive data-driven vendor insights, and champion continuous improvement to optimize cost and quality. This is a mission-driven, values-led position with impact on service reliability and vendor risk management.

Responsibilities

• Manage performance and service delivery for IT vendors
• Establish and monitor SLA/KPI targets and report on them regularly
• Lead operational governance with vendors via regular review meetings and deep-dive analyses
• Coordinate issue resolution and escalation, driving RCA and cross-team remediation
• Maintain vendor scorecards and dashboards to identify trends and gaps
• Ensure contract adherence to terms, SOWs, and regulatory requirements
• Validate vendor invoices against pricing, usage, and entitlements with Finance
• Maintain centralized documentation of contracts, reports, and compliance materials
• Oversee change management to minimize risk to production from vendor changes
• Serve as daily contact for vendor managers and internal stakeholders, translating data into business insights
• Identify and track CSI initiatives to improve efficiency, quality, and cost-effectiveness
• Monitor vendor risk and ensure audit and due diligence materials are up-to-date

Key requirements

• 3-5 years of IT experience with vendor management, service delivery, or IT operations
• Strong knowledge of IT services, infrastructure (Cloud/SaaS, Networks, End-User Computing) and delivery models
• Experience setting up and managing performance metrics and service review meetings
• ITIL Foundation certification or equivalent (desirable); understanding of Incident, Problem, Change
• Exceptional communication, diplomatic negotiation, and conflict resolution skills

• communication
• negotiation
• conflict resolution
• IT services and infrastructure knowledge
• ITIL/ITSM practices (Incident, Problem, Change)
• SLA/KPI management

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