Manager, Vendor Management and Expert Network Innovation, External Talent Function

Overview

In this role you will oversee Bain’s external research vendor ecosystem, driving quality, risk, and operational efficiency. You will coordinate across business, research, Legal, Risk & Compliance, Finance, technology, and client-service teams to translate priorities into actionable plans. You’ll support supplier selection, onboarding, renewal, and offboarding while leading innovation to scale Primary Research operations. This is a chance to shape how external experts and vendors deliver client insights at scale.

Responsibilities

• Manage Bain’s external research vendor portfolio (expert networks, specialist vendors, third-party partners)
• Oversee recurring vendor management activities: business reviews, performance check-ins, issue-resolution meetings, commercial follow-ups
• Track vendor performance against service, quality, compliance, operational, and commercial metrics
• Support vendor selection, onboarding, renewal, amendment, and offboarding with internal stakeholders
• Drive innovation initiatives to improve quality, consistency, efficiency, and scalability of Primary Research operations
• Translate priorities into structured workplans with owners, timelines, risks, dependencies, and decision points
• Prepare updates summarizing progress, risks, decisions, and next steps
• Build relationships with internal stakeholders across business, research, Legal, Risk & Compliance, Finance, technology, and client-service teams
• Support external vendor communications including meeting prep, follow-ups, action tracking, and escalation

Key requirements

• Manager-level experience in vendor management, operations, procurement, professional services, consulting operations, external talent management, product operations, or related field
• Ability to manage multiple complex workstreams simultaneously
• Strong project management and organizational skills to turn ambiguous problems into clear plans
• Strong written communication for senior-ready materials
• Strong stakeholder management across teams with differing priorities
• Analytical comfort with vendor performance, spend, usage, and operational metrics
• Commercial judgment and experience with vendor negotiations, contract tracking, and performance discussions
• High attention to detail and strong follow-through

• stakeholder management
• clear communication
• analytical thinking
• vendor performance analytics
• contract tracking and management
• risk and compliance awareness

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