Commercial Vendor Manager

Financial Times

ABOUT US The Financial Times ranks among the top news organisations worldwide. It is known for its authority, integrity, and accuracy. Its mission is to provide quality information and services around the globe. At the FT, curiosity flourishes and ambitious thinking is valued. Here, you’re given the chance to reach millions, produce work that matters and provide impartial journalism in a polarised world. In our warm, collaborative culture, you’ll connect with a diverse community of experts who support your growth, career aspirations and wellbeing. Your future at the FT will be filled with opportunities that challenge and inspire you. Without a set route, you’ll uncover new skills and build a career that can lead you anywhere. Develop a newsworthy career at the FT. OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION We believe in the importance of diverse viewpoints and want all voices in our organisation to be heard, respected and valued. A supportive workplace is one where employees feel they can be authentic and perform to their full potential. We are dedicated to eliminating obstacles for everyone, with particular attention to challenges encountered by underrepresented groups. THE ROLE We are seeking a Technology Supplier & Contract Manager to assume responsibility for the operational management, governance, and commercial oversight of our key technology suppliers. Reporting to the Project Portfolio Management Director within our Product & Technology organisation, you will make sure technology partners consistently meet contractual duties, service benchmarks, and business aims. You will lead the operational management of strategic suppliers once contracts are awarded, promoting supplier performance, governance, and value maximisation during the supplier lifecycle. You will collaborate extensively with Product & Technology, Procurement, Finance, Legal, and supplier delivery teams. The goal is to develop supplier relationships, boost commercial outcomes, and uphold governance across software, SaaS, cloud, infrastructure, and managed service providers. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES * Manage the day-to-day operations of strategic technology vendors and service providers. * Develop and maintain supplier governance frameworks, performance scorecards and regular service review cadences. * Build strong supplier relationships while holding vendors accountable for contractual commitments, targets and SLAs. * Drive continuous improvement through performance reviews, service improvement plans and effective blocking issue management. * Identify and mitigate supplier risks relating to operational delivery, security, compliance and financial performance. * Own the operational lifecycle of technology contracts, including onboarding, renewals, extensions, service reviews and supplier exits. * Maintain visibility of contract renewal dates, commercial obligations and termination windows. * Partner with Procurement and Legal to support contract renewals, renegotiations and new supplier engagements. * Find opportunities to optimise supplier spend, licensing models and commercial value across technology services. * Support budgeting, forecasting and financial governance for third-party technology expenditure. * Produce reporting on supplier performance, contract status, risks, renewals and financial exposure. * Establish governance forums with internal collaborators and strategic suppliers. * Assist with audit, regulatory, and third-party risk management activities. * Strengthen supplier management procedures, controls, reporting, and governance standards within Product & Technology. * Champion collaborative working, delivery excellence and continuous improvement. REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE * Proven experience managing IT suppliers, vendor relationships, technology contracts or technology service management within a complex organisation. * Strong understanding of supplier relationship management (SRM) principles and post-contract supplier governance. * Experience working across enterprise technology environments, including SaaS, cloud platforms, infrastructure, software licensing, managed services and support agreements. * Strong knowledge of contract governance, SLAs, benchmarks, service credits, supplier performance frameworks and operational governance. * Ability to interpret contractual obligations and translate them into effective supplier management practices. * Commercially aware, with experience directing supplier cost management, contract renewals, and value improvement projects. * Excellent ability to manage collaborators, with the capability to build trusted relationships across Product & Technology, Procurement, Finance, Legal, Security and business teams. * Strong communication, influencing and negotiation skills, with confidence challenging suppliers constructively. * Excellent analytical and organisational skills, including experience producing governance reports, managing risks and maintaining contract documentation. * Experience identifying and mitigating supplier-related operational, financial, compliance and service risks. * Ability to manage multiple suppliers, competing priorities and complex service environments. * Experience developing governance forums and advancing supplier performance by means of formal review processes. DESIRABLE * Experience working within an organisation centered around digital products or services. * Knowledge of IT procurement and contract governance processes. * Experience with third-party risk oversight and technology governance frameworks. * Experience supporting commercial assessments and arguments for technology investments. * Knowledge of software licensing frameworks and vendor commercial approaches. What's in it for You? Our benefits differ depending on location, but we are dedicated to offering top-tier perks at every office. These include generous annual leave, medical coverage, inclusive parental leave packages, discounted gym memberships, and chances to contribute to the community. Full details of our benefits are available here: https://aboutus.ft.com/careers/benefits. We follow a 50% hybrid working model, with employees onsite two to three days per week. This approach builds trust and supports remote adaptability. It also encourages in-person camaraderie and peer learning. We are open to flexible working pattern requests for all roles when possible. ACCESSIBILITY We are a disability confident employer and Valuable 500 signatory. Please inform us if you need any reasonable adjustments or personalization during the application process or to assist you in attending an interview. If you wish to talk about your needs or have any inquiries, email talent@ft.com and someone from our team will gladly assist you. FURTHER INFORMATION At the FT, we encourage innovation and technology adoption. We understand that candidates might bring AI tools into their application process. Although using AI to help with your application is acceptable, ensuring that all submitted details are authentic and accurately show your skills, experience, and qualifications is crucial. Candidates should be aware that the use of AI during the application process might be observed to guarantee a fair and transparent hiring experience for everyone. Please watch out for fake job ads and offers pretending to be from the Financial Times. Genuine openings will ask you to apply via the official Financial Times careers website. The FT will never request financial details, payments, or referrals to outside parties during recruitment. If you doubt a posting’s authenticity or suspect fraud, email talent@ft.com. Interested in the FT but haven't found the right position yet? Join our Talent Community to get exclusive updates, featured jobs, and insights into working at the FT.

9fin

About 9fin 9fin is the AI platform powering global debt markets — the world’s largest asset class at over $145 trillion. Debt markets are vast, global, and mission-critical, yet still run on fragmented data, PDFs, and manual workflows. 9fin replaces this broken infrastructure with a single platform that centralises proprietary credit data, deep analysis, and high-value workflows across global markets. Today, 9fin powers teams at 300+ blue-chip institutions worldwide, including global banks, asset managers, private equity firms, law firms, and advisors. The business is scaling at exceptional speed, with rapid expansion in the US and best-in-class retention driven by deep workflow adoption. We’re at a defining inflection point. With proven product-market fit and strong, global market pull, 9fin is accelerating toward becoming the category-defining platform for debt markets worldwide. THE OPPORTUNITY 9fin is scaling fast, and the way we buy needs to scale with us. Today, procurement is handled ad hoc across Finance, Legal, and IT. Requests route differently every time, subscriptions duplicate across teams, contracts auto-renew without review, and there is no central view of who we buy from, what we pay, or when contracts come up. The cost is real: missed negotiation leverage, overlapping tools, and senior time spent on work that should sit with a dedicated owner. The Procurement Manager is a new, standalone role within Operations at 9fin, based in London and reporting to the General Counsel. The role exists to do three things: * Build scalable process. Design 9fin's procurement policy, intake, RFP, and renewals process from first principles, with the tooling to support it as we grow. * Own the function. Take end-to-end ownership of the vendor lifecycle, the vendor register, the renewals calendar, and commercial negotiation across vendor categories. * Partner across the business. Be the single point of contact for Finance, Legal, and IT/InfoSec on inbound procurement, and the partner team managers come to when they want to bring in a new tool. This is a build role. You will not inherit a team, a playbook, or a tooling stack. You will design them. We are looking for someone with 5 to 8 years of procurement experience at a technology or fintech business of comparable scale, who is excited to take ownership of a function rather than administer one. WHAT YOU'LL WORK ON BUILD SCALABLE PROCESS * Design 9fin's procurement policy, intake process, and approval workflow from first principles, with scale in mind from day one * Stand up a single front door for procurement requests, replacing the current ad hoc routing across Finance, Legal, and IT teams * Define and document the RFP process: how we source, how we evaluate alternatives, and how we record the rationale * Evaluate and recommend procurement tooling (for example, Cledara) during your first 90 days, with a view to automating renewals tracking and intake * Set the cadence and content of procurement reporting to the business OWN THE FUNCTION * Own the full vendor lifecycle end to end: sourcing, evaluation, contracting, onboarding, renewals, offboarding * Own the central vendor register and spend dashboard as the single source of truth for who we buy from and what we pay * Own the renewals calendar and drive renewal conversations early, with the relevant team manager, well ahead of auto-renewal dates * Lead commercial negotiations across vendor categories, from SaaS tooling to specialist services, and own the commercial outcome * Identify and resolve duplicate subscriptions and overlapping tools across the business PARTNER ACROSS THE BUSINESS * Act as the single point of contact for Finance, Legal, and IT/InfoSec on inbound procurement activity, sequencing approvals so each function is engaged at the right point * Partner with Finance to manage and maximise the value of every pound spent, not just allocate it. Own savings, cost avoidance, and value capture as commercial outcomes the business can measure * Integrate procurement into Finance's budgeting processes and planning cycles, so vendor decisions are made with the full picture of the planning horizon rather than in isolation * Work with Finance to design and operate clear authorisation levels and approval flows, so the right decisions sit with the right people and the process scales as the business grows * Partner with Legal on contract review and risk-tiered routing of vendor agreements * Partner with IT/InfoSec on security and data protection assessments for new and renewing vendors * Work with team managers across the business to surface needs, challenge requests against existing tooling, and route projects to the right approvers at the right time. ABOUT YOU We are looking for someone who identifies with the following traits, even if you don't have all of them. * Owner, not administrator: You treat the function as yours. You set the standard, drive the outcome, and do not wait to be told what is next. You are comfortable being accountable for results, not just activity. * High energy, high intensity: You bring pace and personal drive to the work. You move fast, push hard on the things that matter, and have the stamina to build a function while running it at the same time. * Builder mindset: You have designed a procurement function or materially expanded one, not just maintained a mature one. You are comfortable with a blank page and motivated by the chance to build something that lasts. * Commercial negotiator: You have led vendor negotiations on material spend, not just administered contracts someone else negotiated. You know when to push and when to accept, and you own the commercial outcome. * Structured and scalable thinker: You design process with the next stage of growth in mind, not just the current state. You can stand up a vendor register, a spend dashboard, an intake workflow, and an RFP process without being told the steps. * Strong cross-functional partner: The role sits at the intersection of Finance, Legal, IT/InfoSec, and every team that buys something. You build trust quickly across functions and sequence the right people at the right time, without becoming a bottleneck yourself. * Willingness to challenge the status quo: You see how things could be done better, and you are not afraid to speak up. You push back constructively, evidence in hand. * Bias to action: You move quickly from problem to solution. You would rather ship a working process and refine it than spend a quarter perfecting a policy. * Finance literate: You are comfortable working inside a Finance team's planning cycle, reading budgets, and talking commercial impact in the terms Finance uses (not just procurement terms). A NOTE FROM THE HIRING MANAGER "I am hiring for energy and ownership above all else. This is a build role with real scope, real autonomy, and real commercial impact, and I want someone who treats it that way from day one. If you are excited by a blank page and you move quickly from problem to solution, we should talk.." — Brian Dearing, VP, General Counsel Benefits We’re a scaling start up, and we enjoy sharing our success, when the company succeeds, we always reinvest that in our people. We also offer huge amounts of responsibility, an abundance of opportunity for growth and a platform to truly excel. Financial & Insurance * Competitive Salary (our salary bands are benchmarked at the top end of the market) * Equity * Pension (your minimum contributions are 4% with 9fin matching up to 7%) * Private Medical Insurance * Paid sick leave with Income Protection for long periods of illness * Group Life Assurance * Season Ticket Loan & Cycle to Work schemes Time off * 25 holiday days per year * Local public holidays (with the ability to exchange them for alternative days) * Hybrid working model, to allow you the flexibility to decide how, where and when you do your best work * Work abroad for up to 3 months a year * 1 month paid sabbatical after 5 years of service * Enhanced parental leave & flexible working arrangements available   Training & Culture * Professional learning and development budget * AI experimentation budget of £800 (UK) per employee to trial AI tools * Quarterly team socials * Summer and Winter company social events 9fin is an equal opportunities employer At 9fin we are dedicated to building and promoting a fair and inclusive workplace where everyone can reach their full potential and truly belong. We recognize that building diverse teams enables a more creative and productive environment. If you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t perfectly align with the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You might just be who we’re looking for — either for this role, or perhaps another.

WPP

WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands.  We unite cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, world-class creativity, next-generation production, transformative enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel in a single company – powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform, WPP Open, to help our clients navigate change, capture opportunity and deliver transformational growth.    We work with the world's most valuable brands and have global reach across 100+ markets, with deep local expertise.   Our people are the key to our success. We're committed to fostering a culture of creativity, belonging and continuous learning, attracting and developing the brightest talent, and providing exciting career opportunities that help our people grow.    For more information, visit WPP.com.   Why we're hiring: This is an exciting opportunity to join WPP during a period of global transformation. As part of our Technology & Telecommunications Procurement team, this role plays a key part in supporting strategic initiatives that are shaping the future of our business. This is a replacement role within a collaborative, forward-thinking team. This role is based on a hybrid working model, with three days a week spent collaborating in person with our team and stakeholders at our office.   What you'll be doing: This role focuses on delivering business and commercial value within the Technology and Telco spend category (with a particular focus on IT). You will engage with stakeholders across the business, run RFPs for complex goods and services, and negotiate statements of work and master agreements. This position offers excellent exposure to working with some of the world’s largest IT vendors, service integrators, and telecommunications companies, alongside global projects with senior stakeholders.   Key Responsibilities: * Category Strategy: Develop and execute global plans for sub-categories within the IT and Telco space, driving cost savings, continuous improvement, and innovation. * Market Insight: Maintain a deep understanding of IT supply markets to provide insights on best practices, market challenges, and the best-fit vendors for WPP’s needs. * Sourcing Leadership: Lead sourcing initiatives (e.g. RFPs), shape demand management, and deliver robust commercial guidance to influence senior decision-making. * Relationship Management: Develop and deliver successful supplier relationship management plans and preferred supplier policies. * Collaboration: Work as a cohesive part of the wider WPP Procurement team and lead/participate in matrixed project environments.   Who you'll be working with: You will report to the Category Director of IT Services, Infrastructure and Telco. Working with the Enterprise Technology (ET) Leadership team, ET CFO and Finance Business Partners and some the largest suppliers in the Technology and Telco sector.   What you'll need: * IT Procurement Expertise: Proven experience in technology procurement, with strong technical skills and a track record of leading complex, high-value RFPs and category plans in a global environment. * Negotiation & Contract Skills: Strong hands-on experience in contract and Statement of Work (SOW) drafting, with the ability to lead pragmatic, commercial negotiations. * Stakeholder & Vendor Management: Experience managing complex IT supplier relationships (including large technology organisations) and the ability to influence and advise senior business leaders. * Project & Team Leadership: Strong project management skills with the ability to multi-task, work within matrixed teams, and collaborate effectively with offshore teams.   Who you are: You're open: We are inclusive and collaborative; we encourage the free exchange of ideas; we respect and celebrate diverse views. We are open-minded: to new ideas, new partnerships, new ways of working. You're optimistic: We believe in the power of creativity, technology and talent to create brighter futures or our people, our clients and our communities. We approach all that we do with conviction: to try the new and to seek the unexpected. You're extraordinary: we are stronger together: through collaboration we achieve the amazing. We are creative leaders and pioneers of our industry; we provide extraordinary every day.   What we'll give you: Passionate, inspired people – We aim to create a culture in which people can do extraordinary work. Scale and opportunity – We offer the opportunity to create, influence and complete projects at a scale that is unparalleled in the industry. Challenging and stimulating work – Unique work and the opportunity to join a group of creative problem solvers. Are you up for the challenge? #LI-Hybrid  We believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach, with teams in the office around four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process. WPP is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers. PLEASE READ OUR PRIVACY NOTICE (HTTPS://WWW.WPP.COM/EN/CAREERS/WPP-PRIVACY-POLICY-FOR-RECRUITMENT) FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW WE PROCESS THE INFORMATION YOU PROVIDE.