Commercial Vendor Manager

Technology Supplier & Contract Manager - 12 Month FTC

Financial Times

ABOUT US The Financial Times is one of the world's leading news organisations, globally recognised for its authority, integrity and accuracy, with a mission to deliver quality information and services worldwide. At the FT, curiosity thrives and ambitious thinking is rewarded. Here, you're given the chance to reach millions, create work that matters and deliver 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. With no fixed path, you'll discover new skills and forge a career that can take you anywhere. Build a newsworthy career at the FT. OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION We believe in the power of unique perspectives and want all voices in our organisation to be heard, respected and valued. A supportive workplace is one where employees feel they can be themselves and operate to their full potential. We are committed to removing barriers for everyone, with a focus on addressing those faced by underrepresented groups. THE ROLE We're looking for a Technology Supplier & Contract Manager to join our Product & Technology organisation, reporting to the Project Portfolio Management Director. In this role, you'll be responsible for the operational management, governance and commercial oversight of our strategic technology suppliers. You'll ensure our technology partners consistently deliver against contractual commitments, service levels and business objectives while driving value throughout the supplier lifecycle. Working closely with colleagues across Product & Technology, Procurement, Finance, Legal, Security and our supplier partners, you'll strengthen supplier relationships, improve governance, manage risk and identify opportunities to optimise commercial performance across software, SaaS, cloud, infrastructure and managed service providers. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES * Manage the day-to-day operational performance of strategic technology suppliers and service providers. * Develop and maintain supplier governance frameworks, performance scorecards and service review processes. * Build strong supplier relationships while holding vendors accountable for contractual commitments, KPIs and SLAs. * Drive continuous service improvement through structured performance reviews and improvement plans. * Identify and mitigate operational, commercial, security and compliance risks across the supplier portfolio. * Manage the operational lifecycle of technology contracts, including onboarding, renewals, extensions and supplier exits. * Maintain oversight of contract renewal dates, commercial obligations and key contractual milestones. * Partner with Procurement and Legal on supplier renewals, contract negotiations and new supplier engagements. * Identify opportunities to optimise technology spend, licensing models and commercial value. * Support budgeting, forecasting and financial governance for third-party technology expenditure. * Produce regular reporting on supplier performance, contractual status, risks and financial exposure. * Facilitate governance forums with internal stakeholders and strategic suppliers. * Support audit, regulatory and third-party risk management activities. * Continuously improve supplier management processes, controls and governance standards. REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE * Proven experience managing technology suppliers, vendor relationships or IT service providers within a complex organisation. * Strong understanding of Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) and post-contract supplier governance. * Experience managing enterprise technology suppliers across SaaS, cloud platforms, infrastructure, software licensing and managed services. * Sound knowledge of contract governance, service level agreements (SLAs), KPIs, service credits and supplier performance frameworks. * Ability to interpret commercial contracts and translate contractual obligations into effective supplier management practices. * Commercial awareness with experience managing supplier costs, renewals and value optimisation initiatives. * Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships across technical and business functions. * Strong communication, negotiation and influencing skills, with confidence to challenge suppliers constructively. * Excellent analytical and organisational skills, including experience producing governance reporting and managing supplier risks. * Experience managing multiple suppliers and competing priorities in a fast-paced environment. DESIRABLE * Experience working within a digital product or technology-led organisation. * Knowledge of IT procurement and contract governance processes. * Experience supporting third-party risk management activities. * Familiarity with technology investment business cases and commercial assessments. * Knowledge of software licensing models and vendor commercial practices. WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU? Our benefits vary by location but we are committed to providing best-in-class perks across all our offices. These include generous annual leave, medical cover, inclusive parental leave packages, subsidised gym memberships and opportunities to give back to the community. Full details of our benefits are available here: https://aboutus.ft.com/careers/benefits. We've embraced a 50% hybrid working model (averaging two to three days onsite) that fosters trust and remote adaptability while encouraging in-person camaraderie and peer learning. Additionally, we are open to accommodating specific flexible working pattern requests for all roles where feasible. ACCESSIBILITY We are a disability confident employer and Valuable 500 signatory. Please let us know if you require any reasonable adjustments/personalisation as part of the application process or to enable you to attend an interview. If you would like to discuss your requirements or have any questions, email talent@ft.com and a member of our team will be happy to help. FURTHER INFORMATION At the FT, we embrace innovation and the use of technology and appreciate that individuals may leverage AI tools as part of their job application process. Whilst we are happy for you to use AI to assist with your application, it is essential that all information provided is authentic and accurately represents your skills, experience, and qualifications. Candidates should be aware that the use of AI throughout the application process may be monitored to ensure a fair and transparent hiring process for all. Please beware of fraudulent job postings and offers claiming to be from the Financial Times. All legitimate opportunities will direct you to apply through the official Financial Times careers site, and the FT will never ask for financial information, payments, or referrals to third parties during the hiring process. If you have any concerns about the legitimacy of a job posting or suspect any scam activity, please contact talent@ft.com. Interested in the FT but don't see the right role yet? Join our Talent Community to receive exclusive updates, featured jobs, and insights into working at the FT.

Procurement Category Manager - Technology

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.

Procurement Manager

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.