Technical Vendor Management Role Description

Expected Start Date: 22/06/2026

End Date: 31/12/2026

Role Title:

Technical Vendor Management

Function:

IT / Technology

Primary Purpose:

Assess the technical and operational maturity and readiness of IT vendors to ensure alignment with enterprise technology standards, risk posture, and business objectives.

Role Summary:

The Technical Vendor Management role is accountable for assessing the readiness of IT vendors through rigorous technical evaluation, proactively managing vendor relationships, and ensuring alignment with organisational goals. The role provides the technical lens that complements commercial vendor management activities. Key activities include conducting vendor assessments, managing performance, optimising provider value, and communicating findings with stakeholders to drive improvement in vendor engagement.

Key Responsibilities:

• Conduct structured technical assessments of prospective and existing IT vendors, evaluating maturity against defined readiness criteria.
• Engage proactively with vendors to manage performance, drive continuous improvement, and ensure alignment with organisational standards.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders across IT, risk, and business units to capture requirements and validate vendor capability.
• Optimise value from existing vendor engagements through ongoing performance reviews, audits, and improvement planning.
• Communicate assessment findings and recommendations to senior stakeholders to inform vendor selection, renewal, and exit decisions.
• Stay current on emerging technologies and industry practices that influence vendor capability and readiness expectations.

Generic Attributes and Behaviours:

• Autonomy: Operates with significant autonomy in managing vendor relationships, ensuring alignment with IT compliance and operational standards.
• Influence: Actively influences vendor performance and expectations to achieve strategic alignment.
• Complexity: Navigates complex vendor ecosystems and assesses maturity against rigorous technical and operational criteria.
• Knowledge: Holds comprehensive understanding of IT systems, vendor management practices, and emerging technologies to evaluate readiness.
• Collaboration: Facilitates teamwork between internal stakeholders and external vendors, ensuring clear communication of requirements.
• Communication: Effectively communicates findings and strategic recommendations regarding vendor assessments to stakeholders.
• Improvement Mindset: Continuously seeks improvement in vendor performance and management processes, informed by industry best practices.
• Creativity: Applies creative solutions to resolve issues arising from vendor-related challenges, enhancing collaboration.
• Decision Making: Evaluates multiple technical options and their risks when assessing vendor capabilities and readiness.
• Digital Skills: Uses digital tools to track vendor performance metrics and manage vendor relationships efficiently.
• Leadership: Guides internal teams in aligning vendor capabilities with organisational goals.
• Learning and Professional Development: Engages in ongoing education to remain current on best practices in vendor management and technology.
• Planning: Plans and schedules comprehensive assessments for vendor implementation and operational readiness.
• Problem Solving: Analyses and resolves complex problems that arise in vendor management situations.
• Adaptability: Adapts vendor management strategies to align with evolving technical requirements and corporate policies.

Professional Skills Required:

• Supplier Management: Manages vendor performance against key performance indicators, ensuring vendors meet business needs efficiently.
• Sourcing: Evaluates and selects vendors based on technical readiness and capability; supports the technical input to sourcing decisions.
• Stakeholder Relationship Management: Systematically engages and manages relationships with vendors and internal stakeholders to create mutually beneficial outcomes.
• Audit: Conducts structured audits of vendor performance and compliance with agreed standards, maintaining audit trails and documentation.
• Quality Assurance: Plans and conducts formal assessments of vendors and parts of the supply chain, determining whether appropriate quality control has been applied.
• Risk Management: Plans and implements risk management activities associated with vendor engagement, identifying and mitigating vendor-introduced technical and operational risks.

Desirable Skills:

• Emerging Technology Monitoring: Stays current on emerging technologies that may impact vendor capabilities and their alignment with business needs.
• Delivery Management: Contributes to delivery management processes for vendor engagements and performance evaluation.
• Information Assurance: Performs technical assessments of vendor information systems against information assurance requirements, identifying risk mitigation measures where standard controls are insufficient.

On-Site Policy:

Indication: 3 days per week on-site is required. This can be subject to change.