Vendor Operations Manager

Quality isn’t just a goal. It’s the whole point.

Our customers are under a lot of pressure to deliver great software. But to compress lifecycles, add features, and compete in a world where ‘every company is now a software company’ is hard. And one mistake can mean their reputation, even future. That’s why it’s our mission to help. At any part of their software development lifecycle (SDLC), we provide the tools and discipline to focus on quality while streamlining their processes. So our customers can create and deploy software that works as designed – especially when it’s needed most. And we’re looking for people to join us.

The responsibility of the Vendor Operations Manager is to develop, shape, strengthen, grow and lead an effective vendor operations program, including the assessment, approval, procurement, onboarding, ongoing management, and offboarding of vendors. 
The Vendor Operations Manager will be the enterprise-wide subject matter expert on vendor operations management. They will increase efficiency, throughput, and maturity in the third-party software, suppliers, and personnel space. 
Must have a strong business background in vendor management, contract management, governance, compliance, service level management, security, financial management, procurement, project management, asset management, etc.
You are a service provider to an internal set of customers and will prioritize speed, communication, and process transparency, to enable the company to adopt the new technologies it needs to grow in a cost-effective, secure and responsible way.

What we're looking for:
•    Process guru - you love to build a good process and have experience building robust, easy-to-use processes for others
•    Experience with automation tools like JIRA or FreshService - you know your way around these tools and know how to build processes using these tools that can be used by others, meaning that the processes are self-explanatory, transparent to all users, support permissions-based visibility, and provide proactive communication to all stakeholders.
•    Analytical and data driven when making decisions and optimizing processes
•    Project management skills, in particular ability to interact and collaborate with stakeholders from other departments
•    Experience in bridging and building relationships across a highly cross-functional, matrixed organization to optimize the efficiency of improving process and driving change.
•    Able to mentor and manage resources, whether having a direct or indirect reporting structure.
•    Great written communicator - you can explain a complicated process in simple steps so that people can understand them the 1st time round
•    Eye for detail - you notice the small things and always make sure all the "t"s are crossed and "i"s are dotted
•    BONUS - you have a basic understanding of people onboarding processes (from a People Ops perspective)

Responsibilities & Duties: 
•    Responsible for the Smartbear vendor operations life cycle, defining an end to end process workflow to enable the assessment, approval, procurement, onboarding, offboarding, and governance of SmartBear vendors, which include tools, software, services and staff augmentation. 
•    Design and implement operational processes that allow Smartbear to successfully assess, approve, onboard and manage new and existing vendors with required organizational due diligence.   Creating an efficient and transparent internal process, following best-in-class processes and standards.  
•    Serve as the central point of contact and subject matter expert for the vendor operations workflow - supporting the onboarding of tools, software, and services across SmartBear, globally.
•    Establish, develop and maintain strong and effective cross functional working relationships with key stakeholders.  (Finance, Accounting, Legal, Information Security, Information Technology)
•    Be a trusted business and technical advisor to stakeholders, provide expert knowledge and consulting for sourcing, industry benchmarks, implement end to end vendor and procurement best in class processes and standard
•    Provide cross functional stakeholder transparency by tracking, reporting and measuring vendor onboarding status.  
•    Ensure enterprise-wide needs for due diligence, risk assessment and continuing vendor monitoring are being accomplished within vendor management operational workflow.
•    Maintain and continuously improve standard operating vendor operations procedures, identifying opportunities and improvement areas where possible.
•    Support training efforts for employees who will leverage the defined process and system(s) as required.
•    Track, Analyze and review existing vendors to assess if they comply with organizational due diligence requirements.  

Requirements and Qualifications
•    BA/BA in Business/Information/Systems/Engineering/Math/Sciences
•    Demonstratable, meaningful experience in vendor services in a technical domain, including understanding of the core components that feed into the process (e.g., Security, Legal, IT, Labor/HR, etc.)
•    Knowledgeable in contract terms and conditions, procurement and negotiations
•    Possess excellent organizational skills, business partnering, problem solving and prioritization skills
•    Must be able to work independently
•    PMP; Certified Outsourcing Professional (COP); ITIL Foundations Certification
•    Able to work well in a dynamic environment and be able to recommend and implement process improvements, work autonomously and handle multiple tasks simultaneously

About SmartBear