Project Manager - Vendor & Service Management

Manpower Middle East; Dubai; On-site; AED 240,000 - 420,000; Full time

Job summary

Manpower Middle East seeks a seasoned Project Manager to drive vendor governance, service performance, and stakeholder engagement across strategic partnerships. You will manage SLAs, KPIs, and commercial negotiations to deliver measurable business outcomes.

The role requires strong vendor management, analytics, and cross-functional collaboration with Finance, Product, Risk, and Compliance to ensure regulatory alignment and value realization.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in Project Management, Vendor Management, or related roles.
• Experience with vendor governance, contract management, and SLA/KPI oversight.
• Strong analytical skills to translate large datasets into actionable insights.
• Excellent stakeholder management, communication, and relationship-building skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end vendor and service provider management activities.
• Govern vendor governance frameworks including performance reviews and escalation handling.
• Own service level agreements, KPIs, and operational service metrics.
• Develop dashboards, scorecards, and management reports for executives.
• Collaborate with Procurement, Finance, Product, Operations, Risk, and Compliance.
• Support governance committees with performance updates and commercial reviews.

Skills

Vendor management

Project management

Stakeholder engagement

Data analysis

Dashboard / BI reporting

Negotiation

Regulatory & compliance awareness

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration / Finance / Operations Management / Project Management

Job description

About the Role

Our client, a leading organization within the Financial Services sector, is seeking a Project Manager to join their team. This role will be responsible for driving vendor governance, commercial management, service performance, and stakeholder engagement across strategic third-party partnerships. The successful candidate will possess strong vendor management, commercial, and analytical capabilities, enabling effective oversight of complex supplier relationships while delivering measurable business outcomes.

About the Requirements

• Lead and oversee end-to-end vendor and service provider management activities, ensuring contracted services are delivered in accordance with business objectives, regulatory requirements, and operational expectations.
• Manage strategic vendor relationships and act as the primary point of contact for governance, service performance, escalations, and commercial discussions.
• Own vendor governance frameworks including supplier performance management, service reviews, operational oversight, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Manage contractual agreements, commercial negotiations, renewals, and vendor compliance obligations.
• Establish and govern Service Level Agreements (SLAs), Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and operational service metrics to ensure high-quality service delivery.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with internal stakeholders, business leaders, vendors, and external partners, serving as a trusted advisor and key escalation point.
• Drive structured analysis of operational, commercial, and performance data to support strategic decision-making and business improvements.
• Develop and maintain dashboards, scorecards, management reports, and executive-level reporting to provide visibility into service performance and vendor effectiveness.
• Track vendor performance trends and conduct detailed analysis to identify service gaps, risks, improvement opportunities, and cost optimization initiatives.
• Conduct benchmarking exercises, vendor comparisons, and market assessments to evaluate performance, improve service quality, and maximize value realization.
• Facilitate governance meetings and performance discussions between vendors and business stakeholders to address issues, monitor action plans, and improve delivery outcomes.
• Support commercial reviews and negotiations with vendors while balancing business requirements, service quality expectations, and cost efficiencies.
• Perform root-cause analysis and provide recommendations to improve operational efficiency, customer experience, and service quality.
• Partner closely with Procurement, Finance, Product, Operations, Risk, and Compliance teams to ensure alignment with strategic business objectives.
• Support governance committees through preparation of management reports, performance updates, dashboard insights, and commercial reviews.
• Ensure all vendor and service management activities comply with contractual, organizational, and regulatory requirements.

About You

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Operations Management, Project Management, Supply Chain Management, or a related discipline.
• Minimum 7+ years of experience in Project Management, Vendor Management, Service Management, Commercial Management, Supplier Relationship Management, or a related function.
• Strong experience within Financial Services, Banking, Payments, FinTech, Insurance, Wealth Management, or product-focused organizations.
• Proven experience managing strategic vendors, outsourced service providers, and complex stakeholder environments.
• Strong understanding of vendor governance, contract management, commercial negotiations, SLA management, and supplier performance management.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze large and complex datasets, identify trends, and translate findings into actionable business insights.
• Hands-on experience creating dashboards, scorecards, KPI reporting, management information packs, and executive presentations.
• Excellent stakeholder management, communication, negotiation, and relationship-building skills.
• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to balance business objectives, service quality, contractual obligations, and financial outcomes.
• Professional certifications such as PMP, Prince2, Agile, ITIL, or equivalent would be advantageous.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously within a fast-paced and highly collaborative environment.