Senior Vendor Account Manager

Humankind Global Recruitment; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private Health Care

Flexible Benefits Fund

25 days holiday

Job summary

Humankind Global Recruitment is seeking a Senior Vendor Account Manager in Manchester with a strong commercial mindset to manage and develop relationships with external partners and suppliers. The role focuses on optimizing vendor performance and shaping supplier management across the organisation.

You’ll work with senior stakeholders to combine relationship management, commercial acumen and operational excellence, ensuring vendors deliver value while driving business outcomes in a

Qualifications

• Experience managing vendors, suppliers or strategic accounts.
• Strong commercial awareness with budgeting, forecasting and reporting.
• Knowledge of procurement, supplier contracts and commercial agreements.
• Excellent negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience collaborating across multiple departments.
• Strong organisational skills to manage priorities and deadlines.
• Advanced Excel skills and ability to analyse data.
• Proactive mindset to improve processes and drive operational excellence.
• Natural leader with mentoring ability and team culture.
• Excellent written and verbal communication with stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Manage a portfolio of external vendors, suppliers and agency partners.
• Act as the primary point of contact between internal and external partners.
• Conduct regular vendor performance reviews and ensure SLAs are met.
• Lead vendor onboarding and integrate new suppliers.
• Monitor budgets, vendor spend and provide reporting and forecasting.
• Assist in creating commercial proposals, cost models and business cases.
• Collaborate with Procurement and Finance to establish supplier agreements and SOWs.
• Support commercial negotiations to deliver value and mitigate risk.
• Provide leadership to the Vendor Account Management team.
• Identify opportunities to improve vendor management processes and governance.
• Build relationships across Marketing, Finance, Procurement and other teams.
• Provide updates on vendor performance and project progress to stakeholders.

Skills

Vendor management

Relationship management

Commercial acumen

Budgeting

Forecasting

Negotiation

Stakeholder management

Leadership

Team mentoring

Excel

Tools

Excel

Job description

Manchester / Hybrid - 2 days in the office

Digital Marketing Agency

Global clients / Private Health Care / 25 days holiday plus bank holidays / Flexible benefits fund

Are you an experienced Account Manager or Vendor Manager with a strong commercial mindset and a passion for building high-performing partnerships?

We‘re looking for a Senior Vendor Account Manager to play a pivotal role in managing and developing relationships with a diverse network of external partners and suppliers. This is a fantastic opportunity to join a collaborative, fast-paced business where you‘ll influence commercial decisions, optimise vendor performance and help shape the future of supplier management across the organisation.

Working closely with senior stakeholders across multiple departments, you‘ll combine relationship management, commercial acumen and operational excellence to ensure vendors consistently deliver exceptional results while driving value for the business.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage a portfolio of external vendors, suppliers and agency partners, building strong, long-term relationships.
• Act as the primary point of contact between internal stakeholders and external partners.
• Conduct regular vendor performance reviews, ensuring service levels and delivery standards are met.
• Lead vendor onboarding and ensure new suppliers are integrated efficiently.
• Monitor budgets, vendor spend and financial utilisation, providing accurate reporting and forecasting.
• Support the creation of commercial proposals, cost models and business cases.
• Work closely with Procurement and Finance teams to establish robust supplier agreements and Statements of Work.
• Support commercial negotiations, ensuring contracts deliver value while mitigating risk.
• Act as a deputy to the Head of Department, providing leadership and guidance to the wider Vendor Account Management team.
• Identify opportunities to improve vendor management processes, governance and reporting.
• Build strong working relationships across Marketing, Finance, Procurement and other internal teams.
• Provide regular updates on vendor performance, commercial activity and project progress to key stakeholders.

What We‘re Looking For

• Previous experience managing vendors, suppliers, agency partners or strategic accounts.
• Strong commercial awareness with experience managing budgets, forecasting and financial reporting.
• Knowledge of procurement processes, supplier contracts and commercial agreements.
• Excellent negotiation, stakeholder management and relationship-building skills.
• Experience working across multiple departments in a collaborative environment.
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines.
• Advanced Excel skills and confidence analysing commercial data.
• A proactive mindset with a passion for improving processes and driving operational excellence.
• A natural leader who enjoys mentoring others and creating a positive, high-performing team culture.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the confidence to engage stakeholders at all levels.

Why Join Us?

This is an opportunity to take ownership of a highly visible role where your commercial expertise and relationship management skills will have a genuine impact. You‘ll work alongside experienced professionals in a supportive environment that encourages collaboration, continuous improvement and professional development.

If you‘re looking for your next challenge and want to play a key role in strengthening strategic partnerships while driving commercial success, we‘d love to hear from you.